For my first adventure in the city I chose to go to check out Brentwood. Sitting just 3.4 miles away from my apartment in Westwood, Brentwood is an affluent residential neighborhood in between Wilshire and Sunset Boulevard. I traveled by car so it only took me 10 minutes to get to my final location, which was the Brentwood Country Market.
This location is the local watering hole for most Brentwood residents, offering a variety of fine eateries and quant corner stores. As I pulled into the lot of the market I was immediately flagged down by a man trying to valet my car, I was quick to refuse considering I did not want to tip him. As I parked I slipped in between a Mercedes and a Porsche; common sights to see in this part of Los Angeles. As I entered the courtyard multiple restaurants began to pop up. Anywhere from Mexican to Italian food, this place had it all; there was not one meal or restaurant that could really represent Brentwood though. It was rather the overpriced item’s on the menu that really reminded me as to what part of L.A I was in. I eventually decided to eat at the Mexican Restaurant and settled for a twelve-dollar chicken tostada. The meal was clean, healthy, and fresh but like I said earlier it is far to expensive for what you got. When looking around at the people eating lunch I noticed that almost everyone was dressed up in very new and stylish clothing. The locals seemed to be either in a full suit for work or they were sporting the posh Lululemon athletic clothing. Despite that fact each restaurant shared picnic table style seating, no one was really engaged into each other. Everyone seemed to be fully engulfed in whatever piece of technology they had just purchased.
After my lunch I decided to take a drive down San Vincente Boulevard. On the way down I passed by Brentwood Country Club, a very established and well-recognized golf course. The entrance of the club radiated with prestige and elitism. The street signs were very nice looking, and some of the architecture reminded me of the east coast. As I drove through the suburbs, the very traditional houses and street corner’s reminded me of how much history Los Angeles has. When assessing what zone Brentwood would classify as, through the perspective of our recent reading from City Reader, it seemed to be a mix between the 3rd and 4th zone. Considering it is located right off of Wilshire Boulevard, a road that boasts some of the wealthiest companies in the world, I would classify Brentwood to partially be a zone of the “workingmen’s” homes. The workingman is only able to live there due to the nature of the work that is so close. This area is mostly a residential zone(4) where very wealthy families reside due to the fact that it is very safe, has great schools near by, and it is very close to the ocean. In 2009 the Los Angeles times reported that the median income for a resident of Brentwood is $112,927.
Overall I had a good time exploring Brentwood. It is a very clean nice area that is close to Westwood yet very different. Despite the occasional yoga yuppies and exclusive/snobby nature of the area I found that it fits in very nicely to the social fabric of Los Angeles. It embodies the Los Angeles glamour and class that so many people associate this city with. I am excited to explore another part of Los Angeles next week that will contrast my recent experiences.
P.S. If anyone is interested in visiting or learning more about the Brentwood Country Market I would recommend it highly. If you commit to spending a few extra bucks one day it is a cool place to try new food and to shop. I really enjoyed the lay out of the Market. The following link goes into the history of The Brentwood Market. http://www.brentwoodcountrymart.com/history/
First off, I would like to say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading your blog post this week. I have never been to the Brentwood area in Los Angeles before, but after reading your post this week, you have convinced me to visit Brentwood for the day, and also go to the Brentwood Country Market. From your perspective, Brentwood sounds like a very affluent community, similar to one that I have grown up in, Palos Verdes. I have to agree with you that there is no particular food type for that area or similar areas, but it astonishes me every time to see how much people are willing to pay for food. A fish taco plate in one area can cost almost fifteen dollars, and one can get almost the exact same food for six dollars in a less nice area. People and consumers are so obsessed with going to a certain brand name restaurant for lunch or wearing nice brand name clothes like Lululemon. In my opinion, people should be less concerned with these things in their lives and start to focus on things that really matter.
ReplyDeleteLike you said in your post, “Despite that fact each restaurant shared picnic table style seating, no one was really engaged into each other. Everyone seemed to be fully engulfed in whatever piece of technology they had just purchased”. Consumerism and technology have taken over these days and people are talking in person less and less. People would rather choose to text each other than talk in person. Other times, when a person is having lunch with someone, they will be spending the whole time texting on their phone and not even paying attention to what the other person has to say. I find this extremely rude and still shocking that people would rather find out what some other person is doing then spending quality time with a person sitting right in front of them.
Overall, I enjoyed reading your blog post and also agree that Brentwood should be classified as a “Zone 4”. I look forward to seeing this beautiful city in person very soon.
This was a very interesting post for me to read, as I thought to write about Brentwood myself, but instead opted for responding to someone’s thoughts on Brentwood. My experience in Brentwood differs from what you seem to talk about, although I do agree it is a more affluent neighborhood when compared to many other cities in Los Angeles. However, from my perspective and past outings to Brentwood, I find it more of a recent graduate haven or more the Westwood for recent graduates. It seems to be the city where most Bruins gather afterwards, and it is filled with people in their twenties and early thirties, giving it a very young vibe. In my opinion, Brentwood is a cleaned up version of Westwood in a sense. This is definitely not a generalization of Brentwood, but from what I have been able to observe.
ReplyDeleteWalking around the streets and even asking friends who currently live in that neighborhood, it seems that everyone nearby is around the same age group, yet they are benefitting from the real life experiences of affording better homes and a improved quality of life. There are also many distinctions from the life led in Westwood to the one in Brentwood. For example, grocery shopping in the Ralph’s located on Bundy Drive is an entirely different experience compared to the shopping experience at the Ralph’s in Westwood. Red cups and ping pong balls are no longer on display every aisle in the supermarket or hanged next to the beer. The streets are in much better conditions as well, no longer filled with trash all over the sidewalk or overflowing dumpsters with beer cans and pizza boxes. The apartments are also nicer, the buildings are kept in better shape and they are decorated with better style.
Moreover, overall the lifestyle chosen by the residence of Brentwood seem much healthier as well. I do not recall seeing many fast-food places near the area, and during the day I see many people jogging in the residential area. I also went to their Sunday Farmer’s Market set up near an elementary school, and the street was filled with shoppers as many couples and young families arrived to purchase their weekly groceries. Many of these people were in gym clothes either coming or going to work out. These images made me feel that perhaps people in this area were more careful with their health than in other places, as these were not details that stood out in other places I have visited.
Having said all that, I also acknowledge that certain parts of Brentwood are definitely not affordable by recent graduates, such as the Brentwood Country Club where many celebrities are sighted coming in and out of. In addition, I do agree it is a zone where people move out to, especially when we consider the concentric circle discussed in lectures. If we consider Downtown LA, or Wilshire to be the center due to the locations of various world renowned companies as you mentioned, then Brentwood would be the zone where people moved on to when they rose in the socioeconomic status. It is interesting to observe the great difference between cities in quality of life and neighborhood “status” even when they are located in such proximity that going from one street to another can be from a poor area to a wealthy one.
Brentwood is an interesting city to explore and I would say its demographic is a mixture of young adults and young families, while there are also many celebrities located in these areas as well. I enjoyed reading about your experience in Brentwood, which has made me curious to learn more about the other aspects of it and perhaps I will also visit the Brentwood Country Mart as well.