This is random but if you grew up wealthy in L.A., what was it like?

[Anonymous]

Was it very "90210' and "Less Than Zero"? Were everyone's parents in the industry? Did you live in a gorgeous mansion with a pool? Talk to me. I love LA!!

[Anonymous]

Lol 90210

[Anonymous]

You might enjoy Griffin Dunne's book "The Friday Afternoon Club" about his experience growing up in LA.

[Anonymous]

I didn't grow up wealthy in LA but wealthy adjacent, between where my parents lived (Brentwood) and where I went to school (westlake/harvard). We were middle class in the midst of a lot of wealth.

There was a lot of crazy stuff, and also a lot of instability, and then just normal people. Like one of my best friends, grew up in an amazing house (rebuilt to be uglier, sadly, and on the market now for 20 plus million), dad drove a rolls Royce but they were so flaky. She was in and out of school because they wanted to travel (this was before him schooling and the internet was a thing), once they spent 3 months in an ashram (later learned it was her mom's attempt to get her dad to stop doing coke) which she hated, she rode horses and lived the life until the marriage fell apart and he got most of the money and dropped them (he was not her biological father, but had been in her life since she was a baby). Two other friends parents divorced right around elementary middle school and in both cases, the men were in the industry and ditched their wives for younger girlfriends, bought sports cars, etc. Other stuff--gosh, a girl in my hs killed someone in her Porsche (maybe drinking and driving?), it was settled by her family so no criminal conviction, she showed up with a bmw a few weeks later. Stuff like that was nuts.

Yes, some friends had large houses with pools in bel air, beverly hills, etc. Many parents in the industry, some kids in the industry (my hs had some child actors, including 90210's Tori spelling--her house had, like, 90 rooms? but what a mess that family was). I had other friends who were much more middle class, though middle class in LA still cost a lot of money.

at the same time, it was not like everyone was wealthy. you'd go to parties that you'd just hear about and it was a real mix, and they sometimes got out of hand and the police would come and break it up. You could have rich kids and kids from the hood, rumors would start about a party somewhere and people would just show up. But other parties--for prom someone hosted an after party at their home, got buses to transport everyone, had amazing food and drink, everyone could stay over (we are talking 200 kids) in there gorgeous mansion with a pool and butler, etc.

Plastic surgery was not unheard of--in some cases, it was really because someone's nose was very big, but I also had a friend who got a nose job who didn't need it, AND lipo (also unnecessary), at 17. her parents gave it to her for her birthday. (she also had a Porsche...).

Lotta drinking and driving and drugs. a few horrible, high profile car accidents that killed multiple kids.

also, lot of really amazing diversity and cool people, and a lot of smart, nerdy kids. I was exposed to so much, in all directions I guess. My friends were S. Asian Korean Black WHite--parents were doctors, lawyers, academics, artists, etc. People did so many things, there was no "normal," for me I guess.

I left LA at 17 and never looked back. I love to visit for a few days but it reminds me of so many reffed up things, including the dissolution of my own parent's marriage and family and my mother's mental health spiral. It's a different city, though, than when I was there.

anyway, there are just some random thoughts.

[Anonymous]

90210

[Anonymous]

I remember going to this little neighborhood boutique owned by the Kardashians before they became famous. The Malibu/Calabasas area was a weird mix of entertainment people, professionals, and old hippie types who had been there forever and were not rich and had regular jobs.