1. (Tuesday) December 15, 2009 @ 4:00 – 5:30 pm Room #360 An Introduction to Living in New York City and Los Angeles

2. Agenda Introduction New York City (NY) Los Angeles (LA) WeatherSports EnvironmentPlaces to Go PeopleProblems Neighborhoods Housing Transportation Universities

3. New York City

4. New York City & Suburbs

5. Weather Similar to Beijing Summer – Hot and humid Winter – Cold and dry Spring and Fall – Very nice

6. Environment Very clean compared to Beijing Some air pollution in some parts of the city – Worst in Manhattan Suburban areas are cleaner

7. People Metro area population: almost 19 million Ethnically diverse – African American (2 million in city) – Puerto Rican (800,000 in city)

8. People – Dominican (600,000 in city) – Italian (3.4 million in area)

9. People – Jewish (2 million in area) – Chinese (600,000 in area) – Irish, Korean, & Polish

10. Neighborhoods Tribeca Soho Little Italy Chinatown

11. Neighborhoods Flushing

12. Neighborhoods Sunset Park

13. Housing New York City – Mostly apartment buildings – Very expensive in Manhattan Suburbs (New Jersey, Connecticut) – Mostly single family homes

14. Housing Manhattan Apartment Rent

15. Housing New York City Apartment Prices

16. Local Transportation Do you need a car? – In the city (no) – In the suburbs (yes)

17. Local Transportation Traffic

18. Local Transportation Many subways and buses in the city Buses and trains also connect the suburbs and the city

19. Local Transportation Many taxis in the city($2.50 plus $2 per mile) Few taxis in the suburbs

20. Columbia University New York University (NYU) Princeton University Yale University Rutgers University Universities #8 #1 (tie) #3 #32 #66

21. Sports 10 professional sports teams (football, basketball, baseball, soccer, ice hockey) New York Yankees

22. Sports Yi Jianlian and the New Jersey Nets

23. Sports US Tennis Open (August-September) New York City Marathon (November)

24. Places to go in NY Central Park Museum of Natural History Chinatown

25. Places to go in NY Statue of Liberty Empire State Building World Trade Center

26. Places to go in NY United Nations Headquarter The Museum of Modern Art

27. Places to go in NY New York Public Library

28. Places to avoid in New York Harlem Brooklyn Newark (NJ)

29. Outside New York Boston (4 hours) Philadelphia (2 hours) Washington D.C. (4 hours) Niagara Falls (8 hours) Canada (8 hours)

30. Problems Rats Terrorism Traffic High unemployment

31. Questions

32. Los Angeles

33. Los Angeles & Suburbs

34. Weather Coastal desert climate Lots of sunshine Summer – Hot and dry Winter – Cool and dry Spring and Fall – Warm and dry

35. Environment Worst air pollution in America Smog

36. People Metro area population: almost 19 million Ethnically diverse – African American – Korean

37. People – Chinese – Mexican

38. People – Vietnamese – Filipino – Indian, Japanese

39. Neighborhoods San Gabriel Valley – Monterey Park – Alhambra – San Gabriel – Arcadia – Rowland Heights Orange County Hollywood / Beverly Hills

40. Housing

41. Local Transportation Do you need a car? – Yes

42. Local Transportation Traffic

43. UCLA USC Cal Tech UC Irvine Universities #24 #4 #46 #26

44. Sports 8 professional sports teams (basketball, baseball, soccer, ice hockey) Los Angeles Lakers College sports (UCLA and USC)

45. Sports Beach volleyball

46. Places to go in LA Beaches Disneyland Knott's Berry Farm Universal Studios Hollywood

47. Places to avoid in LA LA Chinatown Downtown LA South Central

48. Outside Los Angeles San Diego (2 hours) San Francisco (6 hours) Las Vegas (4 hours) Grand Canyon (8 hours) Mexico (3 hours)

49. Problems Earthquakes “California has more than a 99% chance of having a magnitude 6.7 or larger earthquake within the next 30 years … the likelihood of a major quake of magnitude 7.5 or greater in the next 30 years is 46%.” The 2008 Sichuan earthquake had a magnitude of 7.9

50. Problems Wildfires Bad financial situation – High unemployment in California (at least 12.3%) – High sales taxes (9-10%) – State of California is bankrupt

51. Questions