Hello everyone!

My name is River (they/he), and I am a fourth-year Human Biology and Society major. I am from Orange County, California. As someone who loves to explore new areas, especially big cities, moving to Westwood was an exciting new experience for me! Westwood is situated right between Santa Monica (a 20-minute bus ride away) and Downtown LA (a 1-hour Metro ride), making it an ideal jumping-off point for your LA adventures! UCLA also provides a TAP card, included with your tuition, making public transportation nearly free, which is a great way to travel around LA. Let me give you a little taste of what you can do in LA from West to East!

Let’s start from the Santa Monica area! As many people know, Santa Monica has a great pier with rides, food, and things to do! Being right along the beach, you can go for beach sunsets or even sunrises if you’re an early bird. There are also other beaches around Santa Monica, such as Venice Beach and Manhattan Beach, that are great places to swim and hang out with friends!

Now we can move towards UCLA. Around UCLA, there is Sawtelle, an amazing place to expand your food palate, as many of the Asian foods are to die for! As a boba addict, this area has my addiction covered with several different boba spots a few minutes away from each other. In Westwood, we have a diverse set of restaurants and to-go places. Perfect for grabbing a bite with friends while staying close to campus! There is also the Hammer Museum (admission is free!), which is a great place to go to experience classical and modern art.

As we head further East, we end up in the Hollywood area! Many people will go on a hike to the Hollywood sign, which has an amazing view of LA. You can walk around and see the many stars on the sidewalk and find your favorite celebrities. My favorite part about Hollywood is all the concert venues around the area (The Hollywood Bowl, Rose Bowl, Sofi Stadium, etc.)! It makes it super convenient to take a bus out to a concert without dealing with parking and have a great time at the concert worry-free! I’ve personally been to the Pantages Theater several times, which is a great spot to see your favorite musicals!

Finally, we end up around Downtown LA. Downtown always has things to do, whether it be a convention or the many great food stalls at Grand Central Market! I personally had amazing loaded tacos from Grand Central. Downtown is by Little Tokyo and Chinatown, making it a great place to try many different types of food. In Little Tokyo, my personal favorite place is Fugestudo, a mochi place that has been there since 1903. Chinatown is a fun place to walk around in the stores and mini malls.

With all of these great things to do, LA truly is the place to be! Whether you have a car or use public transit, there are many ways to explore all of LA. It is always fun to get off campus and see what LA has to offer.

Have fun exploring, adventure is out there!