Isabel Nelson, bringing the LA View to Ireland Today

By Isabel Nelson

I am a dual citizen of the UK and the US with Irish roots. I was born in Virginia, raised in Leeds, then whisked off to California after my GCSEs. My accent is confusing to say the least.

Hopping the Atlantic has given me an interesting perspective on world news, because it has allowed me to see how much doesn’t get across the pond.

America went crazy for the Royal babies but was oddly quiet on the Scottish independence referendum – odd for a country that blow things up every July to celebrate freedom from the British.

You might have heard the nonsense Donald Trump spouts as he gurns his way through the Presidential election race, but what have you heard about the fight to defund Planned Parenthood?

A lot of information comes out of America, but how much of it is really news?

In this section of Ireland Today, you might well find some fluffy Los Angeles articles. Sorry about that – there’s a lot of woo-woo, feel-good stuff to go around in California, and it starts to turn you soft after a bit.

However, my main intention is to bring you the national issues on my local level, to try and illuminate how the big headlines affect people on the ground.

I see celebrities at my local, but I’m not allowed to say anything or look excited because it’s just not done. I know, I know – cry me a river, right?

The flip side of that coin is that you get used to the bright and shiny in the way that you get used to the truly shocking.

There are tent cities in Downtown LA and sex trafficking is rampant in Hollywood.

There is widespread public distrust of the police, massive income disparity and our veterans sometimes have to wait for three to six months for medical treatment.

Los Angeles is an amazing city, and it is sometimes exactly how it looks in the movies. But it’s a real city with some deeply rooted and systemic problems. I’d like to show you both sides of it.

As for a little bit about me: I am 25, I live in Los Angeles, specifically West Hollywood, and work as an arts copywriter for an academic institution.

My neighbourhood demographic is Jewish families, gay couples, and people who dye their dogs bright colours. My weekends are spent exploring the city, people watching in bars, and trying to fix up my crumbling house.

I root for the Seattle Seahawks and Leeds United. I’m just a simple girl, looking for that special someone in this city who knows how to make a decent cup of tea, for God’s sake.