BEFORE YOU LAND
The 12 apps on every Angeleno's phone
Look at someone's home screen and you'll know roughly how they do LA: rides, parking, reservations, delivery, and one just for neighborhood gossip. These 12 are the most useful for LA life; download before you fly and use them the minute you land.
Translated from Jasmine’s original Chinese. The illustrated slides are on the interactive reader.
Key points
- Getting around 02 · Lyft: New Lyft users get a discount with JASMINE723.
- Eating 06 · Resy & OpenTable: Hot spots usually open bookings weeks ahead, so set a reminder.
- Eating 07 · Yelp: A lot of places in the 626 let you get in line first and walk in when you arrive, no standing outside.
- Eating 08 · Weee! When you're homesick, it comes to your door.
- Living 11 · Nextdoor: LA's community bulletin board, and gossip central.
Full text
Getting around 01 | Waymo
Driverless taxis are already everyday life in LA, covering roughly Santa Monica to Echo Park and south to Inglewood. First time, just sit in the back and watch the steering wheel turn by itself. It's magic >_<
Getting around 02 | Lyft
Download both it and Uber: the same ride is often priced differently, so compare before you hail. New Lyft users get a discount with JASMINE723.
Getting around 03 | Park Smarter
The City of LA's official parking payment app (ParkMobile works too); pay the meter on your phone so you don't have to run out mid-dinner to feed it.
Getting around 04 | TAP
You can add your Metro card to Apple Wallet or just tap a credit card, Apple Pay or Google Pay, with daily and 7-day fare caps. Taking the Metro in LA is now as easy as in Taipei.
Getting around 05 | Waze
Lots of Angelenos drive with Waze instead of Google Maps: traffic, accidents and road hazards are reported live by drivers, and on the 405 it'll take you down a side street you've never seen.
Eating 06 | Resy & OpenTable
Nearly all of LA's popular restaurant reservations are on these two apps. Hot spots usually open bookings weeks ahead, so set a reminder.
Eating 07 | Yelp
Besides reviews, you can join the line online with Yelp Waitlist. A lot of places in the 626 let you get in line first and walk in when you arrive, no standing outside.
Eating 08 | Weee!
Asian grocery delivery: Taiwanese snacks, frozen dumplings and seasonings, no drive to 99 Ranch needed. When you're homesick, it comes to your door.
Living 09 | Instacart
Grocery shopping and delivery from lots of stores. Don't want to drive, or brave Costco on a weekend? Hand it off.
Living 10 | Citizen
Real-time alerts about what's going on nearby. Useful, but don't doomscroll it; it'll only make you more anxious.
Living 11 | Nextdoor
A neighborhood network: finding a plumber, lost dogs, secondhand furniture, nearby events. LA's community bulletin board, and gossip central.
Living 12 | Venmo & Zelle
Venmo to split with friends, Zelle for rent and transfers (it's built into most bank apps). In LA, 'I'll Venmo you' is a verb.
Bonus | Not an app, but set it up anyway
StreetsLA email reminders 24 and 48 hours before street sweeping, alert.lacounty.gov emergency alerts, GasBuddy for cheap gas, and Uber Eats / DoorDash when you can't be bothered to go out.
Two-city mirror
In Taipei, your phone has LINE, Uber Eats and EasyWallet; in LA, it's Waymo, a parking app and Waze. Look at someone's home screen and you can tell how they live in a city.
An original JSLALALAND field guide by Jasmine Chang (@jslalaland).