You made it to USC. Now go find Los Angeles.
by Alexa Herrara · aug 10, 2026
You’re smart, genuinely. Smart enough to get into one of the best programs in the country, pack your life up, and land in one of the most electric cities on earth. And smart enough apparently to be reading this on a platform built by someone who sat exactly where you’re sitting.
So let’s talk.
I came into the MSEI program at USC knowing exactly one person. One. A girl i’d been texting in a WhatsApp group for weeks before orientation, the kind of pre-arrival friendship that feels like it could be something. I got here and had absolutely no idea what I was doing. New city, new people, one year to figure it all out.
And then the plans started.
“We should all go out this weekend” sent into the group chat at 11pm on a Tuesday. 40 thumbs up reactions. Two people actually respond. Someone suggested Saturday. Someone else can’t do Saturday. Friday? Maybe Friday. Actually can we do next weekend? Someone moves to a different thread. The thread dies. It’s now the following Tuesday and nothing happened and somehow everyone is fine with this.
We did this eight times before I accepted that group chats are where plans go to die.
So instead I did what every overstimulated twenty-something year old does: I went down the classic rabbit hole. TikTok. Instagram. Infatuation guides. Reddit threads from 2019. 45 minutes later I had 37 tabs open, zero decisions made, and a deep personal crisis about whether I even wanted to go out anymore. I closed everything and stayed in.
Here’s what I wish i’d known: the city doesn’t come to you. And neither do the friendships. The people you will actually keep, the ones who become your people, are almost always the ones you actually did something with. Not the ones you texted. Not the ones you said “we should hang soon” to in the hallway. The ones you actually showed up with, somewhere, for something.
That’s the whole thing. That’s the secret. Los Angeles is absurdly generous if you just go.
So we built Perfect Day to solve our own problem. Discover the place, save it, plan with the group, lock it in. No more thirty-seven tabs. No more plans dying on arrival. Just: here’s what’s good, here’s who’s coming, here’s when we’re going.
And now i’m going to tell you exactly where.
For when you want to feel like you actually live here
Bar Lis: The rooftop bar at in West Hollywood. The kind of place that makes you feel like a functioning adult who has their life together, which is a feeling worth chasing. The crowd is exactly your age and slightly too attractive. Line might be long but worth it with the perfect friend group.
The Nice Guy: West Hollywood. No sign on the door. Red leather booths, lighting that’s doing you a favor, and you’ll run into someone famous and pretend you didn’t notice. The move for a night when the group actually commits.
Poppy: Also WeHo. Tighter door, higher energy. Dress like you meant to be there and you’ll be fine. The kind of place where the night takes an unexpected turn and you’re not mad about it.
For when you want cheap drinks and zero pretense
Barney’s Beanery: West Hollywood institution, open since 1920. Pool tables, old neon, a menu the size of a novel, and at least two people from love island every single time. Yes, Corbin is that hot in person. You’re not imagining it. Go here when the week was long and you need somewhere that doesn’t take itself seriously.
The Frolic Room: Hollywood. Dark, old-school, Frank Sinatra used to drink here and the vibe hasn’t changed. You’ll have your best conversations of the semester at a bar like this.
The Roost: Atwater village. Pitch black inside, cash only, a jukebox with actual records. Go once and you’ll understand why people become regulars.
Good Luck Bar: Los Feliz. Tiki bar, strong drinks, red lantern lighting. Extremely underrated for a big group. A two-drink night somehow always turns into all night.
For when you actually want to eat something that matters
Blair’s: Silver lake. A neighborhood spot that’s been there forever and feels like it, in the best way. The kind of meal you talk about on the way home. Go with people you actually like, the food deserves a real conversation around it.
Ruen pair: Thai town, Hollywood. Open late, cash preferred, fluorescent lit, and genuinely one of the best meals you will have in this city. Order the Tom Yom Soup with Shrimp, crying tiger, the pad see ew, shrimp cakes, and something you don’t recognize. The unfamiliarity is the point.
Azizam: Silver lake. Persian comfort food in a small, warm room. This is the place you bring someone when you want them to understand that LA has layers most people never bother to find.
Holbox: Next to USC, inside mercado la paloma. Michelin-starred mariscos counter that most people in your program have never heard of. The tostadas are pristine. Your first hidden gem flex, use it wisely. And the price - affordable.
Ceci’s: Sunset boulevard, silver lake. Tiny italian counter, baked pastas and focaccia sandwiches, no reservations, always a line of people who know. Go on a saturday before the rest of your afternoon.
Ohana Superette: This is a poke spot like no other. The variations of tuna poke, salmon, and shrimp mixed with the imitation crab max salad, the pickles, cucumbers, ohh the sob noodles. Did I also say they had a vegan option, tofu? You can’t go wrong. And their iced coffee is outstanding. Grab a poke bowl, sit on the front patio and laugh with friends before exploring silverlake or going to the echo park lake.
Bodega: Bodega is amazing. How could it not be? I mean its next door to Ohana Supersette. This place takes a different approach with their menu. The Spicy Kale Chicken Cesar is outstanding, the turkey and avocado sandwhich is mouth watering, and the yuzu sparkling tea drink is jaw dropping. Don’t forget the breakfast burrito here. If it’s hot sit inside, but if the weather is just right, take your yuzu drink and sandwich and sit right on the patio. Your camera roll will thank you from these amazing creations they produce.
You have a year or two in one of the most interesting cities in the world, a city where the culture changes block by block, where a handroll bar sits on one corner and a dive bar on another, You’re surrounded by people who are just as new to it as you are. You will be busy. You will be tired. The group chat will, statistically speaking, let you down.
Go anyway. Save the place, send the link, lock in the date. The friends you make over a real meal or a weird dive bar or a rooftop you had no business getting into, those are the ones you keep.
Los Angeles is out there. It’s been waiting for you.