Los Angeles has Captured The World's Imagination

Los Angeles' international reputation attracts millions of people from all over the world. The pioneers of old as well as the newest residents share the dream of opportunity and adventure in a year-long outdoor living climate, remarkable especially for its sun-drenched winters. Oceans, mountains, and deserts supply a background of endless beauty in which to work and play. A multi-cultural population lives, works, and dreams as Los Angelenos surrounded by smaller cities, suburbia, and rural California.

Millions of cars daily use the complex freeway network to commute to work, to reunite with friends and family, and to seek out leisure time activities. An unparalleled sports world unparalleled offers the Los Angeles Dodgers, the California Angeles, the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers, and the Mighty Ducks! Amusement parks draw millions of visitors each year: Disneyland, Universal Studios, Six Flags Magic Mountain, and Knott's Berry Farm are but a few. Five animal parks and zoos in the area present the most fabulous exhibits in the world.

Southern California has become a mecca for the cultural arts with its outstanding museums, theaters, dance companies and music venues. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Southwest Museum, the Autry Museum of Western Heritage, and the Museum of Contemporary Art are prominent members of the more than 85 museums and galleries. The Los Angeles Philharmonic located in the Dorothy Chandler Pavillion next to the Mark Taper Forum and the Ahmanson Theater, a three-theater complex at the Civic Center, are part of the 2400 performing arts groups, employing nearly 19,000 people. This includes the L.A Opera, a resident company, which presents at least eight operas annually in sixty performances.

The Los Angeles Basin is a great laboratory for those interested in studying business administration with specializations in international commerce, computer science, or electrical engineering. Among the more amazing facts for the region:

* aerospace/defense companies, recovering from a prior slump, still provide more than 1.2 million California jobs and are the largest source of minority employment in manufacturing;

* high-tech manufacturers employ over 330,000 workers with the computer software industry one of the most dynamic growth sectors in the state;

* the movie studios and amusement parks with their demand for virtual reality simulators and other products from the computer graphics industry in combination with the revolution in television, cable, computers, modems, and telecommunications is making L.A. the leading force in the interactive revolution as well as a great source of professionals in these diverse technological fields..

* California is the nation's #1 exporter, the source of more than 20% of all U.S. exports, with a total dollar value exceeding $69 billion. Although countries in the Pacific Rim manufacture products similar to those in the U.S., they continue annually to import millions of dollars of U.S. made goods which they perceive as superior. International trade continues to be an export-import business!

* L.A.'s proximity and cultural link to Mexico has been a springboard for trade opportunities with other parts of Latin America with the establishment of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Recently with the lifting of the trade embargo with Vietnam many L.A. firms have obtained licenses from the Hanoi government which is beginning to generate an estimated additional $9 billion annually.