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LA looks hideous with all those palm trees, mountains, deep blue skys, nice beaches, perfect weather, and mansions all over the place... how can people live like that??
DC (City Proper) doesn't have any beaches right in the middle of it, but theres plenty of other things to do than to hit a beach all year round... Since Washington, DC unlike LA has 4 seasons a year we have to be a little more creative with our "Things to Do" List, which also gives us an advantage as far as a Variety of things to do as well!!!! We even dress differently in DC during the winter, which of course isn't by choice, but depending on who you are and what you like these can very well be all positives or negatives... thats why its kind of tough when trying to compare these 2 cities because they're apart of 2 different WORLDS...
Now Finally for the only season that people from LA can relate to and thats SUMMER LOL.... Since Summer seems to be the only season that you guys seem to have all year around... Im not knocking it, but its just that having 4 seasons gives the DC area an advantage for those of us that get a little tired of the same weather and lifestyle that comes with it day after day.... DC gets to live the LA Lifestyle for at least 2 or 3 moths out of the year, but LA never gets to experience the beautiful winters that DC gets on a year to year basis... That alone can be a huge down fall depending on the person and what he or she like as far as that goes, but Im afraid that when it come to weather DC gets to have the best of both Worlds and LA only gets to experience one half of that World!!!
These are beaches that Washingtonian go to in the Summer:
la looks hideous with all those palm trees, mountains, deep blue skys, nice beaches, perfect weather, and mansions all over the place... How can people live like that??
I think most Southern Californians like having mild weather in the city and then when you want snow, its just an hour drive into the mountains. Plus we like our sports and being able to ski and snowboard on the weekend and then not deal with snow in the work week is a major plus. FYI it isn't always perfect weather here. Its 35 degrees tonight and the high tomorrow is 50! Definitely feels like winter and coat season (to us at least). I've lived in four seasons, the good of a snowball fight does not outweigh the daily hassles for me. I prefer experiencing it on a weekend in the local mountains at 7000 feet.
I think most Southern Californians like having mild weather in the city and then when you want snow, its just an hour drive into the mountains. Plus we like our sports and being able to ski and snowboard on the weekend and then not deal with snow in the work week is a major plus. FYI it isn't always perfect weather here. Its 35 degrees tonight and the high tomorrow is 50! Definitely feels like winter and coat season (to us at least). I've lived in four seasons, the good of a snowball fight does not outweigh the daily hassles for me. I prefer experiencing it on a weekend in the local mountains at 7000 feet.
Having lived on the central coast of California…some of what you say is a bit of typical West Coast spin:
First, the traffic to get to most things in much of California is crushing- something that most people in CA will not admit is a severe problem that takes years off your life. Yes, there are 7000 foot mts (as opposed to 4,000 mts in VA/western MD)…but the life sucking traffic snarls, gas, car wrecks...etc to get to that extra 3000 ft is not worth it. Same for the beaches…with 200 miles of National Seashore, modest size beach towns (Ocean City, VA Beach, Fenwick, Island…etc), you can go to the beach outside of Washington DC and not have the crush of the masses like in CA ( I think East Coast beaches are superior anyway -warmer waters, better sand, more upscale…etc). The crowds, smog, gangs, fights, homeless people ...etc subtract from the beach vibe in CA these days. Also, the Pacific is way too cold.
Also, once I moved to the East Coast from CA, I learned something: People out in CA try to convince themselves that the East Coast has winter for 9 month of the year (lol). They see the TV news coverage of the one or two big snows a year around Washington, then try to convince themselves that is most of the weather year on the middle East Coast – so the cost of living in CA must be worth it. Of course the truth is a bit different: Washington DC gets snow on maybe 5 days per winter on average (about 18 inches a year on average, some more/some less). It just about never snows from mid March to early December (9.5 months). From April to late November the weather around Washington DC is nice quite often. If the beach is your thing, you can head to to beaches from May to early October (Washington DC and the beach towns on the Atlantic are warmer and sunnier than most beach towns on Cali coast in May or June). Not only is there no "May Gray", "June Gloom"...etc, but its nice to go into the ocean on the East Coast and not turn blue the way you do in cold Pacific in CA.
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Of course someone in CA will never tell you that.
Having lived on the central coast of California…some of what you say is a bit of typical West Coast spin:
First, the traffic to get to most things in much of California is crushing- something that most people in CA will not admit is a severe problem that takes years off your life. Yes, there are 7000 foot mts (as opposed to 4,000 mts in VA/western MD)…but the life sucking traffic snarls, gas, car wrecks...etc to get to that extra 3000 ft is not worth it. Same for the beaches…with 200 miles of National Seashore, modest size beach towns (Ocean City, VA Beach, Fenwick, Island…etc), you can go to the beach outside of Washington DC and not have the crush of the masses like in CA ( I think East Coast beaches are superior anyway -warmer waters, better sand, more upscale…etc). The crowds, smog, gangs, fights, homeless people ...etc subtract from the beach vibe in CA these days. Also, the Pacific is way too cold.
Also, once I moved to the East Coast from CA, I learned something: People out in CA try to convince themselves that the East Coast has winter for 9 month of the year (lol). They see the TV news coverage of the one or two big snows a year around Washington, then try to convince themselves that is most of the weather year on the middle East Coast – so the cost of living in CA must be worth it. Of course the truth is a bit different: Washington DC gets snow on maybe 5 days per winter on average (about 18 inches a year on average, some more/some less). It just about never snows from mid March to early December (9.5 months). From April to late November the weather around Washington DC is nice quite often. If the beach is your thing, you can head to to beaches from May to early October (Washington DC and the beach towns on the Atlantic are warmer and sunnier than most beach towns on Cali coast in May or June). Not only is there no "May Gray", "June Gloom"...etc, but its nice to go into the ocean on the East Coast and not turn blue the way you do in cold Pacific in CA.
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Of course someone in CA will never tell you that.
Now look who's spinning. I grew up in LA County but spent several years living in Wash, D.C. Great city by the way.
That said, I wanted to correct a few "facts" in your post:
1. The mountains in the LA area rise to above 10,000 feet. The mountains in VA and MD are "hills" by comparison. Moreover, those moutains are not even visible from DC b/c they are so far away. I work in Century City (West LA) but could see snow capped mountains from my office this week.
2. Yes LA has bad traffic. But DC is no walk in the park either. Despite LA's traffic, the access to snow covered mountains is MUCH easier than in DC. I will grant you the Shenadoah Mtns in VA are quite pretty but that is at least a 2.5 hour drive from DC proper (assuming no traffic).
3. Beaches: The beaches "near" DC are a MINIMUM of 2 hours 30 minutes drive from DC. LA is on the pacific ocean in case you forgot. While there are very nice beaches on the east coast (Florida, North Carolina, Long Island), NONE of those are anywhere near D.C. The beaches in Maryland and Delaware are nothing to boast about. Very plain and 2.5 hours away. I will grant you the Pacific is colder in the SUMMER....try going to the beach in MD or Delware in January.
4. Seasons: DC has a mild winter compared to much of the northeastern USA. I could deal with those winters ok when I lived there, though I much prefer the SoCalif winters. It was the SUMMERS in DC that I could NOT stand. Hot, muggy, and MISERABLE. No thanks.
Final point, the geography in and around DC is pretty. But I think the sheer variety of landscapes in SoCalif are what boggle the mind: deserts, mountains, ocean in one place. The highest point in the continental USA is in Calif (Mt Whitney) and the lowest point (below sea level) in the USA is in So.Calif.
Thanks DMV for the great & numerous photos. I've seen video of snow fights in DC; is that sort of a traditional thing every time it snows? That would be fun. Do the cops allow it? What if somebody doesn't want to participate? Someone else also posted photos of the horses on the beach near DC. That's cool. It made me wonder why one never sees horses on the beach in southern California or at least I have never seen any. What happens when the horse poops on the sand? I'd hate to step in it!
Anyway, I applaud you for taking the time to show us what DC looks like season by season. There's definitely something to be said about having 4 distinct seasons. Climate is an individual preference. I've been to Puerto Rico during winter and it is exactly like it is during summer; almost no change at all except hurricanes don't occur during winter and it seems to rain less in winter. Also Miami is basically quite warm all year long. And, of-course, Honolulu is tropical and virtually the same from December to July. That can get boring; no doubt about it.
Los Angeles is quite a bit north of those areas and, as such has a more varied climate. Winter is when it rains and it most definitely can get cold during winter. Yesterday there was frost in places and the high temperature in downtown LA was only 55. I did not go down to the parade route this morning but it is 40 degrees in Pasadena at 8am and if you look on television the people lined up watching the Rose parade are dressed in heavy coats, mittens, hats. January is the coldest month, naturally and averages 68; so comparing it to other parts of the nation, it is more like a spring month than winter.
All the photos of Los Angeles with green hills are taken during winter. The native grasses on the hillsides turn brown by around April and stay that way until November when it begins to rain again. But the trees don't turn brown like some posters intentionally like to assert. In Mediterranean climates the open countryside have native trees that are evergreen [oaks, pine, chaparral]. But the mild climate allows for many subtropical trees so all the cities have many eucalyptus trees native to Australia and of-course palm trees, citrus and many other trees common to warm weather climates in South America, Africa and Asia.
Personally, I like palm trees but they don't offer much shade and are more ornamental than practical. There are, of-course date palms but coconut palms do not grow in California since it is too cold. But the only date production in the United States is in California. Here are photos of date groves in the Coachella Valley [about 2 hours east of Los Angeles]:
In-fact the low desert is almost as warm as southern Florida during winter [70's] so if someone from LA wants to have even warmer temps they drive to Palm Springs for golf, swimming, etc.
Trade Wind, you seem angry and like some other posters focus on putting down Los Angeles\ southern California rather than showing us what Washington DC is like. To my knowledge, nobody is trying to misrepresent the information about Los Angeles other than East Coast posters. LA has its problems that are mainly due to the fact that it is the second largest city in America. Too many people create horrendous traffic problems. That is why LA is so committed to light rail\ subway and is the only U.S. putting so much money into these projects. Smog is a huge problem and why California has the strictest regulations of any place in the world to curb pollution. But I have not read any posts that portray Washington DC as a Arctic climate the way you suggest. Can you cite where that has been posted? I merely provided the climate figures for both DC & LA; those are the facts. I'm just curious where you are coming up with "People out in CA try to convince themselves that the East Coast has winter for 9 month of the year"
I never hear California people even talk about the climate on the East Coast except when it impacts the rest of the nation like the blizzard that shut down New York earlier this week. The air traffic in and out of California airports were also effected by the closing of New York airports. Also the Philadelphia Eagles vs Minnesota Vikings game was canceled due to the snow storm, so, naturally, it was discussed in LA since these events were national news. But to suggest that Californians distort the climate of DC into something it isn't is just plain silly and more a projection from you than actuality. People here don't talk about the East Coast very much
For what it's worth, I much, much prefer LA summers to DC summers, although I do enjoy DC's four seasons; DC in the summer is so horribly humid. LA gets hot, sometimes very uncomfortably hot, but I enjoyed life without the humidity! Overall I enjoyed DC's climate (mild winters but with some snow, beautiful springs, pleasant falls) but the summer was rather unbearable. The city makes up for it in other ways (I think it is the most beautiful American city around during the spring), but summers in DC, at least from a weather perspective, are not my idea of fun.
With the issue of weather, it is best to just go with different strokes for different folks. People have their own opinion on what feels best.
Yep! I didn't vote but I'd probably say "too close to call" myself. But there seems to be a theme that no one in L.A. has ever experienced snow, and considering all the transplants and cross-country mobility, that's kind of silly.
I moved to snow climates and it was different, and nice too. But snow-envy is kind of a hard sell to me, and any idea that someone from L.A. who moves elsewhere will experience some sort of climate revelation, mourning previously unrealized deprivations, is pure projection. So this issue is personally off-the-books.
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LA has its problems that are mainly due to the fact that it is the second largest city in America. Too many people create horrendous traffic problems. That is why LA is so committed to light rail\ subway and is the only U.S. putting so much money into these projects. Smog is a huge problem and why California has the strictest regulations of any place in the world to curb pollution. But I have not read any posts that portray Washington DC as a Arctic climate the way you suggest. Can you cite where that has been posted? I merely provided the climate figures for both DC & LA; those are the facts. I'm just curious where you are coming up with "People out in CA try to convince themselves that the East Coast has winter for 9 month of the year"
