What is the appeal of the west side? (Los Angeles, Santa Monica: condo, employment)

[mrsltd]

Originally Posted by Tex?Il?

Ehh . . . . its actually a bit more complicated than that.

The San Fernando and San Gabriel Valley (and the IE even more so) are hot in the summer specifically because well, they're valleys sandwiched in between mountains/ranges of hills, that prevent the ocean breezes from coming in.

Central LA, while too far inland to be truly cool in the summer, is not COMPLETELY blocked by ocean breezes, and therefore is not the oven the valleys are.

Case in point, Woodland Hills is typically one of the hottest spots in greater LA in the summer, even for the valley. However its closer to the coast/beach than central LA (downtown/Hollywood, etc).

Elevation also plays a role too. The Antelope Valley/high desert is in the 2000s feet above sea level, and therefore is a touch cooler than than the IE. It also normally gets some light dustings in the winter.

I'm a climate region nerd.

So then you'll know when I ask what areas you consider to be Csa, BSk, BWk, etc.

[Tex?Il?]

Originally Posted by mrsltd

So then you'll know when I ask what areas you consider to be Csa, BSk, BWk, etc.

Yes. I teach that stuff.

Csa: Mediterranean
BSk: Cold semiarid
BWk: Cold desert

[bigdumbgod]

Originally Posted by Ed from California

Once upon a time, WLA was the best place to live in SoCal. We used to have a saying, "There is no life east of Sepulveda". Those halcyon days are long gone (since the end of the 60's). Now, the whole Southland is one big cesspool.

So, you've been bitter for half a century? Maybe it's time to adapt.

[the Instigator]

Originally Posted by bigdumbgod

So, you've been bitter for half a century? Maybe it's time to adapt.

Or move on to greener pastures

[Marv101]

During late spring and throughout our longer than average summer, regardless of when the seasons actually begin, Pasadena is routinely 5-10 or more degrees hotter than the downtown LA/USC campus, where the official NWS weather station has been since 1999.

Pasadena, the rest of the SGV and all of the IE out to the Corona/Riverside/San Bernardino areas all cool off a lot a night, but that's not always the case in downtown LA.

And yes, it's a dry heat as opposed to what you'd experience anywhere from Texas eastward during the late spring and all of summer.

The west side is full of the city's power brokers, or movers and shakers if you will.

[mrsltd]

Originally Posted by Ed from California

Once upon a time, WLA was the best place to live in SoCal. We used to have a saying, "There is no life east of Sepulveda". Those halcyon days are long gone (since the end of the 60's). Now, the whole Southland is one big cesspool.

Sounds like exclusivism and snobbery to me. It's one thing to like one area over others; quite another to declare that anybody past a certain street is not human. Ditto for an entire metro area, WHICH MANY OF US HAPPEN TO INHABIT.

So the question is, are you still in this "cesspool"? If so, are you the paper, the poop, the wee-wee or some other item?

[taydigga]

Originally Posted by Tex?Il?

Ehh . . . . its actually a bit more complicated than that.

The San Fernando and San Gabriel Valley (and the IE even more so) are hot in the summer specifically because well, they're valleys sandwiched in between mountains/ranges of hills, that prevent the ocean breezes from coming in.

Central LA, while too far inland to be truly cool in the summer, is not COMPLETELY blocked by ocean breezes, and therefore is not the oven the valleys are.

Case in point, Woodland Hills is typically one of the hottest spots in greater LA in the summer, even for the valley. However its closer to the coast/beach than central LA (downtown/Hollywood, etc).

Elevation also plays a role too. The Antelope Valley/high desert is in the 2000s feet above sea level, and therefore is a touch cooler than than the IE. It also normally gets some light dustings in the winter.

I'm a climate region nerd.

haha, yes you are, he did say pretty much though. But you are spot on with this stuff.

[BarcelonaFan]

I am guessing that West LA is Lower Manhattan and the rest of LA is a mash up of the rest of the Borroughs?

[BRinSM]

Originally Posted by BarcelonaFan

I am guessing that West LA is Lower Manhattan and the rest of LA is a mash up of the rest of the Borroughs?

not really. while the westside is generally expensive and wealthy, the same can be said for neighborhoods all over the city (los feliz, studio city, sherman oaks, hancock park, etc.). compared to these other places, the westside isn't all that different, it's just closer to the ocean. to me there's really not much of a difference between montana and larchmont or abbot kinney and sunset junction besides beach proximity.

[munchitup]

Originally Posted by BarcelonaFan

I am guessing that West LA is Lower Manhattan and the rest of LA is a mash up of the rest of the Borroughs?

NYC and LA comparisons never make sense. I don't see how the Westside is Lower Manhattan. If anything (and this is a weak comparison), the Westside north of Santa Monica is sort of LA's Lower East Side. Not that they look anything alike though as one is high-rises and the other is mostly low-density mansions with the exception of Westwood Village. Century City can be our watered-down version of Midtown.