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Ethnic/cultural diversity - which leads to even better food!
Architectural style of houses and other buildings - here on the East Coast it's 99% crappy boxy colonial housing stock.
The only thing LA has over any other major city in America is few rainy days and almost no below-freezing days. If you want to be near hiking and outdoors stuff, that's fine. But as for an actual city, LA is not that great. It's the geography of LA that people like, not actually the city of LA. If LA had NYC's climate, LA wouldn't even be on anyone's radar as a cool place.
And when you have a normal 9-5 M-F job, it's not like you can actually enjoy the nice weather that often. You get the weekends. The rest of the year, you're sitting in traffic to/from work and then in an office for hours per day. I mean...great...you see sun and it's warm and sunny while you sit in your air conditioned car to your air conditioned office and then drive to an air conditioned restaurant in an ugly strip mall in your air conditioned car before going home to your air conditioned house and when you go bar hopping at night you have to bring a light jacket with you because nights don't actually stay warm like they do on the east coast.
There might be tons of stuff to do, but you're CONSTANTLY sitting in traffic to do ANYTHING. Traffic to the museums, traffic to the bars, traffic to the beach, traffic to the mountains, traffic to downtown, traffic to the amusement parks. So yeah there's stuff to do, but that nonstop traffic is just sooooooooooo draining.
And the beach itself sucks. The water is cold. You can barely go out that far until it drops off steeply. The waves are so big it's exhausting just to play in the water and cool off. LA doesn't actually really focus on the beach the same way many east coast resort towns do. Even NYC has Coney Island. You get there on a direct subway line from Manhattan. It feels like a real beach getaway. LA doesn't have the bar/restaurant/club type of scene right on the beach the way other cities do. Some, yes. But vast stretches are just McMansions facing the beach.
Nothing feels different. Go to the beach, it feels like LA. Go to DTLA for an urban night out, it feels like LA. Go hiking, it feels like LA since everyone is there for the Insta. Go to the mountains for skiing/snowboarding, it feels like LA. OTOH, I actually enjoy going to a place that feels like a real getaway. A day at the Jersey Shore feels like a real getaway. A weekend in the Catskills or Poconos feels like a real winter getaway.
It's secluded and there isn't much around LA to see and do in terms of other cities and their cultures. You have San Diego and that's about it. Next closest cities are SF, Phoenix and Las Vegas, but with bad traffic, they can be an 8 hour drive away. And trains only exist to SD. On the east coast, you can drive from one city to another that feels like an entirely different place in a very short amount of time. Trains are sometimes even faster than driving to one of the other cities. Once you're in the city, LA's public transit is not sufficient to ease traffic concerns. In most other large, global cities throughout the world, you wouldn't even THINK of renting a car. You just know you can take public transit all over. In LA, renting a car is almost a necessity when visiting. It's possible without, but not easy.
As for architecture, what are you talking about the East Coast is 99% colonial boxes? I mean...have you heard of places like Boston, Providence, NYC, Philly, Baltimore, DC, Miami, etc.? LA has some good architecture, but the old historic buildings in cities of the Northeast can't be matched in LA. Unless you're talking about like suburban Maryland, Boston suburbs, Westchester County, etc., idk where you're seeing 99% colonial boxes. On the same note, I could say LA is 99% 1950s post-war boxes that are just a collection of squares inside other squares with no character whatsoever. Oh and don't get me started on my hatred for the dingbat apartment style.
I truly think LA is one of the most overrated places on earth. I'm from there. I've lived in LA, San Francisco, Louisville, Jersey City, Philadelphia, Madrid (Spain), and Bologna (Italy).
The city overall has turned into a disaster. COL, gangs, potholes, crime, traffic, taxes on top of taxes, illegal aliens, graffiti, trash, a bad neighborhood around every corner, homeless and overweight beggars asking for spare change everywhere you go.
I bragged about Los Angeles and California decades ago. Now they're an embarrassment. Born and raised here after 58 years I've had enough. Based on my travels there is so much more to offer elsewhere. So much more bang for your buck without all the trash. Strangers that actually say hi to you.
The only thing LA has over any other major city in America is few rainy days and almost no below-freezing days. If you want to be near hiking and outdoors stuff, that's fine. But as for an actual city, LA is not that great. It's the geography of LA that people like, not actually the city of LA. If LA had NYC's climate, LA wouldn't even be on anyone's radar as a cool place.
And when you have a normal 9-5 M-F job, it's not like you can actually enjoy the nice weather that often. You get the weekends. The rest of the year, you're sitting in traffic to/from work and then in an office for hours per day. I mean...great...you see sun and it's warm and sunny while you sit in your air conditioned car to your air conditioned office and then drive to an air conditioned restaurant in an ugly strip mall in your air conditioned car before going home to your air conditioned house and when you go bar hopping at night you have to bring a light jacket with you because nights don't actually stay warm like they do on the east coast.
There might be tons of stuff to do, but you're CONSTANTLY sitting in traffic to do ANYTHING. Traffic to the museums, traffic to the bars, traffic to the beach, traffic to the mountains, traffic to downtown, traffic to the amusement parks. So yeah there's stuff to do, but that nonstop traffic is just sooooooooooo draining.
And the beach itself sucks. The water is cold. You can barely go out that far until it drops off steeply. The waves are so big it's exhausting just to play in the water and cool off. LA doesn't actually really focus on the beach the same way many east coast resort towns do. Even NYC has Coney Island. You get there on a direct subway line from Manhattan. It feels like a real beach getaway. LA doesn't have the bar/restaurant/club type of scene right on the beach the way other cities do. Some, yes. But vast stretches are just McMansions facing the beach.
Nothing feels different. Go to the beach, it feels like LA. Go to DTLA for an urban night out, it feels like LA. Go hiking, it feels like LA since everyone is there for the Insta. Go to the mountains for skiing/snowboarding, it feels like LA. OTOH, I actually enjoy going to a place that feels like a real getaway. A day at the Jersey Shore feels like a real getaway. A weekend in the Catskills or Poconos feels like a real winter getaway.
It's secluded and there isn't much around LA to see and do in terms of other cities and their cultures. You have San Diego and that's about it. Next closest cities are SF, Phoenix and Las Vegas, but with bad traffic, they can be an 8 hour drive away. And trains only exist to SD. On the east coast, you can drive from one city to another that feels like an entirely different place in a very short amount of time. Trains are sometimes even faster than driving to one of the other cities. Once you're in the city, LA's public transit is not sufficient to ease traffic concerns. In most other large, global cities throughout the world, you wouldn't even THINK of renting a car. You just know you can take public transit all over. In LA, renting a car is almost a necessity when visiting. It's possible without, but not easy.
As for architecture, what are you talking about the East Coast is 99% colonial boxes? I mean...have you heard of places like Boston, Providence, NYC, Philly, Baltimore, DC, Miami, etc.? LA has some good architecture, but the old historic buildings in cities of the Northeast can't be matched in LA. Unless you're talking about like suburban Maryland, Boston suburbs, Westchester County, etc., idk where you're seeing 99% colonial boxes. On the same note, I could say LA is 99% 1950s post-war boxes that are just a collection of squares inside other squares with no character whatsoever. Oh and don't get me started on my hatred for the dingbat apartment style.
I truly think LA is one of the most overrated places on earth. I'm from there. I've lived in LA, San Francisco, Louisville, Jersey City, Philadelphia, Madrid (Spain), and Bologna (Italy).
I get around LA all the time on transit and it’s easy. Have you ever tried it before? Tired of hearing how bad transit is in LA.
I get around LA all the time on transit and it’s easy. Have you ever tried it before? Tired of hearing how bad transit is in LA.
Yeah I took transit plenty in LA. But it's impossible to argue that it's even close to the quality of transit in NYC, Philly, DC or Chicago...the only cities I'll ever live in. It made LA more enjoyable for me for sure. But I still didn't love it.
We live in Los Angeles county Unincorporated and I actually hate it. Why? The traffic and drivers. We have too many people in this area not far from Space X and you are taking your own life into your hands when driving here.
People do not know how to drive and I believe many are from different countries. I mean no disrespect but I have to be honest. Drivers will cut in front of you and pull a U-TURN. It's crazy. I have become a very aggressive driver because you have to be today in order to survive out there. The younger people text and I swear if the light turns green they have their nose down at their phone and sometimes we miss the light. It has become ridiculous.
Don't let me forget the high speed pursuits...lately too many of them. These punks who rob INNOCENT people from ALL ethnic backgrounds who just want to survive by having a business are being robbed blind in Los Angeles. They try to get away from police - jump out of cars and terrorize neighborhoods. No, Los Angeles is no longer friendly. It has become a cesspool.
I am hoping to retire (my husband) in 5 yrs. I am pretty sure we are going to get out. One thing that does concern us - we have good doctors in Torrance/Redondo Beach and the thought of leaving them scares both of us. I keep thinking all will change but the traffic is getting worse.
My husband was hit from behind in his new Tundra a few years ago while sitting in traffic on freeway. It was backed up and came to stand still. A car came zooming up from behind - and hit him. The guys car looked like an accordion and my husband Tundra's back bumper fell off.
I'm a native Californian been here for 65 yrs. It has changed drastically. Just too many people - too many cars. Not fun.
We live in Los Angeles county Unincorporated and I actually hate it. Why? The traffic and drivers. We have too many people in this area not far from Space X and you are taking your own life into your hands when driving here.
People do not know how to drive and I believe many are from different countries. I mean no disrespect but I have to be honest. Drivers will cut in front of you and pull a U-TURN. It's crazy. I have become a very aggressive driver because you have to be today in order to survive out there. The younger people text and I swear if the light turns green they have their nose down at their phone and sometimes we miss the light. It has become ridiculous.
Don't let me forget the high speed pursuits...lately too many of them. These punks who rob INNOCENT people from ALL ethnic backgrounds who just want to survive by having a business are being robbed blind in Los Angeles. They try to get away from police - jump out of cars and terrorize neighborhoods. No, Los Angeles is no longer friendly. It has become a cesspool.
I am hoping to retire (my husband) in 5 yrs. I am pretty sure we are going to get out. One thing that does concern us - we have good doctors in Torrance/Redondo Beach and the thought of leaving them scares both of us. I keep thinking all will change but the traffic is getting worse.
My husband was hit from behind in his new Tundra a few years ago while sitting in traffic on freeway. It was backed up and came to stand still. A car came zooming up from behind - and hit him. The guys car looked like an accordion and my husband Tundra's back bumper fell off.
I'm a native Californian been here for 65 yrs. It has changed drastically. Just too many people - too many cars. Not fun.
Traffic sucks and there are crappy drivers in any mid to large sized city. I have lived all over the country and the drivers here are better than other areas (Florida for example).
Traffic sucks and there are crappy drivers in an mid to large sized city. I have lived all over the country and the drivers here are better than other areas (Florida for example).
Yeah I would say LA drivers are actually quite good overall compared to the rest of the country. Still, traffic sucks and I don't miss living in LA at all. But until you drive in the Midwest or South, you can't realize how good LA drivers actually are.
How do you all feel the traffic issue is outside of commuting? Say a person lives and works in the same West LA neighborhood so commuting & getting groceries isn't an issue. Will traffic still be a big problem if they go out regularly to things like shows, restaurants, museums?
How do you all feel the traffic issue is outside of commuting? Say a person lives and works in the same West LA neighborhood so commuting & getting groceries isn't an issue. Will traffic still be a big problem if they go out regularly to things like shows, restaurants, museums?
Yes. People tend to stick to their neighborhoods and will often avoid checking out a new restaurant in another part of the city because traffic. Moving too far within the same city can cause friendships to dissipate sometimes. For a show, people will travel, but you must always account for traffic to get there. In good weather, there's always traffic to the beach. Around holiday shopping time, you know which parts of the city to avoid because of mall traffic (Beverly Center, The Grove, 3rd St Promenade, etc.). Picking up someone from LAX is the ultimate display of love in LA (i.e. If you think you're going to marry someone you're dating, ask them to pick you up at LAX. If they say yes, you're probably good. If they say no, they don't love you the way you think they do. If you have friends in one of the valleys, you'll never see them. You'll almost never get people together to go bar hopping in a new neighborhood if you don't live by there like DTLA, WeHo, etc. Good luck ever finding parking on a weekend at the good grocery stores. Good luck finding parking near a good shopping center/mall during the holidays. Good luck even within a few blocks of the beach on a nice day. If you are unlucky enough to work on a warm holiday weekend and live/commute near the beach, good luck ever getting to work.
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the East Coast is 99% colonial boxes? I mean...have you heard of places like Boston, Providence, NYC, Philly, Baltimore, DC, Miami, etc.? LA has some good architecture, but the old historic buildings in cities of the Northeast can't be matched in LA. Unless you're talking about like suburban Maryland, Boston suburbs, Westchester County, etc., idk where you're seeing 99% colonial boxes. On the same note, I could say LA is 99% 1950s post-war boxes that are just a collection of squares inside other squares with no character whatsoever. Oh and don't get me started on my hatred for the dingbat apartment style. 
