Yes LA is an awesome place to Live (Los Angeles, Santa Monica: rent, houses)

[disgruntled la native]

Originally Posted by Californiaguy2007

Location,Opportunities,Entertainment,Special Events/Shows,Shopping,Diversity,Microclimates,Outdoor Activities,Beaches,Mountains,Deserts...L.A truly is an awesome place

Opportunities? Like I said, only for the few.
Entertainment? True, some amazing entertainment... which is easily accessible if you have money. If you don't , it gets a lot harder.
Shopping? Almost nothing you can't get here that any major city has... perks of globalization I guess
Diversity? So...a few dozen areas that are 99% Hispanic and then 80%+ white westside neighborhoods...but hey, the overall demographic is still "diverse!"
Outdoor activities? I can name 100 places w/better in the US.
Beaches/mountains/deserts... lol good luck getting to any one of those 3 with our traffic!!!

[Californiaguy2007]

L.A has enormous opportunities which is one of the reasons why it's the "2nd Largest City in the Country and a Major Economic Hub"...It took a lot of work for L.A to reach this level which is an amazing accomplishment considering other cities were larger for a longer period of time.

L.A Entertainment spans all ages and types which is why it's also called "The Entertainment Capital for Everyone" not just Adults....Everything requires money to be spent in one way or another from gas,food,etc when going somewhere.

Yes a variety of shopping can be found in other cities as well,but in L.A you add the mild weather or lower humidity and abundant sunshine into the mix and you have a really great time shopping outdoors for those that enjoy it.

Yes L.A in my opinion has a good healthy diversity of people and cultures from all over the world...It's a "Global City".

Outdoor Activities in L.A is different from outdoor activities in other parts of the Country primarily because of the Weather,but also because of the proximity of outdoor activities are from eachother between the Beaches,Mountains,Deserts,Amusement Parks,City Parks,Zoo,Etc.

L.A may not be perfect and it does have it's problems,but it is a special place and some people like L.A and some don't,so I respect everyone's preferences

Originally Posted by disgruntled la native

Opportunities? Like I said, only for the few.
Entertainment? True, some amazing entertainment... which is easily accessible if you have money. If you don't , it gets a lot harder.
Shopping? Almost nothing you can't get here that any major city has... perks of globalization I guess
Diversity? So...a few dozen areas that are 99% Hispanic and then 80%+ white westside neighborhoods...but hey, the overall demographic is still "diverse!"
Outdoor activities? I can name 100 places w/better in the US.
Beaches/mountains/deserts... lol good luck getting to any one of those 3 with our traffic!!!

[disgruntled la native]

Wow. Your rose colored view of LA is accurate for someone wealthy who works flexible/minimal hours - and has consistent access to air conditioning.

[adr3naline]

If you're in the right industry/s and have healthy income, I agree, LA is an awesome city to live/work.

But I don't think that's representative of most people here. I know far more living paycheck-to-paycheck in a dead end job....pulling their hair out on the regular.

[Mr_Geek]

I think CD should implement a new policy where your annual salary posts next to your username. I'd love to see what some people in this forum make.

CaliRestoration ($7 bazillion)
Juventas (-$1,650)

[Californiaguy2007]

I'm not denying that L.A has it's problems,but I try to be optimistic on what L.A offers...Now if L.A was a war zone with the highest crime rate in the country and a negative population growth and a shrinking economy then I would be thinking otherwise.

I know it's tough to make ends meet in L.A for Low to Middle Income people,but L.A as well as most of Southern CA and the Coast will always remain pricey.

Originally Posted by disgruntled la native

Wow. Your rose colored view of LA is accurate for someone wealthy who works flexible/minimal hours - and has consistent access to air conditioning.

[Happy in L.A.]

Originally Posted by moxieman2

1.) Near perfect weather? My friend, that is a matter of opinion. After 8 years in LA, I look forward to 4 seasons again one day. MILLIONS of people feel the same way. Keep your "perfect weather".

2.) High income career opportunities? This is another frequently sold "LA benefit". What you are failing to mention is that we give more of that "high" income to the CA government through income tax, sales tax, auto registrations, property taxes, etc, etc, etc.... Whatever you earn in LA, you can earn half as much in other areas of the country and maintain the same quality of life. That's real.

3.) Agreed. Tons of restaurants and entertainment options. Unfortunately for LA, EVERY MAJOR CITY IN AMERICA has unlimited dining and entertainment options. The Mexican food here is amazing, though I'm not sure its worth the trade off...

4.) Vibrant multicultural city full of diversity. Not necessarily a positive attribute. Diversity is a wonderful thing, IF the diverse communities come together as one and assimilate into this idea we call AMERICA. In Los Angeles, millions immigrate here to live in the neighborhood that coincides with country they came from. (Koreatown, Chinatown, Little Ethiopia, Little Armenia, etc, etc....) This is NOT a positive trait, on the contrary this is why the single defining element of LA culture is that it HAS NO defining culture.

5.) Agreed. It is crowded and expensive. Not sure that giving a half million illegal immigrants a driver's license was a smart thing to do for traffic congestion... OR the AIR that they are supposedly SO CONCERNED about here.

Earthquakes... Yea, sounds like you haven't lived in LA during a REAL earthquake. (Northridge was NOT a significant earthquake by historical standards. Gonna ask you to get back to us on how "not a big deal" they are after a nice 7.6...

I spent 4 years living in a major northeast city and although I enjoyed the experience, I didn't care much for the long cold winters and snow or the incredibly humid summers. The first snowfall of the year is beautiful and magical, but after that, it gets old, damp and soggy.

Back in 1994 I lived near the epicenter of the Northridge Earthquake. I was possibly one of the most frightening experiences of my life. Scientist say the big is coming, and I believe them. I can only hope that preparations we've made over many years, regarding construction codes, will save lives and limit the damage. I still believe we need to do more in this regard, learning from earthquake prone Japan.

2) I won't disagree that it costs a lot of money to live here and we pay to much in local and state taxes. I know many people who left for that reason and are now living in Phoenix, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, etc

3) I love Mexican food !!! But I don't eat it much. I like to stay on the healthier side of things and in that regard LA has an abundance of culinary options. Certainly more than any east coast and midwest cities. As for entertainment, I don't think any city, except for NYC, comes close to LA in that regard.

4) When I lived back east my nieghborhood wasn't very diverse at all. But once I got out and about there was plenty of diversity on the streets. The same is true for LA.

5) Illegal immigrants? I can't disagree with you on that issue.

But I'm staying put. I love LA. I absolutely love going to the beach, I love hiking, I love weekends in Arrowhead, I love getting on a train and spending a day in Santa Barbara or driving east to Palm springs or Vegas. I love going to outdoor concerts at the Hollywood Bowl, The Greek Theater, Fords Theater, etc. I love going with out of town visitors to Universal Studios and City Walk, I love the Getty, The Borad, LACMA. Contemporary Arts, The Page, Tolerance Museum, Norton Simon, etc. I love live theater for which the options in LA are limitless. Sure, it's not Broadway, but small & medium size theater can be just as fun and a whole lot less expensive. And of course I love our weather and most of all, I love DTLA. And it's only going to get better.

[The Illusive Man]

Originally Posted by disgruntled la native

Wow. Your rose colored view of LA is accurate for someone wealthy who works flexible/minimal hours - and has consistent access to air conditioning.

LA is definitely diverse. You can go anywhere and be in that melting pot and its not just based on where you live but in the fun areas.


Where I live, I have a good mix of everything. I live in the Mar Vista area.


Where I work, I have a representatives from various different Asian, European, and middle eastern countries. I've also dated several women from all sorts of background in this very city. You gotta get out more.

[JustMike77]

Originally Posted by disgruntled la native

Wow. Your rose colored view of LA is accurate for someone wealthy who works flexible/minimal hours - and has consistent access to air conditioning.

You rang ?

[LoveMeSomeSFVHouses]

Every time I come to CD I get kind of bummed by how many disgruntled negative posts there are about LA on here. So much negativity seems to fly around on here. Kudos OP for posting something positive for a change.

I personally love LA. We came out more than a decade ago from the midwest (and I grew up in the south and northeast before there) and we're never going back. My parents wanted us to go back east when we got pregnant and we declined. Why? We're not rich by any means, and we have no family tying us here. Our careers could be done from elsewhere. So why wouldn't we jump on that?

Because we like the diversity. Our neighbors now are black, white, Filipino, and Latino and our friend base extends to a plethora of more backgrounds. Because we like the lack of humidity and the lack of mosquitos. Because we (err, actually I) didn't want to drive in the snow when I didn't want to. Because we like being able to have diverse things to do. I liked that I could do an underground fashion show and then go hiking in the mountains and not see a soul. And where else can you go to the beach on a Saturday and snowboarding on Sunday? I always feel like we're always on the brink of something new. Because we love the landscape. Because as a whole, out of these boards, there seems to be an optimism that you can become anyone you want and anything can be possible and all that manifest destiny type western spirit type hoo-rah that really gels with my vibe. This is my place.

Sure the city isn't perfect. No city is. But I love where I live and am proud to be able to call Los Angeles home.