<p>I thought I would throw this out there. Why is it people love LA and Southern California so much? It seems a good deal of the people I meet cant say enough about how much they love the city. For me, it is probably the ugliest city in North America -Ive lived there so I feel I am in a place to have an opinion- and very much overpriced. I mean a successful lawyer could spend a good deal of his income and get a rather hideous 1960 tract home in Santa Monica and deal with smog and overwhelming congestion on a daily basis or, he could live in a beautiful and historically significant city like, I dunno, Savannah and have a large and luxurious home and never worry about being late for work. Anyways, what I am saying is LA has far more cons in my opinion than redeeming qualities and I am hoping there are a few people out there that agree that LA is perhaps the most overrated city in the world.</p>
<p>Most overrated in the world? You can’t know that for sure…</p>
<p>That said, it seems overrated to me. I’ve never actually been there, but the pollution combined with the lack of public transportation (or even bikes) just makes it undesirable for me. </p>
<p>From personal experience, I think it’s the “myth” that LA is awesome among people who haven’t actually researched it. At one point I was dead set on going to USC, ended up not going, and now I’m glad I didn’t. Upon further research, it just doesn’t sound like my type of city (nothing against the school.)</p>
<p>I’m not so sure it’s really overrated… Most people I know don’t have a very high opinion of it.</p>
<p>I still want to live in Whittier or Pasadena at some point</p>
<p>San Fran is the Cali city that is over rated. LA is downright humble compared to the Bay Area and it’s NYC wannabe attitude.</p>
<p>I dunno, I mean, USC is in a terrible part of town, the entire city is pretty ugly, however, USC’s surroundings certainly top the ugly scale. If you visit California, I would suggest San Francisco; it’s far prettier and offers far more historical significance.</p>
<p>I didn’t realize people thought particularly highly of LA. I don’t mean that in a rude way, really. I’ve never been there (well, I flew into LAX once), but I all hear about is the smog, the traffic, the lack of public transportation, the gangs, and the unfriendly layout of the city.</p>
<p>Nothing on the West Coast compares to the East Coast. haha</p>
<p>I want to hear from someone who loves LA…What are your reasons?</p>
<p>I just spent 10 day in Vegas…wanted to get out of there after 3 days…had “fun” but tons of traffic, rude people and little culture.</p>
<p>Why do I love LA, well I am lucky I live in a beach suburb with little traffic (except on weekends when the tourists hit). I can get to the slopes in 2 1/2 hours, and close to world class music, plays, museums, sports (ok, not football but we go to see the SD Chargers), great restaurants, nightlife, good schools, and the perfect weather most of the year (and no humidity).</p>
<p>I am lucky in that I do not deal with the LA traffic on a daily basis and can see how may may complain about it. Also, you can find quality “people” in any city, people make generalizations about people in LA being shallow, no…it is who you choose to socialize with. Those who are shallow, are not usually CA natives…they are want-to-be’s trying to “make it” in LA.</p>
<p>I grew up here, have traveled extensively through out the US (and the world) and I am glad to call LA home. </p>
<p>So to all you LA haters…stay away…you make the traffic…</p>
<p>Vegas destroys allot of its history, however, I don’t live here solely by choice, my family is here. Furthermore, I live in a historic community, Boulder City, outside of Las Vegas. Even still, Las Vegas is rated as one of the top culinary destinations in the world and offers the best shows and nightlife, outside of NYC. The people are very friendly in my experience, however, it is true that all cities have their good and their bad, LV is no exception. I never go into the North part of town, which is ghetto on steroids. LV is really too new to judge if it is a pretty city or not, most of the neighborhoods are only a decade or so old, so time will tell if they still look that nice in the future. There are sections of LA that can be considered oasis’s in sea of smog. Beverly Hills isn’t too bad, nor is Pasadena. I would like to see downtown LA revitilized. To me it has the most potiential, there are loads of historic buildings that would make excellent loft space and a great destination if all goes well. All in all, I prefer the sights and sounds of the East. Cities like Savannah, GA and Charleston, SC are incomparable in their beauty and charm.</p>
<p>Anyways, we all have different opinions and beauty is in the eye of the beholder, thats what makes the world so interesting! ( :</p>
<p>I think cities on the East Coast are far more overrated.</p>
<p>LA is the most overrated city in the world, next to New York City. I’ve been to LA many times and live in NYC for college. Both cities are great if someone else is footing the bill or if you’re a tourist. Not so much if you’re a resident. But you’ll have to be a very savvy tourist in nyc if you don’t want to go bankrupt.</p>
<p>Oh, and cost of living and taxes in both places are absurd. Tops out at 9.3% for incomes under 1 mil in LA and ~11% in NYC for incomes under a million. There is a lot of political talk about raising state taxes in NY too. They both suck to live. Actually California in general is a horrible place to live. Bankrupt state finances, absurd taxes, absurd cost of living, horrible quality of living, car addiction and arrogant pricks that think people who live on the east coast and the midwest have to hibernate for the winter and the “weather” is oh-so-great. Everyone I know who have lived on both coasts prefer the east coast. No thanks, I’ll take my 50% lower cost of living, 70% lower taxes (3% flat in Chicago), and super cheap housing prices any day over “weather”.</p>
<p>Secondary cities like Boston (can avoid Taxachusetts by living in NH), Chicago, Denver and Philly are looking better and better. Even Wilmington looks better these days (probably the best hidden treasure on the east coast-1 hour to Philly, 2 hours to DC, low cost of living, and probably a good amount of jobs with all those F500s incorporated there).</p>
<p>I’m a native, so I’m biased about L.A., and I totally get why newbies to the city would hate it-- this is not an easy city to move to, and it typically takes years to really “get” the city and love it. I met my husband while we were undergrads at USC, and he was a small-suburb boy from PA, plopped on SC’s South L.A. campus with no car and a sea of rich kids with cars all around him, so it’s no surprise that he hated L.A.-- but after a few years he announced that he’d never live anywhere else.</p>
<p>It’s sunny and 70 degrees on this first day of spring. We live in a gorgeous satellite city, Pasadena, where the trees are abundant, the houses lovely and the people smart. We are able to go to a great performance on a Friday night, go to the beach on Saturday, eat amazing Korean, Mexican, Indian or Chinese food on a Saturday night, and go skiing or hking or to a world-class museum on Sunday. Yes, it’s expensive, but it’s expensive for a reason.</p>
<p>As for college life, believe me, I fully support my younger D wanting to go back east for college, but I see the advantages my older D is getting while a student at LMU. She wants to live here, so she’s already got lots of great professional contacts. She is also taking advantage of the many schools and is now going to events at (and meeting kids from) UCLA, USC, Cal Poly Pomona, etc. </p>
<p>If you can plan your life well-- no bad commute, find a good and at least marginally affordable neighborhood, take advantage of the amazing resources here-- it’s a great place to live. But a challenging place to get to know, yes.</p>
<p>Nothing makes up for the absurd taxes and COL IMO. LA’s overrated equivalent on the east coast is New York.</p>
<p>I’m from the East Coast, and I don’t think most people even have a high opinion of LA. That being said, I’ve never been there, so I can’t say much else. I have been to NYC quite a couple times. It’s definitely overrated.</p>
<p>I feel that the people who overrate LA/CA tend to be from other states. I left LA a year ago and I can tell you many people are not that hot about living there and their financial situation (living paycheck to paycheck at a small apartment). Some are stuck there because they are doing something related to the entertainment industry. If you ask them why they like LA, many wouldn’t say much beyond “the weather”, which technically has more to do with mother nature than the city itself.</p>
<p>When you come to LA and see the “Welcome to LA, now go HOME” sign, please obey (to all you LA haters…and we really don’t care what you think)</p>
<p>Sockhermom-fine, we’ll take our tourism dollars elsewhere. Like Hawaii. Or Australia.</p>
<p>futurenyustudent: </p>
<p>There are loads of hidden gems in this country were the quality of life is through the roof, not stuck in a thick layer of black smog. I had a friend that spent $500 a month to stay on a mans couch in LA. He was an “actor” and I’ll let you know that the word has a totally different meaning in LA. Apparently, if you are an extra in any television scene, then you are indeed an actor. Basically, he worked at Starbucks full-time and went to auditions. What a life, people go through hell in this country to become a star. That previous case, unfortunately, describes most LA newcomers; then they never leave because they financially are tied at their deadend job. Just kind of sad.</p>