For the life of me, I do not understand why people put the Bay Area up on a pedestal in this app and completely neglect Los Angeles. I cannot begin to describe the number of ways Los Angeles is better. Let me start with the ones that people on Blind will care about: Weather: Yes, east side and valley get hot but the west side is 60-80 degrees and sunny almost every single day of the year. Maybe it rained 5, 6 days this whole year. You see mudslides on the news -- simple, don't buy a house on a hill or next to one. Better WLB tech jobs: Biggest rebuttal of this post will be lower TCs in Los Angeles. That's true. But you get a lower cost of living + less cutthroat coworkers. Anyone who's trying to pull a 9-9-6 here isn't living the southern California way. Home prices: Bought a house that's 60-70% of what I would've paid for in the Bay Area with extra land to build extensions, and it's 2 miles from a warm sunny beach. No, I'm not trying to boost my home value, just trying to get people to see the light. Dating: Was single when I moved here and there was no shortage of dates. Wasn't single for long. Don't believe people who say that LA is just for models. There are lots of men and women who are down to earth and looking to be in a serious relationship. Plus, with very few % in tech and many more in services/arts most women just appreciate a financially stable man, even 100k is a good salary for dating here because lots of people are in film who get paid literally peanuts. People: I can't stand going on business to SF and having a tech conversation with every single person I run into there. My friends are singers, industry people, musicians, artists, etc. etc. no I don't want to hear about your latest python project on my weekend. Similarly they are interested in my work because it's different -- so tech guy was an asset here, not a Bay Area liability. But wait, there's more: Better, cheaper, Mexican food: It's no secret that as you get closer to the border the Mexican food gets better and cheaper. Why pay Doordash prices when I can walk down the street and get a plate of tacos from a cart for $6. Better housing labor market: I had a coworker who got her front door in San Francisco replaced for $10,000. Not sure how she was smart enough to become a Director but dumb enough to pay that much for any house work. Here there is no shortage of immigrants who will do the work for a fraction of the cost and still make a decent profit. And there's no trouble finding these people -- just go to any Home Depot and you will instantly have 5 offers. No, the traffic is not worse. I've been stuck in horrific jams in the Bay Area, DC where I used to live, even Salt Lake City. Yes there's traffic. No it's not significantly worse than other cities, you just think that because it's been immortalized in Hollywood cinema. Thanks. TC 200 + startup options.
I 100% agree with all of the above and hate the PNW in general, but if we are going there why not take it a bit further and go to Phoenix if you can find a job there. I would argue it’s even better along most of those dimensions you mention. Oh and as an aside, super curious to see all the haters on this. Good post.
Nah thx I’d rather live in a place where I don’t need to be hooked to an air conditioner to survive
Thanks. Yes I did enjoy Phoenix the one time I visited (and loved Scottsdale) but I just don't like heat.
Made the reverse move, spent 2014-17 in Los Feliz, and could not stand the fact that I had to drive 45 minutes to meet people, attend dinners, etc. Moved to Mountain View and that part of life has been much better. Although I do miss the diversity of people you meet and definitely don't want to hear about people's weekend Python project
LA is a shit hole, not as bad as San Fran is now but the place sucks. Yeah there is a beach but it's overrun by degenerates, public transportation is awful, and traffic is just as bad too. People are all transplants and think they are big time because they live there. No history, or anything, at least SF has the gold rush. Source, I have family there and visit often, also used to live there. Only reason to go is for Disney or Universal otherwise there are a million better places to be.
I respect your opinion, but LA definitely has history. Did you know that the first gold in California was actually discovered in 1842 at the Oak of the Golden Dream near Los Angeles? This was 6 years before the 1848 strike at Sutter's Mill. https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=1095#:~:text=Placerita%20Canyon%20SP,the%20Golden%20Dream%22%20in%201842.
Also check out The King and Queen of Malibu, which is a harrowing tale of settling the Malibu region and has lots of history. https://www.amazon.com/King-Queen-Malibu-Battle-Paradise/dp/039335394X
I agree with what you said, except for the traffic. I've lived in both places, and LA has far and away worse traffic.
SHH don’t let them know!!!!
Fake plastic people. Renting apartments driving used lambos or civics with 10k wheels. Bad traffic pollution hard to travel around, dangerous areas. Also mainly low paying tech jobs.
You must love Drugs traffic Mexicans and those Dems
Cause MFers forgot about Dre.
MFers ACT like they forgot about Dre.