COMMENT BY
Brian from Santa Monica, CA
COMMENT ABOUT PLACE
Santa Monica, CA
COMMENT
Overrated, hell, and seems to only get worse
I've lived in the LA area all my life (grew up in west la/santa monica and live in orange county now) and I can't wait to move out of here. Unless you're extremely wealthy, it's not the hype that everyone talks about
Pros:
Lots of job opportunities
Restaurants
Lots of things to do
Cons:
Weather - I like cool overcast weather and 4 distinct seasons so I guess i'm biased but still, i can't understand the fascination with the weather here. From May - mid October it's incredibly hot and uncomfortable unless you're near the beach. It's hardly even cools down in fall and even when it does, it can still be sunny and 80 degrees during the winter. Also it's nice to have sunny days but when it's 95 percent of the year and there is an ongoing drought it's not that great.
Traffic - the city and surrounding areas are extremely overcrowded and just keep getting worse. New neighborhoods keep popping up and traffic keeps getting worse despite the large freeways.
Cost of living - even in the less expensive and lower class areas the cost of living is ridiculous and about the same or more then expensive areas in many other cities
Also, the city and surrounding areas have zero respect for historical buildings are culture. Landmarks are often torn down to build more fancy apartments or houses. The whole area is based on greed.