Gotta lobe the Cali weather!!!!!!! - 10/12/2009

I truly believe that not just Los Angeles, but overall California has the best weather.

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One of problems with L.A. - 9/24/2009

Too high cost of living.

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great place to live - 9/9/2009

because of the weather, cultural and nature, people and the ocean

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So Much to See and Nowhere to Park - 8/26/2009

I have been living in LA (Van Nuys at present, but I've lived in North Hollywood, Sherman Oaks, and Sylmar) for the past eleven years. I absolutely love the great variety of things to do (restuarants, music, festivals, museums, dance and fitness studios, coffeeshops, shopping, etc.) but I absolutely hate that you must make your way through quagmires of traffic and then have so much difficulty parking. I hate it even more that years ago people actually planned LA so that it would keep public transportation out and the burgeoning automotive industry thriving. This is the result, and I can't wait to leave. I'd LOVE to have a place here for business and pleasure and another somewhere else--hopefully in the East--to see family and for peace of mind.

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Los Angeles takes it all. - 8/14/2009

No matter what you earn in this city, it will eat it all up.

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Over priced, Over populated! - 8/9/2009

I have been here 10 yrs too long-moved here with a job (then the bubbles burst and more layoffs- dot coms, banks, housing...) The beach areas are neat but it takes forever to get out of in traffic. This city (+ attached areas) are dirty, over-crowded, over-priced housing and apts! Gang problems, worst public schools. If you drive to work - good luck! I see why many people will not drive over 10 miles to meet up (traffic is horrendous). Very diverse with immigrants from all over(dont expect traditional USA culture). A sanctuary city for illegals. Very liberal (as is SF when I lived there). LOTS of transients and "users" trying to get into showbiz-be careful. Dont waste your money, health (dirty air) or time - unless you have a great job waiting for you.

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No quality of life, over crowded, and over priced - 8/9/2009

I have been here 10 years too long. Came here with a job, and with the dot com, banking, and now housing bubbles, it wears you down even more. Any home or apartment is extremely over-priced. All over is dirty, gang/crime problems, public schools are lowest. More people from other countries than from America - that barely speak English. LOTS of transients trying to make it in showbiz. It is like being in a Mad Max movie-everyone is out for themselves! Unless you have alot of money or have a job "waiting" for you it isnt worth your life. It probably was great 45 years ago.

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Hell on Earth - 8/4/2009

Turning into little Mexico full of deadbeats and leeches.

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Buyer Beware - 7/10/2009

I have twin boys in Middle school. I'm 44 years old and have lived here consistently since the age of 7. So you all need to trust me. I know what I'm talking about. Avoid Los Angeles like Sarah Palin avoids books.The LAUSD has been ranked in the bottom 10 of all districts in the entire nation. It is corrupt, over crowded, inefficient, out dated, and run by a bunch of air heads. Now that is not to say that the teachers are lousy. In fact, ALL(with the exception of one) have been caring and all around top notch with my kids. Yet they are being pink slipped due to our state's budget crisis and the stress placed upon them, is hurting our students. The young enthusiastic teachers are being forced out, and older ready to retire just give my bennies "teachers" are being kept due to the Teacher Union Bylaws (which by the way, also are corrupt). There are some options like Magnet and Charter Schools. But getting around the games you need to play and finding placement in one is like winning the lottery. There are thousands of applications from parents who can't afford the overpriced LA private schools. There are a very limited number of spots. Have a Special Needs child? Better have a thick skin and a lawyer on retainer. If you can afford a private school. Great. But remember, this town is very shallow. The peer pressure to look like a model starts very young here. I'm not a moralist, in fact I'm quite open minded. But some of these kids in private schools will make you think that they understand the facts of life more than any 30 year old. Personally, I'm hoping to leave. If you don't have kids, and have a thick skin, then yes, LA can be fine. But it's hard town...and very pricey.

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LA with kids? 6-12th graders? Don't do it! - 7/9/2009

I have twin boys in Middle school. I'm 44 years old and have lived here consistently since the age of 7. So you all need to trust me. I know what I'm talking about. Avoid Los Angeles like Sarah Palin avoids books.The LAUSD has been ranked in the bottom 10 of all districts in the entire nation. It is corrupt, over crowded, inefficient, out dated, and run by a bunch of air heads. Now that is not to say that the teachers are lousy. In fact, ALL(with the exception of one) have been caring and all around top notch with my kids. Yet they are being pink slipped due to our state's budget crisis and the stress placed upon them, is hurting our students. The young enthusiastic teachers are being forced out, and older ready to retire just give my bennies "teachers" are being kept due to the Teacher Union Bylaws (which by the way, also are corrupt). There are some options like Magnet and Charter Schools. But getting around the games you need to play and finding placement in one is like winning the lottery. There are thousands of applications from parents who can't afford the overpriced LA private schools. There are a very limited number of spots. Have a Special Needs child? Better have a thick skin and a lawyer on retainer. If you can afford a private school. Great. But remember, this town is very shallow. The peer pressure to look like a model starts very young here. I'm not a moralist, in fact I'm quite open minded. But some of these kids in private schools will make you think that they understand the facts of life more than any 30 year old. Personally, I'm hoping to leave. If you don't have kids, and have a thick skin, then yes, LA can be fine. But it's hard town...and very pricey.

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If you have kids...don't move here!!! - 7/9/2009

Even if you could afford the overpriced private schools in LA, I would avoid this town like Sarah Palin avoids books. LAUSD is amongst the bottom ranking of all school districts in the nation. They are over crowded, understaffed, inefficient with EVERYTHING. Now there are some options like the Magnet and Charter schools. Yet, try getting into one. Due to the thousands of applications for maybe a few spots at each school, it's like winning the lottery if your kid does receive placement. Special Needs kids better have parents with thick skins and lawyers on retainer. Personally, I'm thinking of leaving this overpriced filthy city. Not easy to do. I have been living here consistently since the age of 7 (I'm 44). Used to be a great town for children. Avoid at all costs.

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L.A. : Bi-polar City - 6/30/2009

Nice climate, but cancerous air...Lots of diversity, but most cultures loathing each other...Excellent universities, but horrible K-12 schools (particularly in Los Angeles)...Beautiful terrain, but with a major earthquake looming.

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Just too expensive - 6/24/2009

I was born and raised in the City of Angels, and now I'm looking to get out. I'm 32 years old, and would like to be able to purchase a home some day, raise a family, and not worry about money every second of every day. Los Angeles is truly a concrete jungle. Now, if you like smog, traffic, overwhelming crowds...by all means. Don't get me wrong. Los Angeles has quite a bit to offer. Where else can you go snowboarding and surfing...all in the same day! Where else can you go to dinner in Hollywood, and the person serving you is a star in a movie next year? Where else are you going to meet more people who are NOT from Los Angeles originally, than who are? But, overall, for me, it just isn't worth it. Unless your making a 6 figure income, with a dual income household, good luck purchasing a home outside of the San Fernando Valley, with it's grid streets, and cookie cutter homes. I say goodbye LA...hello to wherever I move next.

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Great climate in LA is a plus - traffic is a minus - 6/23/2009

We enjoy comfortable temperatures throughout the year in LA - especially near the coastal areas. Traffic congestion makes it hard to move about town.....looking for affordable open spaces with good weather.

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Playa del Rey - 6/15/2009

I live in the Playa del Rey section of Los Angeles. It's between Marina del Rey and LAX. It's beach living at its best. Clean air, sunshine and, of course, the beach. Access to all the exciting parts of LA is easy. I love it here, but it's expensive. Paradise isn't cheap.

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L.A. state of mind - 6/3/2009

Well, I've lived in Los Angeles for a couple of years now. It's a great city! I love the diversity of people, cultures, religions and lifestyles. Having moved from the Midwest, however, I am put off by the cost of living. Everything is more expensive. What is interesting is that people here do not, on average, make that much more. The sunshine tax can be a little steep :)

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Northridge - 5/25/2009

The Northridge mall has too many children there. I walked in there were just wall to wall kids. Little tiny children. They were about Thirteen or Fourteen at best. I watched as load after load of children were being dropped off by their parent. The recession has made the Northridge Fashion center a place to drop off your children to be babysat for about Seven hours and then picked up. I saw throngs of children buying one drink or a hot dog and then just running around the place yelling and screaming. There were just soo many that there was no way they could remotely be controlled by the staff. I saw child after child being told to quiet down and more replaced them. Some were kicked out by staff for being noisy and it was almost as if they multiplied and came back in different waves and forms.The staff semed like they were doing a good job bu how can you combat Three hundred Teenagers with no parents around at all?I could not walk without bumping into some little kid.I heard the 'N' word more then I heard 'hello' and wondered if this is more a greeting then a statement? No one, for about Three hours, bought a movie ticket and did more then buy a small item and then just walked around. Finally, the police came out and arrested some kids for something and then everybody went away. I do not get it. Were did these kids go? Why did they leave when the police came? It was about Six in the evening? Some security guys got the rest of these kids to go home, but at one point, there were about Two Hundred kids.I will never go to the Northridge Fashion center if its going to be a big babysitting area and do not plan to buy a home in the area because of this fact.If the parents of Northridge care so little about their children that they just drop them off at some mall to let them mill around for hours doing nothing but bothering the regular patrons, then I do not want to be part of it. Children go on to College and move away. It is a statistical fact that buyer loyalty in adalescant markets has no staying power and the place you went to when you were Twelve is not the place you will go to when you are Twenty. It takes about Ten years for the market to return as you may let your Teenagers go there. That is about Twenty Five years before anyone in your family returns to the mall and that's only to buy a soda!Adults over Thirty Five will go there year after year and take their children also.If you bought a home in Northridge, you are not going to run off and go to college, get a job in another big city or get married to someone out of state. Chances are, you are already married and want to stay.You also want the convenience of shopping at a mall close to your home.Now, people in Northridge have to go to the Topanga mall not to deal with hordes of little children. I would like to see anyone take their family to the Northridge Mall on Friday night. It is just not a good family place on Fri. or Sat. night.Everyone is missing out on a much more stable market that has a longer and more durable economy.I would not be shocked if the place was not having economic problems as we speak.Using the mall to take care of your children in the evening wile you go play is really just sort of weird. How is a mall a better babysitting tool then yourself? You had you children, not the mall. Get to know them and have their friends over to your house and stop bugging the people the really want to spend money and doing it year after year.

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Southern California Climate - 5/11/2009

The weather in the Los Angeles area is really nice, if you like only two seasons instead of four. From the mid-spring (May) to early mid-autumn (November)the weather is warm and on some days even hot, but usually not humid. From November to April, the weather is cool with even some cold days (however just rain, no snow) and mild. I grew up here and never saw snow until I was 9. If you love the colors of autumn or the fresh green of spring everywhere, then you will be missing that in Los Angeles. There is very little natural green (i.e. trees, forest growth, grass, etc.) in the immediate Los Angeles city area - anything green growing here was imported and planted by mankind (LA after all was originally a desert).

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The best year around weather in the country, but a - 4/16/2009

Los Angeles has what I consider the nicest year around weather in the country. Granted I came from the Pacific North West where the weather is often cold and overcast, so my opinion is a little colored. If you like the sun and almost year around warm weather without the threat of hurricanes or the dry super heat of the desert, LA is the place to live. In the winter it rarely ever drops below 60. It seems like February, March, and April are the coldest months when it on very rare occasions hits 50. In the summer the heat is moderated by coastal winds, so on a 100 day in the San Fernando Valley, it feels like 80 in the Wilshire District. Los Angeles' near perfect weather provides the setting for the glamorous lifestyle LA is known for. Whether it's shopping on trendy Melrose, clubbing in Hollywood, dinner at a posh new restaurant, or simply spending the day at Venice Beach, one can always find something to do in LA. But of course all of the aforementioned comes at a price, quite literally. With on of the highest costs of living in the nation, living the LA life is extremely expensive. Middle class Angelenos can increasingly be found living in some pretty unsavory immigrant neighborhoods, or in houses and apartments that haven't been updated in over 40 years. This forces many LA residence to spend upwards of 2/3 of their salary on housing in order to live in a semi-safe neighborhood. At the end of the month little is left to be spent on the town. The growing Latin American based gang activity in the city has made parts of LA uninhabitable by the average middle class. Most of South and East LA have all but been abandoned by the middle class as they move closer to the city center gentrifying East Hollywood and the southern part of Wilshire Center and Koreatown.

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Great - 4/4/2009

Los Angeles is beautiful,beautiful weather,lots of sun,perfect weather, happy people!! Just like any large city there are certain areas to stay away from. The beach is here,the city the hills,so much to do and see.

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