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Anyone familiar with LA/ San Francisco?
H is in a really bad place at his job- His boss (that he loved) quit about 6 months ago, the new boss is not so great, and therefore EVERYone is quitting. He used to have about 40 in his department, and now they're down to less than 20.
Anyway- H has been primarily looking at jobs in the SF area (which we visited about a year ago and really liked). But today he was contacted about a position which is based out of LA.
Neither of us are too crazy about the idea of living in LA, but the job would be kind of awesome (making apps/ websites for a certain red haired late night comedian). Also, none of his leads in SF have really panned out. So that's also making the LA thing look really attractive at this point.
So tell me about LA. The good/ bad/ ugly. I've never even visited, so I have no clue.
Also interested in how LA compares to SF, if anyone should happen to know.
TIA 
Re: Anyone familiar with LA/ San Francisco?
my SIL lives in Manhattan Beach and we visited her this past Christmas. it was AWESOME. i thought it would be all stuffy and city-like, but down by the beach it's way more laid back, i really liked it a lot. she lives within walking distance to the beach and we rode bikes along the strand from Manhattan Beach down to Redondo Beach and back. we walked/biked just about everywhere, and on Christmas we were playing on the beach, it was so nice!
i want to say that i heard a nice one bedroom or studio apartment/condo ran about $1,000/month. i'm not sure how much the place is she's renting, but she's an RN and can afford it on her own.
we visited hollywood one night to watch a show and that was super busy and crazy. it had the stereotypical city-like hustle and bustle, i didn't like it at all.
good luck with the job transfer wherever y'all end up going! it'll be an adventure
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That doesn't sound too bad... I guess I think "LA" and I think big, stinky city
The job is in Burbank, but that seems like it's only about 1/2 an hour from the beach... So not horrible.
And $1000/ a month would be awesome- We've been browsing Craigslist off and on for SF, and it was seeming like it would be at least $2500. The cheapskate in me was having a heart attack
One of my BMs grew up in Diamond Bar, which is about 40 minutes East of Burbank. She moved East for college.
Diamond Bar is more of a suburban neighborhood. She loves it out there and goes to visit her parents and friends whenever she can. The weather's great, but the traffic can be a pain.
Could you and H visit the area before you make a decision?
I love CA- north and south. I don't know LA too much. There is a lot to do there, the weather is great, but the air is not wonderful. If either of you have breathing issues (asthma or something) SF is way better.
My #1 issue with LA is and always will be traffic :-)
I've spent a lot more time in NorCal and I love San Francisco. I'm more at home there. They are more foodie too.
San Francisco is more of an "urban" population where people are into transit and high rises and such. LA is more spread out and people drive a lot more in their cars. They both have the neighborhoods that go block by block in places. I think both of them have amazing museums.
LA is near a lot of areas that are great for hiking- lots of national forests. I love visiting Santa Barbara (a nice little day trip). LA has great theatre industry.
LA is more into fashion/industry and SF is more into techie/geek. Either way you can make a nice life in both places. Good luck
Great info, thanks!
I decided last night that I'd be happy either place- We're constantly moving (4 cities, 7 houses in our 10 years together), and I haven't truly hated any place we've ended up yet
I'm not sure if you are still interested in feedback on LA or not. I can't offer anything about San Fran as I haven't had the pleasure of taking a trip up that far north yet...
LA is what you typically think of LA. My H grew up just outside of LA and his family still lives there, so we head down there at least once a year. We actually got married on the beach in Malibu. If I could live in Malibu, I WOULD. Both of us would. It is completely laid back and just such a "who cares" world. Love it!
If you don't mind the traffic, which I mean spending at least 2 hours commuting for a better community to live in, then I say, go for it! I wouldn't personally live in LA and it sounds like Burbank is more the direction you are headed. Burbank is actually nice and is your typical southern cal community. Housing is ridiculous, but not like the San Fran area I'm told. The attitude is always, I'm the next big star. It's always funny to go home for H and just watch everyone. You live with your cell phone and your car there. Everything is a distance.
Now pluses (IMO): you have everything you could want right there. The beach is always accessible (some are nicer than others), every kind of activity you can imagine, hello sun!, snow/winter activities are not that hard to get to. In my humble opinion, there is no other state like CA that literally has everything and anything you could possibly want.
GL in figuring out what to do.
I don't know much about San Fran other then I loved it when we would visit. It doesn't feel as big and oppressive as LA.
I graduated highschool in Whittier, just east of LA and honestly...you couldn't pay me to live in LA area again. I love San Diego, and I love visiting parts of LA, but I hated living there. Its a 30-60 minute drive to everywhere just because of traffic alone...I hated the concrete jungle feel (I live in suburbs of Vancouver Canada now with tons of outdoors stuff to do), and because I didn't pay the bills I can't say forsure, but I have heard that housing is expensive...so you might want to look into cost of living/housing vs. wage before you make a final decision either way. The southern end of orange (san clemente, dana point etc) is definately nicer, but even farther away if you are needing to go into the city much.
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