Someone already got on my case for dissing Los Angeles in another thread. But since you ask…
The weather: Some people think it’s paradise. But 190 days without rain is too much. Sure, people come here and enjoy the sun; but they don’t go without rain every single day for over half a year. Yes, rain can be a bitch; but you need it. It keeps the air clean and the grass green. L.A. does not get enough rain.
And it’s too hot. I lived in the Mojave Desert for 11 years when I was a kid, but I always preferred it cool. L.A. is too hot, and my apartment doesn’t have air conditioning. For me, the ideal daytime summer temperature is 75ºF. Overall, I like it in the 60s. Nights should be in the 40s. I used to like winter in the desert because it would get down to about 12ºF and I could have my window open a crack to let the heavy cold air come in.
The traffic: You really have no choice. You must drive. Otherwise you’ll have to get on a crowded, ugly, slow, dirty bus. Wanna take the train? That’s fine if you’re downtown, Hollywood or Long Beach. The West Side (where I live) is not serviced by rail. So you have to drive everywhere. So does everybody else. Traffic sucks much of the time. Parking is often difficult and/or expensive (unless I’m on the motorcycle ).
The people: Not everyone fits the L.A. stereotype, of course. But there sure are a lot of shallow status seekers around! And they’re not very friendly. If you want to talk with someone they think you’re A) Trying to get in their pants; B) Trying to take their money; C) What’s wrong with you? Don’t you know you’re not supposed to talk to people?
Concrete: Everywhere you look. That, and asphalt. I took off from Seattle a while back, and looked down at all of the green. I dozed off, and when I woke up I looked out the window again. Looking down at L.A. all I saw was brown and grey. Ugly. What’s at the side of the road? Dirt? Nope. Concrete. It reminds me of a cartoon I saw that showed a man standing in a small sqaure of grass. A docent is telling him, “It’s called ‘grass’. It’s softer to walk on than concrete.”
L.A. does have its good points. You can go to the beach, desert or mountians in a reasonable amount of time. There are some really good places to eat. Everyone envies you for living in such a hip place.
But. I’d rather live in or near mountains than have to drive to them. I’m quite capable of cooking my own tasty food. I have no need to be envied. I don’t like the crowds, traffic, weather, need to drive everywhere, concrete, filth…
The good news is that I’ll be moving up to The Great Green Pacific Northwest as soon as I get laid off of work. I’ll be outta here, and up where people appreciate nature.