Chicago’s always been brutally segregated by race, more so than many Southern cities. Check out Ray Suarez, “The Old Neighborhood,” where he lists the many incidents of racially motivated arson intended to drive blacks out of non black neighborhoods.
But more importantly, LA’s developing more and more rail options. My coworkers and I are putting in a light rail line from the southern end of downtown to the near west side. First phase goes live later this year. We’re also extending the Orange Line (buses that work just like trains) to the far corner of the Valley. Ready to go later this year as well. And in a few years, both light rail and subway terminating within a few miles of the beach.
One word: Cicero (from Wiki)
Speaking as a foreigner I found L.A. to be shabby and dirty.
Much preferred Las Vegas, San Francisco and Seattle.
Right now, the mercury’s plunged to 65.7 in my neighborhood just north of Downtown & the sun is out. Last summer was worse than a normal Houston summer, though; & the drought has killed a lot of our lovely trees.
I wish I’d had a chance to visit LA more while my sister lived there; it’s an interesting place with varied culture. (And not* that* far from nature for those who like that sort of thing.) Perhaps not easy for strangers–but fine if you know where to go & how to get there. (Kind of like Houston in that respect, except that we don’t have hills & we get hurricanes instead of earthquakes. We even have mass transit that isn’t as good as older cities have–but better than many realize.)
Sorry, I can’t come up with a bunch of good reasons you should avoid Los Angeles. Maybe some Austinites will show up & remind you that Northern California is the only place to live…
The claim wasn’t that chicago was racist 50-60 years ago, which is all that can be supported by the two offerings so far.
Who cares about San Bernardino and Orange? I’ve no intentions of living in those places or whatever the hell Oxnard is. I’m talking about Los Angeles.
Chicago is still hyper-segregated, ass. Stop messing around.
Nobody wants to live in San Bernardino. The place is a pit. If it were big enough, I’d suggest it for Skald’s thread on destroying cities.
But that’s where Santa’s Village is!
No, Santa’s Village is in Running Springs. Or is it Crestline? In any case, up the mountains from SB.
Oh. Well then feel free to nuke SB.
Hyper-segregation doesn’t mean that the white people are racist.
Mine is 97. (Franklin / Vermont).
My experience: LA can be a wonderful place to live…provided:
-you make a lot of money
-you can live close to where you work
If you have to commute, the traffic is terrible.
I lived for two years in Pasadena (I loved it). The weather is great, and (outside of housing) the cost of living is pretty reasonable.
The real problem: if you want to go to the beach on SAT/SUN-2 million people will be going with you.
I loved living in Chicago, because I love to walk around and see everything at ground-level. I could wander over to see what was at the Music Box, or tour Graceland Cemetery, or that weird little street where the houses were identical to the ones across the street, only in reverse order. And if I got tired of walking I could jump on the El.
My brother lives in LA, and could list it’s similar small charms. But he and his friends have a saying that I’ve never heard the Chicago equivalent: Can’t get away from LA No matter what attempt you make to relocate; because of the sheer size and stranglehold on American mass culture, at 500-miles you feel like you’re still in a remote part of the metro area. Or if you make a major move across country, LA’s gravitational pull sucks you back eventually. It may be where the OP is truly at home. But it’s nice to at least have some say in the matter.
There’s New York, LA, and DC.
Then there’s everywhere else.
Chicago can’t hang. 
Can you get to downtown (i.e., work) without the use of a car or bus?
Yup. Red Line to downtown from where he is takes about 20 minutes. My last apartment was less than a 10 minutes to downtown by train.
Listen, LA now extends Easterly beyond the LA County line into San Bernardino County. With the expansion of Fontana in recent years (and the attempt to gentrify Fontana from a blue collar to an upper middle class burg), you really CAN say that LA extends all the way to San Bernardino.
I left San Bernardino County for NE AZ.
~VOW
Crazy talk.
To Mean Old Lady:
Crazy talk. Yup. Just get on I-10 where it begins in Santa Monica and drive East.
Then get back to me.
~VOW