Anyone living in LA?  Thoughts?  Pros/cons?  I’m thinking about making a move out there soon.

I currently live in LA. I’m mostly a CA native so it’s a pretty normal place for me. LA is huge and like any place it has good places and bad places. So, it really depends on where you live, where you work, and where you hang out.

I’m the beach type so I tend to hang out in my part of LA (Marina Del Rey, Santa Monica, Playa Del Rey). Of course, I have friends all over LA so it’s not uncommon to have to drive out to Pasadena, Alhambra, Torrance, etc.

So, it’s going to really depend on where you end up spending most of your time and who you roll with.

I grew up in LA (well, a suburb of LA).  Pros weather; variety of activities (ocean, mountains, desert, city, rural…); cultural activities ARE available (despite what others say), exposure to high-tech…

Cons expensive lifestyle (most places you would want to be); traffic (within 100 miles of Downtown)...

Of course those are just an exiles opinions…others will feel differently I’m sure.  Everyplace I have been has something to offer and something to put up with.

I don’t exactly live in LA, but i’ve lived in southern cal my whole life.  More specifically i live in orange county which is just south of la county.  i’m probably bias, but i think this area is fantastic.  as said before the weather is unbeatable and there are few places in the US where you can go surfing at the beach in the morning and drive an hour to the mtns for snowboarding in the afternoon (which i have done a couple of times).  plus there’s always something to do in LA, whether it’s 12 in the afternoon or 6 in the morning, things are always going on.
There are two major draw backs to living here though, one is the cost of living which can be pretty outlandish, especially when you factor in how much you spend on night life alone, not to mention rent, food, and all that cost of living.  secondly, the traffic will drive some ppl insane. in a recent study LA ranked first in the amount of time drivers waste in traffic each year, with 90 hours (this time refers only to time used in traffic, not total road time). 
i don’t know if you’ve ever been out here, but i’d say take a week long trip out here and test the waters, you’ll either love it or hate it.

I lived in LA for 8 years.  Alot of people don’t like it because of the smog (more like haze) and traffic.  I liked it, however.  If you are young and single, LA is a blast.  Always something to do, but everything is 45 minutes away.  Be prepared to drive.

Not too many placed where warm sunny beaches and snow skiing are within two hours of each other.

How about the people? Is LA as “superficial” as non-Californians seem to think?

Paraphrasing: “So, are you people from LA the scum of the earth or what?”

LA gets a bad rep like that, but it’s not an entirely unfounded notion. Being an entertainment industry hub is a big reason for it. They also have the sort of weather where having a Ferrari or MR2 makes sense, unlike say Syracuse NY. 

Where are you from? LA will seem very different to you depending if you’re from the NYC metro area or say Dodge City, KS.

I’m from Ohio, and I’ll be working as an attorney there.  Does this alter anyone’s opinion?