LA freeways are way worse than I5 in San Diego, no comparison. I5 corridor around Carmel Valley is usually only clogged during rush hour. I5 or 405 in LA gets clogged up any time of the day including weekends.

Hollywood is definitely one of the better area’s in the L.A. Metro (but not a place I would recommend for kids).

I would Just be mindful in South and east L.A. or in Van Nuys near the 405.

Anyway luck with that.

You know they erected a 15 foot solid cement wall and put guards at the Van Nuys Costco right

Having lived in both places, LA traffic is universally more oppressive than San Diego’s.
It permeates well beyond the famed 405. Surface streets on the Westside for example are just as clogged.
It can take 20-40 minutes to travel 3-5 miles in some areas on surface streets.

That said, LA is not one monolithic block of concrete as it used to appear to me as a San Diegan when my experiences were driving through to Santa Barbara or spending a weekend here or there doing LA stuff. It is really an amalgamation of unique neighborhoods … some of which have a lot of character and even a small-town feel and other areas that are shady, glitzy, ethnic, etc.
Many parts of LA are indeed hellholes. But for every 5 or 6 hellhole neighborhoods there is a gem. And like any precious gem, they are expensive.

[quote=The-Shoveler]Most of the High Tech jobs in the L.A. area have migrated out of the metro area’s to the outer suburbs over the last 30 years (with the exception of Santa Monica and a little on the west side).

You are far more likely to work in Arcadia or West-Lake, Agoura, Valencia, Simi Valley, Moorpark, Newbury-park etc.. than the L.A. Metros if you work in High tech, it is very rarely that you would go to the Metro areas for most people.[/quote]

This is true, and was also true many years ago, IMO. Most of the people I know in LA (including myself, before moving to SD) work and live within a relatively small radius. Things are situated in LA in such a way that you don’t regularly have to travel more than 5 miles or so. When I moved to SD, it was surprising to see how willing people were to drive 10-20 miles just to go to a Costco or Home Depot. We didn’t do that in LA.

Also true about Angelinos not using the freeways much or venturing “over the hill” if they can avoid it.

Personally, I think that LA has a colorful, vibrant energy. Even the seedy parts give it character.

Though we live in an exceptionally nice area in SD, it’s very bland and everything is dead after 8:00 p.m. Great for raising kids in a clean, safe environment, I suppose, but miserable for singles/no kids.

[quote=The-Shoveler][quote=deadzone]LA freeways are way worse than I5 in San Diego, no comparison. I5 corridor around Carmel Valley is usually only clogged during rush hour. I5 or 405 in LA gets clogged up any time of the day including weekends.[/quote]

Most angelenos only go through the 405 (near the L.A. Airport or I-5 Near Down town) maybe Once or twice a year (some every decade or so).

You are far more likely to drive from Valencia to Simi-Valley or West-Lake) (maybe Pasadena/Arcadia these days) and vise versa than ever going through Down-Town.

I think maybe a lot more San Diegans go through the I-5 through the Metro’s area’s on a daily basis.[/quote]

So you are saying that virtually all traffic on the 405 is simply “out of towners” passing through? Whatever you want to believe.

According to you, locals never go to the airport either. I guess it is nice to lead a sheltered life. Of course if you never venture out of your neighborhood traffic isn’t an issue. But for most people living in the real world, there is no way to avoid LA traffic hell.

I have lived in L.A. Most of my life.

As CAR said, most people never go over the hill unless absolutely necessary.

(which is about 3 or 4 times a year for most people).

Are there people who must go through or into downtown or LAX, yes absolutely but they are the minority of the population which for L.A. County is about 10 million.

Most of the people who work where I do (next to Malibu), live in Agroua hills or Moorpark and I uesd to see a lot them in Simi Valley working for a different company.

[quote=FormerSanDiegan]Having lived in both places, LA traffic is universally more oppressive than San Diego’s.
It permeates well beyond the famed 405. Surface streets on the Westside for example are just as clogged.
It can take 20-40 minutes to travel 3-5 miles in some areas on surface streets.

That said, LA is not one monolithic block of concrete as it used to appear to me as a San Diegan when my experiences were driving through to Santa Barbara or spending a weekend here or there doing LA stuff. It is really an amalgamation of unique neighborhoods … some of which have a lot of character and even a small-town feel and other areas that are shady, glitzy, ethnic, etc.
Many parts of LA are indeed hellholes. But for every 5 or 6 hellhole neighborhoods there is a gem. And like any precious gem, they are expensive.[/quote]

That’s a very good description.