New York or Los Angeles?

[elfwitch]

If you HAD to live in one or the other, which would you pick and why?

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

1. Both suck

None for me thanks.

[GOPisEvil]

2. LA - I like the climate better.

I prefer warmer weather year-round.

[TahitiNut]

9. LA - weather and diversity

[Sandpiper]

3. LA

Much better weather

[StopTheMorans]

4. Los Angeles

I'm sick of the weather in the Northeast. Even if a city is great, you still have to deal with rotten weather for half the year, and during that half of the year, the city doesn't seem so great:)

[JohnKleeb]

5. NYC

[Kathleen04]

6. New York

I live too close to Los Angeles already and I want out! :)

[Catholic Sensation]

7. NYC, specifically Manhattan

[Goldmund]

8. If I could put NY in a big truck

and move it to SoCal, that would be optimal. But if I have to pick, I pick NYC, which is where I actually live. I still love going to LA a few times a year, especially in the wintertime. Can't beat the feeling of leaving snowy JFK behind and being on Venice Beach a few hours later.

But once the spring comes, I have no desire to go to LA.

[ScreamingMeemie]

10. I would sooner die. I am sorry. I like visiting both, but I neeeeed wide

open spaces. :hi:

[Kathy in Cambridge]

11. LA has great weather, but it's difficult to get around

I choose NYC, except for its sports teams! :D

[Whitacre D_WI]

12. She... had to leave...

LOS ANGELES!

[mitchtv]

13. can't chose lov LA weather/NY food

grew up in NYC. live in Socal- I choose SF, a bit of both.
As for those who Hate them- enjoy the flyover part of the country you live in,I love them both- thank god for NY &CA

[TopesJunkie]

18. Got nothing to do with flyover country... --

LA is a hole. Pure hell.

[XNASA]

23. There's nothing flyover about Chicago, my friend.

On the other hand, we're only too happy to exclude people who refer to us as flyover country.

Nobody got nuthin' on us.

[TopesJunkie]

26. I'm from the Northwest (currently) and I still say "AMEN" to that!

[mitchtv]

44. nothin 'cept the weather

I have nothing against Chi, but how cwn people live in a climate that is colder in winter than NY and hotter in the summer?
San Francisco still outshines them all.

[XNASA]

47. Weather schmether.

We don't allow the weather to control us. We brush it aside, literally.

Not only that, but we can go anywhere in the world, and still feel comfortable.

We party, work, relax and exercise with total disregard for the weather. When it snows, we grill outside. When it storms, we go hiking. When it's hot, we shoot hoops. When it's below zero, we stay inside, start a fire and get cozy.

Everytime I hear someone complain about the weather, I know they must be from somewhere else.

;-)

[Sandpiper]

37. For Real

As for those who Hate them- enjoy the flyover part of the country you live in,I love them both- thank god for NY & CA

Hate on NYC & SoCal only if you don't live in a place where you have to resort to cow tipping for entertainment.

[BurtWorm]

14. I have chosen. New York.

Nothing against LA, though. I'm just an East Coast kind of guy, I guess. And a public trasportation user.

[XNASA]

15. NYC

I'm just not a West Coast type of person. I'd rather live someplace where I never, ever, had to drive.

[TopesJunkie]

16. NYC -- more to do, easier to get around, better walkability...

Plus, LA is a hole.

[tigerbeat]

17. i've lived in both....

...and i have chosen LA. i really dig NYC but it's just too damn expensive.

[Westegg]

19. I lived in both cities...

L.A. for 12 years, now NYC for 4. I prefer NY. You can walk the streets and interact with people. My favorite thing about L.A. was that it was within a few-hours' drive of San Fran, Death Valley, Las Vegas, and Mexico. It was a one-horse town in my (admittedly limited) experience: movies, music, TV. In short: fame and celebrity. The seasons never change in L.A. This drove me mad after a while (I'm from the East Coast originally, and I missed fall, spring and winter.) I'm glad I took a chance and moved to NY. It's tough-sledding to be sure (VERY expensive), but like the song says, "If you can make it, here you'll make it anywhere." That is indeed my goal. Whereas, L.A. is a city wherein Tara Reid can become a millionaire.

[Trajan]

20. As a Jersey Boy ....

Born in Passaic ... raised in Lodi ...

Moved to the LA basin (Long Beach) at age 11 ...

I dont think the dry heat is worth the smog and traffic ...

After recently visiting NYC again for the first time in 33 years last Fall .... (and of course visiting Lodi .... ) ...

I must vote: NYC .... by a long shot ....

LA exists ....

NYC LIVES and BREATHES ....

LA is laid back ...

NYC PULSES with life ....

NYC is da bomb .....

[Insider]

45. the mighty, mighty ANCHOR

of these united states.

[eyesroll]

21. I cannot stand LA

so it's NYC by default.

[disenfranchised]

22. Los Angeles

I just went hiking for my lunch break. It's clear and in the 70s. The hills around my house are in bloom with poppies and lupine. I saw a good play Friday night, spent Saturday at the beach, and worked in my garden on Sunday. I rent a two bedroom house on a couple acres on the border of a state park for the cost of a single apartment in Manhattan.

[robnycny]

50. Thanks for this post.

Raised in Seattle - lived in NYC for 8 years (love it) and now moving to LA in Sept (for partner's work). I'm looking forward to it - and your post was a nice boost. So, thanks.

[JVS]

24. I've never seen LA, but if it is nicer than Chicago I'll go

Because Chicago is nicer than NY so by the transitive property LA would beat NYC. Until I find this out I must remain undecided.

[TopesJunkie]

25. Chicago kicks butt over LA! --

Not that it's hard to do so... --

[JVS]

28. Chicago kicks butt over NYC too.

So I guess I'd want to go to Chicago. Besides unlike NYC and LA, Chicago has a good football team.

[TopesJunkie]

32. Better yet, Chicago has a good baseball team.

I'd still prefer NYC, though.

[av8rdave]

27. picking NYC only because I'm gonna be there more next month...

I want to be treated nicely there :)

av8rdave

[bobthedrummer]

29. New York City would be my choice

between the two, I love it's history and cultural diversity, I like having 4 seasons, and I would not want to live in Ahnold's fascist neighborhood at all.

[Sandpiper]

38. As opposed

To Rudy Giulianni's fascist neighborhood?

[cmf]

30. LA

I'm a West Coast type of gal.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

31. NYC, no contest.

Everything near. Can live without a car. Central Park. Museums. The works.

[tishaLA]

33. Los Angeles

I understand why some people dislike LA--I didn't love it when I first moved here--but it is incredibly seductive. I love the weather, since I get to bitch when it is cooler than 60 and warmer than 80. I love the diverstiy. I love the ability to go swiming, skiiing, and hiking in the desert on the same day. I love its freeways as the ultimate democratizing space. I love its crass, mass cultural feel, its consumerism, and its dim wittedness. I find those more appealing, for some reason, than NY's crassness, its love of "high" culture (i.e., the Met and Broadway, the latter of which is no longer particularly high), and the blatant consumerism of the remade Times Square.

[DEM FAN]

34. LA. Better Weather. Plus I Love The West Coast.

:-)

[disenfranchised]

35. I agree with you.

LA grows on you. You have to love a city where the lead story on the eleven o'clock news is that it's hot.

[ronnykmarshall]

36. Toss up.

I live in LA, but I'd LOVE to live in New York.

But I'd hate to be so far from my family.


So it's a toss up.

on edit: After reading some of the LA bashing, I had to defend my turf!!

[lolly]

39. LA

'Cause I do.

My son's birthday is in January--we had an outdoor bouncehouse, kids playing in the backyard in tee-shirts and shorts. It was an absolutely gorgeous day.

Looks like another perfect day.

(btw, we DO have seasons here--fire, flood, earthquake, and PERFECT).

[MrSlayer]

40. L.A. by far.

Great weather, Sunset Strip, Venice Beach, year-round surfing, Hollywood Blvd, theme parks all over the place. I've been to New York a million times and it's cool and all but L.A. owns it.

[SarahB]

41. Never been to LA

I've been to NYC several times though. I can't answer since I don't really know.

[flamingyouth]

42. LA for the weather and laid-back nature

I think NY is fun to visit, but I am a West Coast gal, born and bred.

[mobuto]

43. New York or what?

You mean there are other cities in the United States? I ask that, in all seriousness, as a non New Yorker.

[SW FL Dem]

46. I've lived in both

Love the NY energy, but prefer the LA weather.

[ForrestGump]

48. LA, baby. Like, omigod, totally! Fer shur!

Not that I've ever been to New Yawk (well, not in the sense of walking around the place). I never wanted to go until the last few years, when I thought I should at least check it out. I've never really been a 'city' person and NYC just seems so much more urban than does the sprawl of LA and its megalopolis. More formal, more bustling, more gritty and dirty, more noisy -- basically, everything that's anathema to this dude.

A lot of the attitudes in LA (especially the shallowness that's particularly pervasive in the omnipresent entertainment industry) suck, the smog sucks, the traffic sucks, the weather doesn't suck, and perhaps it's as simple as LA being the devil that I do know. It's also not that difficult to get out of the city and into some truly excellent territory, desert, coast, or mountain. Of course, good luck if you actually have to cross a significant chunk of LA first. There's a lot that I've never liked about LA, but there's a definite feeling in SoCal that can still make everything somehow seem well (even if it isn't). Other SoCal cities are better packages -- I love San Diego -- and it's the only place I know of where a fair number of people still believe the Beach Boys. It may be illusion but, hey, illusion's done here better than anywhere. Even the excess has its appeal, if you're not so immersed in it that you can't see it for what it is. And, dude, we got Disneyland.

I basically need to be on the Pacific Rim. I love the Mojave Desert, as well as the other desert and mountain areas of the Southwest. I need those wide open spaces, and -- though I've certainly lived in more geographically-constrained places -- nowhere I've been out East offers that, not in the same way. Draw a line just east of the Austin-San Antonio axis and you've pretty much described my optimal US habitat, and the closer to the ocean, the better. Some places just seem to have a certain vibration, and most of my geographical good vibes in the US have been emitted in the southwestern wilds. And the Pacific coastline, all the way up into the beautiful Pacific Northwest, just happens to appeal to me on an elemental level that its eastern equivalent cannot begin to approach. I may not be an 'LA kinda guy,' but I'm quite the 'Western kinda guy' and definitely a Pacific kinda guy.

P.S.: I couldn't handle Chicago...was there years ago and just couldn't wait to leave. No offense intended to Windy City DUers, but that fact does rather make me wonder if I'm just predisposed to not feeling right in a city like NYC. Southern cities feel good to me, though...weird.

Hate New York City
It's cold and it's damp
And all the people dressed like monkeys
Let's leave Chicago to the Eskimos
That town's a little too rugged
For you and me, you bad girl

Roll down the window, put down the top
Crank up the Beach Boys, baby
Don't let the music stop
We're gonna ride it till we just can't ride it no more

From the South Bay to the Valley
From the West Side to the East Side
Everybody's very happy
'Cause the sun is shining all the time
Looks like another perfect day

I love L.A. (We love it)
I love L.A. (We love it)



EDIT: 'cos I forgot how to post stuff...

[Aidoneus]

49. NY, if only because it isn't Arizona Bay

I'd prefer Portland.

[HuckleB]

51. I'm a westerner all the way, and I'd still go with NYC.

Sorry, but LA is anything but laid back. Ya'll built a city based on stress creation, that's why the industry for stress busting is so big there.

The truth is that Seattle, Portland, Vancover and San Francisco have far more in common with NYC than LA. Heck, one could say the same thing of Missoula, Flagstaff, Boise, Eugene, Port Townsend, and many other truly western towns.

[Lindsey]

52. L.A.

I moved here from Tx. almost 15 years ago and consider this my home. I LOVE the vibe of the west coast. The weather can't be beat. I love it that I can go skating at Venice Beach, Skiing at Big Bear, and hiking in the hills all on the same weekend. I've also met some wonderful people here.

[HuckleB]

53. The true west coast is north of LA and south of the border.

LA is a great example of human folly, with most of the beach inaccessible to most people, with a population dependent on air conditioning and water diverted to the area from hundreds and thousands of miles away. I know there are some great people there, and I'm sure it's an improvement over your past living situation, but compared to many other places, it's just not all that. I don't mean to be negative, but I do think it's wise to be choosy, to demand that we create more livable, walkable communities for ourselves.

[sir_captain]

54. Clearly New York

It's the only real modern, truly diverse international city in the world. Love the culture, love the food, love the subway, love the people. I love walking anonymously among 10 million people. I've lived in several different places, but it's the only place that will ever really be home.

[Butterflies]

55. LA - the beaches, the weather, the laid back attitude

I've never lived there, but I'm guessing I'd love it.