It's true that there are some people who are there in LA because they've gotten the message that entertainment fame (vs a startup) is the only way they'll matter in the world, that there's vanity, and that traffic can suck away your will to live or do anything if you don't figure out a way to avoid it.
It's also true there's lots of people who participate in entertainment because they love it. They love making stories, they love acting, they love singing, dancing, they love making sets, effects, animation, soundtracks, songs, whatever. They know their products can change minds and change the world, too. A lot of these people aren't so different from your typical hacker.
There's also a lot of shenanigans and bullshit from people looking to hustle a buck or make their next fortune. I'm sure you can find the analog.
I'll also note that I live in West LA in a few miles from my job, which takes me 10 minutes to commute to, and which pays wages which are probably average for an SF webdev job (though possibly somewhat above average for an LA webdev job).
And you can find 2 bedroom apartments are available for under $2000, 1 bedrooms between $1000-$1500 (though you can get a luxury place or something by the beach if you really want to pay a lot more).
It's certainly not a perfect place (I'd be happier with it if there were more varied weather, and more access to nature and quiet space), and of course, not everybody's experience with LA is like mine. In fact, LA is so big and so varied that what I've come to suspect over my experience there is that there simply isn't any single summary that can capture it.
Yeah, I think you could make a convincing argument that the difference between (parts of) LA and SF is that the non-tech creative people in LA are more likely to be doing it because they love it because the big money boom has peaked. There's still a dream of making it big, and there's still a lot of very visible success, but you're not going to raise nearly as much money for your indie film project as you would if you were pitching a new app in the Bay Area.
(That's a rather cynical view of the Bay Area, but hey, it balances out the rather common cynical view of LA that was expressed above. :) )
Disagree on the weather, though. I'd appreciate a bit less fog (not that it's anywhere near as bad as SF) and like my constant highs between 60 and 80 just fine. Maybe some better close skiing would be nice, but I've found lots to keep me busy between the Malibu Mountains and then further up the coast like Santa Barbara, Ojai, etc, outdoors-wise.
i live in santa monica. people talk shit on LA because it's like a cheat code to being sophisticated and urbane, not because they actually know anything about the city.
Depends on where, but the nice parts of LA seem more down-to-earth and transit-friendly to me than the nice parts of San Francisco, believe it or not. If you consider only the Westside, bounded roughly by the 10 / Culver Blvd. on the south, Hollywood Hills on the north, the Pacific Ocean on the west, and Elysian Park on the east [1], which is roughly comparable in area to SF, imo it's much more livable than SF. Better transit & cheaper housing overall.
