All of the above are definitely good reasons;) . :cool: :D

I also grew up here. And, while there are other cities I'd be willing to move to, LA just has so much to offer that it is hard to beat. I love the ocean and, specifically the ocean air. While there are hot days, they are few in number and, most of the time, they are manageable. The traffic can be a bitch, but, if you time it right, wonders can be had within a short drive. Los Angeles is vast and filled with LOTS of thing to fill my cultural needs - food, music, art, events.

I'm just not sure I'd be as happy anywhere else.

I was born and raised in Huntington Beach. The furthest away that I have lived was about 30 minutes south in Rancho Santa Margarita (aka Stepford). I still work there. I live in Irvine now and spend weekends and most of my free time in Huntington. I can't wait to move back.

There are days when I would love nothing more than to pack up and head somewhere else - somewhere where I can afford to buy property. Somewhere with more seasons and less smog.

But then as I am driving through the foothills home from work I can look out and see the ocean. Or as we're driving down PCH with the windows and sunroof open you can see the waves crashing to the right and the mountains on the left.

Disneyland is about 20-30 minutes away. San Diego is about an hour south and LA is about 40 minutes north. Vegas is 3 hours. The weather is great. My friends are here, my family is here and my life is here.

I've lived in So. Cal. my whole life. Orange County actually until a years ago when we moved out to Corona (Inland Empire) for lower housing costs. (Which are still high - just lower then in O.C.)

Frankly, if my husband and I were certain to find similar jobs in another area, I'd consider moving. Yes - we'd be away from our families and that would definatley be a huge factor, but the smog, the traffic, the commute to work for both of us (Corona is about the half way point between Garden Grove and Perris where we work.)

But it might just be a case of the grass is always greener... The thought of actual seasons changing more dramatically sounds appealing but maybe not so much in real life situations. I just don't know about having to digg out of the snow before going to work as one example.

If I could just choose anywhere, I'd like to try Northern Cali. I spent my summers there growing up and really enjoyed the scenery and the towns that weren't all built up like down here.

I wash born here, an I wash raished here, and dad gum it, I am gonna die here, an no sidewindin bushwackin, hornswaglin, cracker croaker is gonna rouin me bishen cutter.

:)

Oh yeah, even that barechested last one? Hmmmm. :cool:






As an ex-NewYorker, many things appeal to me about SoCal. The civility, the relative laidbackness. The year-round summer. In "wintertime" I can swim in the sun-drenched ocean in the morning and sled down slowclad mountains in the afternoon. Yeah, I don't do that a lot, but you get my point.

I don't take much advantage of the hundreds of nightclubs and billions of restaurants anymore ... but they're here - - and they add to the cultural vitality of this place.

I watch my movie premiers inside Grauman's Chinese Theater, and do my themeparking at the Happiest Place on Earth. Celebrity sightings are so common they barely interest me any more.

Los Angeles is a world-class city that's laid out more like one big suburban neighborhood. Yeah, some people complain about the generic sprawl ... but coming from a run-down, dirty, skyscraper-laden city - - the relative flatness, newness, and open-spaceness of L.A. is very appealing to me.


Most of all, there are so many people drawn here - - it's the modern age's melting pot. And so, of those teeming masses yearning to breathe warm, I've been privileged to meet and befriend dozens of the most friendly, warmhearted, generous, quirky and interesting people in the world.



:cheers: Here's to Southern California!

Reverent!



At least I think that is what they are saying - I've never been able to tell for sure.

But how do those of us not privileged enough to be born in Southern California convince employers in the area to hire us? That's my #1 burning question. (we needn't discuss my #2 burning question. :eek: )

Meanwhile I'm trying to convince employers to let me move away from California. A decade here and it still hasn't grown on me.

Though if the choice is LA or Modesto then it seems obvious. Since pretty much the entire central valley is worse than even LA.