3 years, 2 months ago
via
Twitter
about Los Angeles
Which city is better, fun, and easy to live in LA or NY?
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$1 Answer
Great question! I was born and raised in New York City (Brooklyn as a child, Manhattan as an adult) and I've spent the last five years full-time in Los Angeles. Let's look at your three conditions, which is "better, fun and easy" New York City of Los Angeles.
1. EASY: I can tell you that Los Angeles is a much easier place to live. Los Angeles is basically 20 towns connected to each other to form a "city." Only two areas in Los Angeles actually feel like a city: Downtown and Hollywood. The rest of the place feels more like towns. As such you can easily fin a place to live in one of these places for $400-$1,000 a month. This is a LOT less than Manhattan or even Brooklyn. Also, parking, food, eating and living is just a LOT cheaper than NYC. In NYC you have to fight like a dog to survive as a young/broke/middle-income person. In Los Angeles you can have a great life working three nights a week as a waiter and chilling the rest of the time.... which is why so many folks come here to follow their dreams--they can. In NYC you have to make and/or bring a lot of money to the town to survive. I can't see someone being able to live in Manhattan with less than $4,000 a month, which would be like $75k a year income because rent is a minimum of $2-3k for a dump (right?).
2. Fun: I had a great time in NYC... that town is *slightly* more fun than Los Angeles because everything in NYC is the best/top. The best restaurants, art, music, authors, media, chess, poetry, etc. exist in NYC. Los Angeles might be better for outdoor activities, but after it falls short of NYC on almost every other front. Still amazing, but behind NYC.
3. Better: This is a toss up. If you're intense and want to make a name for yourself in finance, media, or the arts New York City is a dream come true. You have to bring it every day and fight the good fight, but I think NYC is "better" for ambitious business folks. Los Angeles is better for anyone in the entertainment business by the nature of the amount of work going on here and it's much better for folks concerned with lifestyle. Folks come to vacation in California from around the world, so living here is literally like being on vacation. You can watch the sunset on the Pacific or take a hike in the hills any time you want.... and the weather is perfect 99% of the time.
I think the perfect lifestyle is being able to be bi-costal... which is what I've been for much of my adult life.
1. EASY: I can tell you that Los Angeles is a much easier place to live. Los Angeles is basically 20 towns connected to each other to form a "city." Only two areas in Los Angeles actually feel like a city: Downtown and Hollywood. The rest of the place feels more like towns. As such you can easily fin a place to live in one of these places for $400-$1,000 a month. This is a LOT less than Manhattan or even Brooklyn. Also, parking, food, eating and living is just a LOT cheaper than NYC. In NYC you have to fight like a dog to survive as a young/broke/middle-income person. In Los Angeles you can have a great life working three nights a week as a waiter and chilling the rest of the time.... which is why so many folks come here to follow their dreams--they can. In NYC you have to make and/or bring a lot of money to the town to survive. I can't see someone being able to live in Manhattan with less than $4,000 a month, which would be like $75k a year income because rent is a minimum of $2-3k for a dump (right?).
2. Fun: I had a great time in NYC... that town is *slightly* more fun than Los Angeles because everything in NYC is the best/top. The best restaurants, art, music, authors, media, chess, poetry, etc. exist in NYC. Los Angeles might be better for outdoor activities, but after it falls short of NYC on almost every other front. Still amazing, but behind NYC.
3. Better: This is a toss up. If you're intense and want to make a name for yourself in finance, media, or the arts New York City is a dream come true. You have to bring it every day and fight the good fight, but I think NYC is "better" for ambitious business folks. Los Angeles is better for anyone in the entertainment business by the nature of the amount of work going on here and it's much better for folks concerned with lifestyle. Folks come to vacation in California from around the world, so living here is literally like being on vacation. You can watch the sunset on the Pacific or take a hike in the hills any time you want.... and the weather is perfect 99% of the time.
I think the perfect lifestyle is being able to be bi-costal... which is what I've been for much of my adult life.
source(s):
I've lived in both cities for 100% of my life.... and I've loved both for different reasons!
I've lived in both cities for 100% of my life.... and I've loved both for different reasons!
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
I agree that Los Angeles is actually an affordable and fun town. As a current resident, I feel the need to reiterate that the weather is WONDERFUL even in the winter (which can be brutal in NYC)