LA: What are the pros and cons of living in Los Angeles, CA?

I lived in Orange County, a suburb of Los Angeles, for years when the smog was really terrible. But I also spent a lot of spare time along the coast of the LA area. The smog has been cleared up some, making the inland areas better, but it is always better to be at the beach if you are going to live in La La land.

I really like parts of LA, like the Santa Monica and Brentwood area, as well as Marina Del Rey, Palos Verdes (and beaches north) and parts of Long Beach, like Belmont Shores. It is extra nice at the beaches of Orange County, like Newport Beach, with her back bays and fancy boats, Lido Isle, etc and also Laguna Beach with a mediterranean feel above the cliffs.

The Rose Parade is the great equalizer when those publications come out with best places to live. I am always amused when they pick some place that is 30 degrees below zero while LA is basking in 70 degree weather. But with LA, again, it is where you live and where you work that can make a big difference. You need to avoid a big commute, especially a big freeway commute, which will improve your Los Angeles quality of life. You need to be well educated offering a service that is in demand, because LA ain't cheap, even with the price declines due to the housing crash.

I have a relative who lives in a coastal area and is using his MBA to great success, but he has the skills to be there. I realized that my earning power as a social worker would not give me any relief to live in Los Angeles, especially with a family to raise. Now that my kids are grown, I would not want to pay the massive down payments required to buy a house in Los Angeles or to even pay the crazy rents. Again, if you have the skills then you can compete. No one should move to LA without a secure and well paying job unless you are Axl Rose who lived in his car.

The real estate and construction industries are really suffering right now. I even fear that foreclosures, for which there are a market, will eventually be upside down. That will really freeze the Los Angeles housing market. Based upon income, house prices should be around 175 thousand dollars which would be about 3 times median LA income. While the median house price has dropped from over 500 thousand dollars to roughly 350 thousand as of the writing of this article, I believe there is a long way to go. Watch out investors!

With the recent economic woes nationwide, people are leaving LA in greater numbers than they are coming in. This could put additional downward pressure on rents and house prices, which have not even come close to bottoming in my opinion. And because of crime issues in some areas, it really pays to do your homework when finding an area within this huge metropolis to settle. Crime is an issue in Los Angeles, but I have never felt threatened there. Los Angeles is a very competitive environment for good jobs, and there are exciting opportunities in film, tourism, small manufacturing, imports and computers and software. As the economy slows these industries all have challenges right now. But the entrepreneurial spirit is strong in Los Angeles, because there is a really skilled work force. And people are still going to movies, a near recession proof industry.

And don't think that this article is completely down on inland areas of the Los Angeles area. The Hollywood and West LA areas are interesting. The Mission Inn is one of the great hotels in the world and is located in downtown Riverside. It is a must see place There are many inland jewels including the tree lined Whittier, Claremont, and La Canada/Flintridge.

I hope you have enjoyed my little window into the pros and cons of Los Angeles living.

I cannot ignore the situation of earthquakes when speaking about relocation to Los Angeles. In exchange for the wonderful weather, the ambiance and the good fun that is LA comes the threat of earthquake. In the light of the earthquakes and tsunamis that have happened on the ring of fire, we need to remind ourselves that Los Angeles is on that same ring of fire.

I have a personal experience with an earthquake. In May, 1983, the small town I was living in and grew up in experienced a major earthquake of 6.7 (upgraded). I was in a brick building and one of the walls blew out before my eyes. Fortunately, the earthquake only lasted 31 seconds, but was centered only about 5 miles away, making it very powerful. The violent shaking would have destroyed the building I was in had it lasted longer. The 1906 San Francisco earthquake lasted 45-60 seconds. It was a 7.9 and inflicted massive damage. The Japanese earthquake of 2011 lasted minutes, as a 9.0 is among the world's most powerful earthquakes. Being over 50 miles offshore, it was enormous, and the tsunami did the greatest damage.

So, what about Los Angeles? While she is on the ring of fire, there is no subduction zone offshore. While that guarantees nothing, the biggest earthquakes on the ring of fire have been in subduction zone areas, where one plate grinds under another. Indonesia, Chile, Japan and Alaska are prime properties for these sort of earthquakes. And even the Pacific Northwest has a subduction zone. In Los Angeles, the plates grind together, one moving north and the other moving south.

The San Andreas fault is the boundry of the two plates. Los Angeles rests upon the Pacific Plate and the North American plate is east of this. On the San Andreas, the portion north of Los Angeles in the mountain region has been stuck for years. So there is concern that a quake could take place in that region that is quite large, even close to 8.0. That would inflict major damage to Los Angeles, that has many buildings not able to withstand the shocks.

I would say that if someone were contemplating moving to Los Angeles, they should be aware of the issues, and understand the dangers. Yet it could be many years before the big one hits the area. My only concern is for the aftermath of getting food and water in a city so large as Los Angeles. I know that in the Coalinga earthquake, help arrived a day later, and the town only held about 10 thousand people. But the logistics of getting supplies to people in Los Angeles could be quite a challenge.

I stil live in the west, and have family in Los Angeles. I am concerned, but mostly about being in brick buildings. Having seen what could happen to brick structures, that becomes my biggest concern. Still, I frequent buildings that are not brick that may not survive a massive earthquake, and you just go about your life because there is risk everywhere.