Los Angeles is a city that really takes time to get used to. To enjoy LA you really have to look past LA proper and take into consideration most of the Southland. The city of LA itself is not known to attract major businesses, mainly because of the high costs. And even Hollywood is losing business to places that are cheaper to film at. However, LA can be quiet an experience. I have lived in LA county all my life, and until it took me most of my life to get used to it. Now that I am, I wouldn't want to live anywhere else, and I have been all over the US and the world. I can see why people coming from pretty much everywhere else wouldn't like it. It does seem like a mess. Traffic is pretty bad at all times of day. However, if you learn the area enough, it is easy to get around. Taking standard routes can take you a couple hours to go 20 miles. But there are better ways to do things, and that time can be reduced to 20 mins. Southern California is one of the most diverse places in the world. You can literally go surfing in the morning, snow boarding in the afternoon, and then go enjoy the nightlife in one of many areas. LA may not be that great of a city on its own, but all the areas close by make it worth while. In LA county you can go to: Hollywood (Broadway quality musicals, movie premieres) ; West Hollywood (completely different area) (great concerts, night life); Malibu, Santa Monica, Venice etc..(wonderful beaches); Beverly Hills (Rodeo D); Pasadena (Rose Bowl, Rose Parade); Long Beach (Grand Prix, Queen Mary); Westwood (UCLA, shopping). LA has the Dodgers, Kings, Lakers, Clippers, and also USC Trojans, and UCLA Bruins. It is home of E3, LA Auto show, many award shows. You can go see TV shows filmed for free, and it is a very common sight to see movies being filmed in the area. Orange County is also very close, which has many other great attractions. There is so much to do in the area yet most people don't realize it because they can't get past the many flaws. If you like never running out of things to do and are patient enough to deal with traffic, then LA is great.
