California Dreaming? 1 in 5 Americans want to live in Los Angeles, new survey says

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by JManc

Who the hell would want to live in LA? It snows there...

Exactly!

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Hey, that's nothing compared with this...

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If it's good enough for Paris & Tokyo, it's good enough for LA.

quite seriously, cities throughout the US & world manage to exist quite successfully in spite of their weather. Or also don't do quite as well as they'd otherwise do because of their weather.

[YSL]

Baltimore ranking here tells you everything you need to know about the accuracy of this survey.

[L41A]

Today's journalism and media, is soo neglectful and sensationalized in their reporting.

[fleonzo]

Home Bay’s data comes from an online survey of 1,000 people from Dec. 29, 2022



Enough said....

[badrunner]

Originally Posted by Crawford

Laguna is pretty terrific. But with family in an adjacent town, not sure people living there would describes themselves as "from LA" or particularly associated with LA. It's basically a classic SoCal beach town, just impossibly expensive. You can live down there without ever going into LA, given they have an airport, huge shopping centers, a massive performing arts/cultural center, etc. and their own self-image. The Segerstom Center is probably a more impressive place to see a performance than the LA Performing Arts Center. South Coast Plaza is maybe the most iconic shopping center in CA. John Wayne Airport gets you almost anywhere domestically.

I'm pretty sure they're about as likely to head south, to San Diego, than north. The southern OC beach towns feel more like northern SD county beach towns than LA county beach towns. And Laguna is different from surroundings in that it's politically really blue.

All those places are assets to the people of LA though, regardless of how those communities identify themselves locally. And you'd be surprised how many celebrities and people whose wealth and careers are based in LA live in those surrounding areas. The OC to LA commute on the 405 is hellish for a reason. Kobe lived in Newport, Kawhi lives in Rancho Sante Fe (in north San Diego county), Montecito (in Santa Barbara county) is a celebrity enclave, etc.

[homebucket]

Originally Posted by badrunner

All those places are assets to the people of LA though, regardless of how those communities identify themselves locally. And you'd be surprised how many celebrities and people whose wealth and careers are based in LA live in those surrounding areas. The OC to LA commute on the 405 is hellish for a reason. Kobe lived in Newport, Kawhi lives in Rancho Sante Fe (in north San Diego county), Montecito (in Santa Barbara county) is a celebrity enclave, etc.

During the season? That's a 2.5 hour commute to Crpyto! No wonder the guy doesn't want to play the second game of back to backs.

[badrunner]

Originally Posted by homebucket

During the season? That's a 2.5 hour commute to Crpyto! No wonder the guy doesn't want to play the second game of back to backs.

He went to San Diego State so he has some connections down there. I believe he used to commute by helicopter. He probably has an apartment in town during the season.

[ChiSoxRox]

/ot

[mhays]

I wonder how online surveys skew....people that use computers but respond to survey requests?

Between that and the "top 5" thing the levels of skew are pretty heavy here.

[Steely Dan]

additionally, the question presupposes that everyone would want to move somewhere else if "money were no object".

if i hit the powerball jackpot next week i'm still not moving anywhere because there's only one city in this entire universe that is home to my family, and no amount of money can buy that.

[AviationGuy]

Originally Posted by citywatch

. I notice that climate affects the vegetation in...& the look of....places like Houston or dallas.

I'll address Houston. Yes, the rainy climate definitely affects the vegetation and look, with a large part of the metro being southern pine forest, and the rest very green and somewhat tropical just like most of the Gulf Coast. L.A. is mostly a landscaped desert. But...L.A. does have mountain views and generally more pleasant weather than most parts of the country.

[LA21st]

Originally Posted by DZH22

As pj3000 already pointed out, the crux of this poll has been misinterpreted by the article's author, and then again by you. The poll is NOT saying that 19% of Americans would choose LA as their FIRST CHOICE. It's saying that 19% would put LA among their top 5 cities to choose from, if money was no object.

Thus the actual amount of people who would pick LA as their FIRST CHOICE is probably closer to 4-5%. (dividing the 19% for the 5 cities, then generously rounding up)

And those other cities are less than that.

[JManc]

Originally Posted by citywatch

Exactly!

• Video Link

Hey, that's nothing compared with this...

• Video Link

• Video Link


If it's good enough for Paris & Tokyo, it's good enough for LA.

quite seriously, cities throughout the US & world manage to exist quite successfully in spite of their weather. Or also don't do quite as well as they'd otherwise do because of their weather.

We here in sunny Northern California are thinking of you guys down yuere shoveling snow down there in Southern California. Lol

[sopas ej]

Originally Posted by JManc

We here in sunny Northern California are thinking of you guys down yuere shoveling snow down there in Southern California. Lol

Shoveling snow in the MOUNTAINS of southern California, I'm sure you know.

[dave8721]

Originally Posted by citywatch

Exactly!


If it's good enough for Paris & Tokyo, it's good enough for LA.

quite seriously, cities throughout the US & world manage to exist quite successfully in spite of their weather. Or also don't do quite as well as they'd otherwise do because of their weather.

It last snowed in Orlando in 1977 so Disney World snow is technically possible.

[strongbad635]

Originally Posted by sopas ej

I'm perplexed by Las Vegas.

I'm the most perplexed by Dallas, where I lived from 2004-2006, and I visit quite often now that I live elsewhere in Texas. Dallas doesn't hit any of the typical bullet points for a desirable city. The weather is bad for much of the year, stifling hot over 100f in the summer, hard freezes in the teens and even occasionally the single digits in winter, frequent droughts, snowfalls, hail, tornadoes. It isn't as affordable as it used to be, especially the more desirable (whiter) areas north of Dallas, where finding a house under $300,000 that isn't falling apart is damn near impossible unless you want to live 2 hours from town on a farm or in a trailer, but of course this survey is talking about money being no object. The cultural attractions of the city are decent, but nothing to write home about, certainly not on the level of Los Angeles, New York, or frankly even Baltimore with DC right next door. The character and vibe of Dallas is so incredibly generic and unremarkable when you're there, it feels like it could be any place in America.

Putting Dallas on the list of cities where you'd move if money were no object is like putting Applebee's on the list of places where you'd have a steak dinner if money were no object.

[lio45]

Originally Posted by sopas ej

I'm perplexed by Las Vegas.

Not surprising at all, since it's one of the best places (if not THE best place) to enjoy the unlimited money that's part of the premise of the question.

It's like if you polled people if they'd like to have a Lamborghini (if money were no object), and 99% say yes, while in reality Lamborghini is getting totally destroyed by Ferrari in that market segment (fictional example, but perfectly realistic), because if you limited your polling to actual supercar buyers, you'd find that they'd nearly all say Ferrari is much better.

The only thing money can't change / can't buy is weather, so in any "money is no object" poll, people will generally want their ideal dream house and ideal dream lifestyle -- which is something that can be bought literally anywhere, under the assumption of unlimited money -- also located where the weather is as close as possible to ideal, because, well, why not?!? Imagine the following deal: you'll be given unlimited money, but the "catch" is that you have to live in, say, the St. Louis metro area (I picked the city randomly); you have to have your fiscal primary residence there and spend at least 6 months per year there. Extremely few people would say no to that.

Edit -- one other thing "money can't buy" is very urban bones, so other possible logical answers would be places like Manhattan or central Paris.

[lio45]

Originally Posted by strongbad635

I'm the most perplexed by Dallas, where I lived from 2004-2006, and I visit quite often now that I live elsewhere in Texas. Dallas doesn't hit any of the typical bullet points for a desirable city. The weather is bad for much of the year, stifling hot over 100f in the summer, hard freezes in the teens and even occasionally the single digits in winter, frequent droughts, snowfalls, hail, tornadoes. It isn't as affordable as it used to be, especially the more desirable (whiter) areas north of Dallas, where finding a house under $300,000 that isn't falling apart is damn near impossible unless you want to live 2 hours from town on a farm or in a trailer, but of course this survey is talking about money being no object. The cultural attractions of the city are decent, but nothing to write home about, certainly not on the level of Los Angeles, New York, or frankly even Baltimore with DC right next door. The character and vibe of Dallas is so incredibly generic and unremarkable when you're there, it feels like it could be any place in America.

Putting Dallas on the list of cities where you'd move if money were no object is like putting Applebee's on the list of places where you'd have a steak dinner if money were no object.

Exactly. Dallas would actually perform well under the opposite premise: it would rank high on people's list for a realistic real-world relocation. Dallas' (very real) strong points -- relatively high incomes, low cost of living, low income taxes (no state income tax) -- all cease to matter in a "money is no object" scenario.

I suppose the reason it ranked high is because some people weren't paying attention: they ranked it high as a wish-list relocation destination in that poll because they actually rank it high as a desirable relocation destination; they failed to consider how the "unlimited money" premise should have made them rethink their relocation considerations.

[Obadno]

I dont trust anyone that WANTS to live in LA

[Segun]

LA is a consideration, but I'm spoiled by having lush, shade-providing greenery in my immediate surroundings. It sounds petty, but it's real to me. The exotic appeal of Palm trees doesn't last long.