How do you feel about living on the outskirts of Los Angeles?

Well I don’t know if it is considered the “outskirts of Los Angeles” but I grew up and spent most of my life in a northern suburb of LA located in Ventura County. I of course took the area for granted but the truth is it is a beautiful valley surrounded by more beautiful mountains. It is no more than twenty minutes away from Ventura county and LA county beaches. The weather is pretty much perfect year round. There are some super hot days and some rather cold days but it is a dry heat and it rarely dips below 40 degrees in winter. I was an hour or so from seeing a show in LA and about the same distance from State Street in Santa Barbara. In my experience, traffic in the northern suburbs is not as bad as traffic south of Los Angeles (in towns such as Huntington Beach) but for pretty much any drive beyond the San Fernando Valley, what should have taken no more than a half hour never took any less than a full hour and was usually closer to two hours. It is an expensive area and I feel fortunate to have spent so much of my life there. That doesn’t mean I plan to return. If I was to move back to California it would probably be further north in some place like San Luis Obispo but the truth is I’ll probably end up in Colorado.

Los Angeles is bad? The environment is good, quiet suburbs, is not convenient to work

I prefer San Diego for visiting. The beaches are nicer than the LA area beaches imo. (I haven’t been there in over 20 years, so things may have changed) I spent my Christmas vacations in San Diego every year when I was growing up. I wouldn’t want to live there though. I like to experience all four seasons like the Midwest gets to experience. I might follow @SuperMouse though if she goes to SLO. That entire area from Pismo Beach to Morro Bay is heaven. I love it there.

I wasn’t overly impressed with LA so that wouldn’t be a draw for me but I loved a lot of California and could definitely imagine living there. However, I would rather live close to the Sierra Nevada Mountains like @Coloma does, I loved that area and the climate that came with it.