If you want to read what this series of posts is all about, go here.

Disclaimer:

So I thought I’d do a pros and cons for each of the cities (NYC and LA) based on 15 categories of my choosing – i.e the kind of things that are important to me about a place that I chose to live. For example, since I don’t have any children, so you won’t see “education” on the list, but I do love to eat sandwiches, so “food” will definitely be on the list.

Keep in mind these are MY pros and cons…pros and cons that I have come to after living in LA for five years (2000 – 2005) and then living in New York for five years (2005 – 2010).  This is intended to be a fun (and funny) list, and is not to be taken seriously, but I hope some of you, especially those of you who have lived in both places (or experienced them) will enjoy it. You can read parts one through fifteen starting here.

15.  DIFFICULTY LEVEL

I think we all know the answer to this one.  New York is one of the hardest places to live…certainly in the United States…and it’s a fact that most New Yorkers are proud of.  You have to be at the top of your game to survive here, let alone thrive, from the competition for jobs to the cost of living and the sometimes inconvenience of urban living.  It’s an intense passionate city that really doesn’t sleep and while I’ve for the most part been successful in adjusting to the NYC lifestyle, even five+ years in I sometimes find the city frustrating and inconvenient.

Sometimes I just want to be able to get in my car and go to Target and not worry about carrying crap back on the subway or splurging $20 for a cab ride.  New York is a far more difficult city to live in across the board, and who wants things to be SO HARD all the time, especially as you get old (which I totally am). Advantage:  LA

And the winner IS…in a tight race…Los Angeles.  L.A. is the city for me, based on this highly scientific (not) breakdown after five years spent in each city. Adam…pack your bags…time to head back out west!

If you want to read what this series of posts is all about, go here.

Disclaimer:

So I thought I’d do a pros and cons for each of the cities (NYC and LA) based on 15 categories of my choosing – i.e the kind of things that are important to me about a place that I chose to live. For example, since I don’t have any children, so you won’t see “education” on the list, but I do love to eat sandwiches, so “food” will definitely be on the list.

Keep in mind these are MY pros and cons…pros and cons that I have come to after living in LA for five years (2000 – 2005) and then living in New York for five years (2005 – 2010).  This is intended to be a fun (and funny) list, and is not to be taken seriously, but I hope some of you, especially those of you who have lived in both places (or experienced them) will enjoy it. Come back tomorrow for Round 15…the FINAL ROUND.

14.  EXPENSE

Neither city is a real bargain, but I was pretty shocked by my expenses across the board in NYC.

My dad tells a great little story about why he didn’t take a job in Manhattan back in the early 1970’s after graduating from Berkeley and it goes something like this, “I came out for the interview and they took me to lunch, and I noticed that the sandwich on the menu cost $10! And I thought to myself there’s no way I can live in a city where a sandwich at lunch costs $10!”

And you know what?  He’s right.  Living here is incredibly expensive, then and now.  A dozen eggs can cost $3.00, $5.00 if I buy local.  A half-gallon of milk (the brand I prefer – which is organic) is about $4.00.  If I’m also able to buy local (not always an option), which I also prefer, it’s easily over $4.00.

My rent on a 2-bedroom apartment on the Upper East Side is $2100 a month – more than most people I know pay for their mortgage – and considered a steal by most New Yorkers, and that’s for the pleasure of walking up four narrow flights of stairs every day and having a real jerk of a mailman.

LA is not cheap by any means, and I struggled mightily financially while I was there – in part because I made a lot less than I do in NYC (which in fairness should be considered), but that’s also about experience and growth in my job…and the offset is just not enough to cause an upset.

Also…that mailman really screws NYC…I hate him.  Advantage: LA

If you want to read what this series of posts is all about, go here.

Disclaimer:

So I thought I’d do a pros and cons for each of the cities (NYC and LA) based on 15 categories of my choosing – i.e the kind of things that are important to me about a place that I chose to live. For example, since I don’t have any children, so you won’t see “education” on the list, but I do love to eat sandwiches, so “food” will definitely be on the list.

Keep in mind these are MY pros and cons…pros and cons that I have come to after living in LA for five years (2000 – 2005) and then living in New York for five years (2005 – 2010).  This is intended to be a fun (and funny) list, and is not to be taken seriously, but I hope some of you, especially those of you who have lived in both places (or experienced them) will enjoy it. Come back tomorrow for Round 14.

13.  SKYLINE

Is there any question?  Advantage: NYC

If you want to read what this series of posts is all about, go here.

Disclaimer:

So I thought I’d do a pros and cons for each of the cities (NYC and LA) based on 15 categories of my choosing – i.e the kind of things that are important to me about a place that I chose to live. For example, since I don’t have any children, so you won’t see “education” on the list, but I do love to eat sandwiches, so “food” will definitely be on the list.

Keep in mind these are MY pros and cons…pros and cons that I have come to after living in LA for five years (2000 – 2005) and then living in New York for five years (2005 – 2010).  This is intended to be a fun (and funny) list, and is not to be taken seriously, but I hope some of you, especially those of you who have lived in both places (or experienced them) will enjoy it. Come back tomorrow for Round 13.

12.  CRIME

This one is simple if I base it on personal experience.

In LA my car stereo was stolen (sort of my fault, I left the car unlocked accidentally).  A year later my car was stolen from right in front of my apartment (not my fault).

Nothing has been stolen from me in New York.  Advantage:  NYC

If you want to read what this series of posts is all about, go here.

Disclaimer:

So I thought I’d do a pros and cons for each of the cities (NYC and LA) based on 15 categories of my choosing – i.e the kind of things that are important to me about a place that I chose to live. For example, since I don’t have any children, so you won’t see “education” on the list, but I do love to eat sandwiches, so “food” will definitely be on the list.

Keep in mind these are MY pros and cons…pros and cons that I have come to after living in LA for five years (2000 – 2005) and then living in New York for five years (2005 – 2010).  This is intended to be a fun (and funny) list, and is not to be taken seriously, but I hope some of you, especially those of you who have lived in both places (or experienced them) will enjoy it. Come back tomorrow for Round 12.

11.  CLEANLINESS

New York is incredibly clean for such a large city and I’m constantly impressed with the efforts I see to keep it clean.

The trash situation is not great however.  In most of LA (in my experience at least) there are garbage and recycling cans, and trash can be taken to these at anytime during the week…in NYC there are no garbage cans that get put out on the street (not that I’ve seen at least) and in my personal experience (though I know there are places where this is not true) I have to put my trash on the sidewalk in front of my building on very strict deadlines (after a certain time on Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights for trash and recycling)…this means that the trash inside my house is driven to a degree by that schedule which can be frustrating.  Worse however is the fact that sometimes the trash doesn’t get picked up…for whatever reason…weather, holidays, strikes, etc.  But that doesn’t mean people stop putting it out…and that gets gross…really fast.

Additionally, while the street sweepers in LA were bothersome because of parking…it did seem like they actually somewhat cleaned the street.  In NYC it seems more like they, as boss likes to say “just spread the trash juice around”.  I have to agree.  I’m sure they do something…or the city would have moved on already…but from my perspective it’s hard to tell what the street cleaners are actually cleaning.

The thing that really loses this for NYC however, is that I never once stepped in dog shit in LA.  Now maybe that was partly because my feet rarely touched the ground (moving from automobile to destination in the span of six steps or less) but whatever the reason, if I never have to step in dog shit again (or walk on an entire street that smells like dog shit) I will be happy.  This can happen in LA.  Advantage:  LA

If you want to read what this series of posts is all about, go here.

Disclaimer:

So I thought I’d do a pros and cons for each of the cities (NYC and LA) based on 15 categories of my choosing – i.e the kind of things that are important to me about a place that I chose to live. For example, since I don’t have any children, so you won’t see “education” on the list, but I do love to eat sandwiches, so “food” will definitely be on the list.

Keep in mind these are MY pros and cons…pros and cons that I have come to after living in LA for five years (2000 – 2005) and then living in New York for five years (2005 – 2010).  This is intended to be a fun (and funny) list, and is not to be taken seriously, but I hope some of you, especially those of you who have lived in both places (or experienced them) will enjoy it. Come back tomorrow for Round 11.

10.  TRAVEL

Both Los Angeles and New York are in vibrant areas of the country where a lot of amazing stuff is only a few hours away.

While living in NYC I have traveled to:  Maine (on of my favorite places ever!), New Hampshire, Shelter Island, Philadelphia, and Cold Spring.

While living in LA I traveled to:  Las Vegas, San Francisco (another favorite place ever), San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Avila Beach, Ojai, Santa Barbara, Oakland, Sedona, and Salt Lake City.

The reason for so much more travel?  It’s simple…I owned a car.

While there are many places very close to NYC, the fact that I don’t have free and easy access to a car really limits how much I can travel.  The first expense you must consider before going anywhere is how you’re going to get there…and while some public transit is relatively cheap (the Chinatown bus springs to mind) a lot of it isn’t…especially if it’s travel by “rent a car” which, within the city limits can be outrageously expensive.  Additionally, in many cases depending on where you’re going (for example Adam and I were trying to go to Vermont for a few days) even if you take a train you’re likely to need a car rental as well once you get there.

There’s nothing wrong with travel that is not a car, in fact having done the train ride to Philly many times I find it quite painless and enjoyable…but I’m just personally a car girl.  I don’t like worrying about how I’ll get around once I arrive in my vacation location, and I like the freedom of traveling by car, being able to control when I stop and where, and how long my trip takes. It’s really convenient and relaxing to me…Running late?  No problem…there is not exact departure time for MY CAR.

NYC does have the advantage in the sense that Europe (and many other places I’m interested in traveling to) are much much closer by plane than flying from LA, however, one of the few places MUCH easier to get to from LA, and a place my parents love to go (and bring family with them when they can), is Hawaii.  Hawaii, a place that will likely always be a destination for my parents (and hopefully a place they’ll keep wanting to invite me to) is an utter bitch to get to from NYC…I think 11+ hours or something crazy for a flight (not to mention hella expensive)…and just hope you don’t have to connect through Chicago…cause then you’re totally fucked and will (as happened to Adam and I once) have to DRIVE HOME TO NYC FROM CHICAGO.  Yeah, so I’m going to let Hawaii proximity edge out Europe proximity, and then let the car aspect take LA the rest of the way to the win.  Advantage:  LA

If you want to read what this series of posts is all about, go here.

Disclaimer:

So I thought I’d do a pros and cons for each of the cities (NYC and LA) based on 15 categories of my choosing – i.e the kind of things that are important to me about a place that I chose to live. For example, since I don’t have any children, so you won’t see “education” on the list, but I do love to eat sandwiches, so “food” will definitely be on the list.

Keep in mind these are MY pros and cons…pros and cons that I have come to after living in LA for five years (2000 – 2005) and then living in New York for five years (2005 – 2010).  This is intended to be a fun (and funny) list, and is not to be taken seriously, but I hope some of you, especially those of you who have lived in both places (or experienced them) will enjoy it. Come back tomorrow for Round 10.

09.  PEOPLE

This one is tough.  Personally, I find the people in both cities to be pretty great.

I have far more friends in LA than I have in NYC, but I don’t think I can blame that on the city or its inhabitants.

I find New Yorkers in general to be pretty friendly people, despite the stereotype; but I find the same to be true for Angelenos, also despite the stereotype.  I think technically I’ve encountered more horrible rudeness in NYC, but that’s probably more to do with being out “amongst the people” more in NYC…and more “trapped in my vehicle” in LA.

I guess I like that in NYC you can say you just came from your therapists office and five people around you go, “Hey, me too” while in Los Angeles people would look at you like you just showed them your tits.

But in Los Angeles I like that people seem less judgmental in general…like they probably wouldn’t hold it against you that you just showed them your tits.  Advantage:  PUSH

If you want to read what this series of posts is all about, go here.

Disclaimer:

So I thought I’d do a pros and cons for each of the cities (NYC and LA) based on 15 categories of my choosing – i.e the kind of things that are important to me about a place that I chose to live. For example, since I don’t have any children, so you won’t see “education” on the list, but I do love to eat sandwiches, so “food” will definitely be on the list.

Keep in mind these are MY pros and cons…pros and cons that I have come to after living in LA for five years (2000 – 2005) and then living in New York for five years (2005 – 2010).  This is intended to be a fun (and funny) list, and is not to be taken seriously, but I hope some of you, especially those of you who have lived in both places (or experienced them) will enjoy it. Come back tomorrow for Round 6.

05.  PETS

I have been craving having a pet that’s not a goldfish for a long time now.

I used to want a dog, and though I still want a dog I’ve become a bit obsessed with kitties (this is mostly Adam’s fault).  I’m getting old…I want to be a grown up that has a pet and maybe access to outdoor space that doesn’t also belong to the rest of the world.  These things don’t seem to be possible in NYC the way they might be in LA.

Reasons why I can’t have a cat in NYC:

My current apartment is stuffed to the gills, with not a square inch of space available for a litter box.

My apartment gets zero air flow and cross breeze, even when it’s windy outside (though I will never understand how this is possible).  So the smells that are in this apartment?  Are REALLY in this apartment.  It’s bad enough with two people in here…adding a pet is not a good idea.

This apartment is small…it’s two people living in 450 Square Feet…450 well laid out, well organized square feet, but still.  I’d feel bad adding a pet to that equation.

I’m broke all the time, which is not a good environment to bring an animal that needs food and toys and likely regular medical care (which I don’t even get) into.

Technically I’m not allowed to have pets in this apartment (though it doesn’t seem to stop some people).

Reasons why I can’t have a dog in NYC:

All of the above “cat” reasons, plus I live on the fourth floor and am way too lazy to take a dog out as frequently as he needs and deserves.

Plus, I don’t want to add to the piles (and smells) of shit, even though I’d always clean up after my dog, that line NYC streets with regularity.

Do some of these apply to LA?  Sure, but based on where and how I lived in LA previously (in ground floor apartments in neighborhoods conducive to walking pets, in large roomy apartments, with windows that frequently caught lovely breezes) that it’s much more doable, realistic and less painful in LA than NYC.

I REALLY want a cat, hence – Advantage:  LA

If you want to read what this series of posts is all about, go here.

Disclaimer:

So I thought I’d do a pros and cons for each of the cities (NYC and LA) based on 15 categories of my choosing – i.e the kind of things that are important to me about a place that I chose to live. For example, since I don’t have any children, so you won’t see “education” on the list, but I do love to eat sandwiches, so “food” will definitely be on the list.

Keep in mind these are MY pros and cons…pros and cons that I have come to after living in LA for five years (2000 – 2005) and then living in New York for five years (2005 – 2010).  This is intended to be a fun (and funny) list, and is not to be taken seriously, but I hope some of you, especially those of you who have lived in both places (or experienced them) will enjoy it. Come back tomorrow for Round 5.

04.  GREEN LIVING

Because LA is so beautiful and has so much nature in it and surrounding it, I’d be inclined to give the advantage to LA, but the reality is, if only because I don’t own a car and generally commute by walking or mass transit (and yes, sometimes, too frequently, by cab), my PERSONAL environmental footprint is much smaller in NYC than it was in LA where I commuted via car from Studio City to Santa Monica five days a week.

I miss my car.  I sometimes cry for my car.  However, it’s cheaper, faster, and more earth friendly to live in NYC and travel by train, bus, foot, and occasional cab ride.  And whenever I’m missing my car too hard, I try to remember that hour long commute from work every day that had me ready to gouge my eyes out with cupholders by the time I left LA in 2005.  Sometimes (okay, often) the subway is inconvenient and a pain (and there are rats! Aggh!), but the car was sometimes too (well, no rats)…in addition to being an expensive liability

In both LA and NYC I recycled and did my best in other ways to be green, although I certainly do more now than I did in 2000 to 2005, if only because times are changing.  But the reality is that the car is that thing that really makes the difference, and as much as I love it and miss it, I can admit that it’s better for the rest of the world that I don’t have it. The goods news is that if/when I move back to LA, they’ve made great strides (not enough, but still great) in automobiles and I can get a Hybrid for a semi-reasonable cost that will be much less harsh on the environment.  Still, Advantage:  NYC