2.43/5
1,627 reviews
Photo by Sebastian Banasiewcz via Unsplash

Los Angeles, CA

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tax

insane

hollywood

nice

suggest

neighborhoods

bus

long

gold

Los Angeles offers a vibrant mix of culture and neighborhoods, with a strong emphasis on outdoor experiences. Visitors often enjoy the variety of outdoor spots—beaches, hills, lakes, and parks—and the overall laid-back Californian atmosphere. Smaller neighborhoods, particularly in the Valley, tend to provide a more pleasant experience compared to the more tourist-heavy areas like Hollywood. The city's diversity is frequently praised and highlighted through local food and arts scenes, such as the documentary 'City of Gold' about famed LA food critic Jonathan Gold.

However, there are consistent downsides reported. The cost of living and visiting LA is extremely high, compounded by multiple layers of taxes. Public transport, especially buses, is seen as unreliable and can make getting around difficult unless you rent a car. Traffic is also frequently described as a major problem. Cleanliness and friendliness are inconsistent—some areas are viewed as dirty and safe, some not, and locals can come off as distant or unapproachable. Regulations and bureaucracy pose challenges, especially for business owners. Despite the negatives, many still feel drawn to the city for its energy and lifestyle, often expressing a desire to return, though maybe only temporarily.

AI-generated summary of reviews

It's obscenely expensive for low quality service with kinda mean people. Not nice. The regulations and taxes here are insane too. You pay a neighbourhood tax, district tax, city tax, county tax and then state tax on every payment you make!

The traffic here is insane too. And just getting from place to place is difficult because city is so gigantic.

We talked to our hotel's manager here and he struggles a lot with the insane amount of rules California tells him to follow. It makes it hard to start or run a business here. A lot like Europe.

I understand so many people from Los Angeles left to Austin and Miami.

9 months ago

I spent 4 months working here during summertime. It's one of the best summers I have ever had in my life. The city is just amazing and offers dozens of outdoor activities. There are so many different places such as parks, lakes, hills, mountains, beaches, etc. Also, you can feel the Californication vibe on every step.

I lived in Hollywood and I would avoid this place at any cost. It's just too overrated and won't meet your expectations. Hollywood (esp. West Hollywood) is a big pile of dirtiness with people wandering around. I'd suggest looking for smaller neighborhoods preferably in The Valley. That area is just lovely. Also, anything close to Santa Monica is overwhelming yet too costly.

One of the things I also didn't like was the lack of cultural influence and this is for sure not a city that will offer nice architecture. Another thing I disliked was the huge social distancing towards foreigners which is most likely part of the American culture. If you were to make deeper friendships here, this is not a place to go. You will end up getting ignored and in the worst case, people will stop any contact with you.

Also, the public transport of LA is not reliable especially if you use bus transportation. Get ready to wait a long turn before you get to a bus. I suggest either using the metro or renting a car which is probably the best option in LA. Otherwise, get prepared for long walks throughout your place of stay.

With all of the above said, I will for sure return to this city again and can't say I'm not missing it. It's one of those places where you always want to get back, at least temporarily :D

3 years ago

Nothing does a better job of explaining LA’s beautiful diversity and different neighborhoods than the documentary about the late Jonathan Gold, our city’s greatest amabassador and the only food critic to ever win a Pulitzer Prize. It is called, “City of Gold” and if you want to know LA, just watch this film. Trailer link: https://youtu.be/DmKTRDfz1zM

7 years ago

✅ Beautiful diversity

✅ Great outdoor activities

✅ Lovely smaller neighborhoods

✅ Pretty safe

✅ Fast internet

✅ Lots of fun stuff to do

✅ Warm all year round

✅ Good air quality on average

✅ Many Nomads.com members here all year round

✅ Spacious and not crowded

✅ Very easy to do business

✅ High quality of education

✅ Great hospitals

✅ Roads are very safe

✅ Great freedom of speech

✅ Democratic

✅ Everyone speaks English

✅ Safe for women

✅ Family friendly

✅ Very friendly to LGBTQ+

✅ Not many people smoke tobacco

✅ (Medical) marijuana MAY be legal, unenforced or decriminalized (always double check this)

❌ Very expensive

❌ Unreliable public transport

❌ Heavy traffic

❌ Unfriendly locals

❌ Strict regulations

❌ Dirty in some areas

❌ Extremely expensive

❌ Cold now

❌ Nomads.com members didn't like going here

❌ Difficult to make friends

❌ High alcohol consumption

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Feels

64 18°
cool

66 19°
mild

70 21°
mild

77 25°
warm

81 27°
warm

82 28°
warm

79 26°
warm

73 23°
mild

59 15°
cool

Real

64 18°
cool

65 19°
mild

70 21°
mild

77 25°
warm

82 28°
very warm

84 29°
very warm

79 26°
warm

73 23°
mild

59 15°
cool

Humidity

too dry
23%

too dry
24%

nice
30%

nice
34%

nice
37%

nice
36%

nice
32%

nice
36%

too dry
27%

nice
35%

Most common

☀️ Clear

Rain

rainy
58mm

dry
4mm

dry
36mm

dry
8mm

dry
10mm

dry
3mm

dry
2mm

dry
0mm

dry
18mm

dry
0mm

rainy
53mm

Cloud

pockets
16%

pockets
14%

pockets
18%

pockets
24%

pockets
19%

pockets
17%

pockets
14%

pockets
15%

clear
8%

pockets
20%

pockets
26%

Air quality

clean
46 US AQI

clean
35 US AQI

clean
40 US AQI

clean
49 US AQI

okay
50 US AQI

okay
59 US AQI

okay
61 US AQI

okay
60 US AQI

okay
56 US AQI

okay
55 US AQI

okay
52 US AQI

clean
46 US AQI

Sun

seek shade
3 UVI

seek shade
5 UVI

avoid sun
6 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

avoid sun
10 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

seek shade
5 UVI

seek shade
4 UVI

seek shade
3 UVI

Remote workers

2,300 people

2,882 people

2,590 people

1,928 people

2,726 people

1,978 people

2,250 people

1,933 people

2,979 people

2,820 people

2,486 people

2,345 people

Green is good. Red is bad. Values shown are the medians of all daily highs in a month based on past few years, not necessarily current numbers. Remote worker count is estimated based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members. Not all nomads are on Nomads.com, and not all Nomads.com members log their trips. So the data is only indicative.

If you'd like to filter destinations based on their climate, try Nomads.com's Climate Finder

Based on Los Angeles's cost of living, here's selected remote jobs that would cover your costs:

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Help pick the best photos for Los Angeles and improve this page's look by tappingclicking on them and the site saves your feedback Vote photos

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0pts

61pts

29pts

12pts

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$1,442 / mo

🌇 Also went here606 people

Singapore

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety great

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 34° 93° 29° 83°

✈️19h

$4,088 / mo

🌇 Also went here413 people

1,600 remote workers in Los Angeles now, of which 7+ members checked in (some members are set to private)

Members who will be here soon

Members who have been here

Values shown are estimated visits by traveling remote workers based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members. Visits to a place are only counted once per year per user, even if they visit more in that year. Not all nomads are on Nomads.com, and not all Nomads.com members log their trips. So the data is only indicative.

The chart below shows visitors by nationality normalized for population size. This means we take all trips logged on Nomads.com, check which country of origin the user is from, then divide that total visit count by the country of origin's population. If we didn't, it'd just show the big countries like US, Brazil and India always on top. Instead, this shows which nationalities worldwide proportionally visit more or less, which is more useful.

⭐️ Total score	2.43/5 (Rank #456) 1627 reviews
❤️ Liked by members	👍4 liked it 👎2 disliked it
👍 Quality of life score	Good
👶 Family score	Good
🎒 Community score	Okay
💵 Cost	😳 Extremely expensive: $5,134 / mo
📡 Internet	🚀 Super fast: 73Mbps (avg)
😝 Fun	Great
⛅️ Temperature (now)	🥶 A bit cold: 16°C61°F (feels 16°C61°F)
💦 Humidity (now)	😊 Comfy: 66%
💨 Air quality (now)	🌱 Great: 38 US AQI
💨 Air quality (annual)	🌱 Good: 56 US AQI
👌 Safety	Good
🤮 Food safety*	Great
👮‍♀️ Lack of crime*	Good
🤝 Lack of racism*	Good
🎓 Education level*	High
⚡️ Power grid	Great
🌊 Vulnerability to climate change	Good
💰 Income level*	Very high: $4,817 / mo
🙊 English speaking*	Great
😤 People density	🧘‍♀️ Low density: 3k ppl/km² (1 per 17x17m)
🚶 Walkability	Great
🚦 Traffic safety*	Okay
✈️ Airline scores*	Good
🧳 Lost luggage*	Bad
🏥 Hospitals	Great
😄 Happiness*	Bad
🍸 Nightlife	Great
📶 Free WiFi in city	Great
🖥 Places to work from	Great
❄️ A/C or heating	Great
😁 Friendly to foreigners	Great
🗯 Freedom of speech*	Good
👩 Female friendly	Okay
🌈 LGBTQ+ friendly	Great
🎅 Startup Score	Good

🌍 Continent	North America
🚩 Country	United States
🗓️ Average trip length	8 days
📡 Internet speed (avg)	73 Mbps
⛅️ Weather (now)	☀️ 16°C 61°F + 😊 Comfy (66%) = feels 16°C 61°F
💨 Air quality (now)	👍 38 US AQI 🍃 OK
💨 Air quality (annual avg)	👎😷 56 US AQI
🔌 Power	115V 60Hz
🧔 Best neighborhood to stay	Silver Lake
🚀 Upcoming neighborhood	Central-Alameda
🚕 Best taxi app*	Uber
🚑 Travel medical insurance	Safetywing
💸 Tipping	Yes, 15%
💳 Cashless	💳 Yes, cards OK almost everywhere
💻 Best coworking space	Blank Spaces
🚰 Tap water	👌 Yes, safe to drink
♻️ Return rate	👍14% of visitors return
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Population	4,000,000 people
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 GDP per capita*	$57,808 / year
😤 Population density	🧘‍♀️ not busy: 17x17m (289m²) per person
👫 Gender ratio (population)	👨 49% 👱‍♀️ 51%
👫 Gender ratio (young adults)	👨 52% 👱‍♀️ 48%
👫 Gender ratio (nomads)	👨 80% 👱‍♀️ 20%
🏞 Foreign land ownership allowed	Yes
⛪️ Religious government	Non-religious
💻 Online electronics shop	Amazon
🏠 Apartment listings	Craigslist
✈️ Best short-haul air carrier	Southwest
✈️ Best int'l air carrier	Southwest

💵 Cost of living for nomad	$5,134 / month
💵 Cost of living for expat	$3,411 / month
💵 Cost of living for family	$8,617 / month
💵 Cost of living for local	$2,462 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$3,736 / month
🏡 Airbnb (median price)	$2,825 / month
🏠 1br studio rent in center	$2,080 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$175 / night
🏠 Airbnb (median price)	$93 / night
🏢 Coworking hot desk	$298 / month
🍛 Dinner	$19
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L)	$2
🍺 Beer in cafe (0.5L)	$7
☕️ Coffee in cafe	$5
👩‍🏫 International school	$22,930 / year
📱 Mobile data (~10GB)	$9 / month
🚕 Taxi price (avg trip ~3km/2mi)	$6 / trip
💰 Estimated tax on $50,000	$12,352
💰 Estimated tax on $100,000	$30,278
💰 Estimated tax on $250,000	$71,127