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Comment by rdtsc | Hacker News Reader

I wanted to like California, but every time I visit (mostly LA) I end up spending hours stuck in traffic getting places. It kills it for me, it makes the joy of nice weather, palm trees, the laid back attitude, the views, the beaches, kind of not worth it. I tried the Metro, but it didn't go where I wanted to go somehow. I tried the buses, but there were too crowded and they got stuck in traffic just as much as the cars.

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If you're only visiting LA, you're going to run into traffic. LA has arguably the first or second worst traffic in all of the US. As a counter-anecdote, I live in what could be considered an Oakland or SF suburb, and I can get everywhere I need to go by either walking or taking bart. I sit in traffic maybe two or three times a year.

I used to live in Berkeley and did the walk/BART/bus/carshare thing, and it was wonderful. I miss it a lot.

Having grown up in the midwest where everything is a 10 - 20 minute drive, I absolutely love it here. It's literally life changing.

I moved here from OK, and while traffic would also be my biggest complaint, you adapt to it like anything else. Like someone else posted, you get familiar with the flows -- for instance, northbound I5 is shit after 5pm, so I take side roads.

You gotta pay to live in paradise. I can be on the beach in 15 minutes. From an Oklahoman's perspective, I am basically on vacation year-round.

Exactly. I've lived in and visited so many amazing places that are just ruined by the traffic. For the last 1+ years I'm living in a nice (not amazing) place with few traffic problems and it really just seems better. I'll save the amazing places for vacations from now on, I think.

I made the opposite move about a year ago, and I think you have it right.

Traffic is awful

When you live there you learn when to not go on the freeway. The worst traffic for me has by far been SF. Twice I've been stuck in gridlock trying to get from say Keary and Grant to SOMA and it's taken 45 minutes just to go 2 miles. I've learned to just avoid that area in a car on a weekday anytime between 3pm and 7pm

> I tried the Metro, but it didn't go where I wanted to go somehow.

Metro rail is not complete coverage, however the extension out to Santa Monica (West LA) is opening early 2016. As you say, the buses get mired in traffic all too often.

here's a tip. don't spend all day driving across town.

sounds obvious right? yet people still try to do it for some reason. just pick a part of LA and spend a day or two there. it's not hard

just pick a part of LA and spend a day or two there.

Yeah. If you go to Paris or Tokyo or Mexico City or Seoul you can go to multiple parts of the city. Don't try that in LA.

Cities with first world infrastructure make it reasonably easy to get around like that, LA doesn't.

But that shouldn't ruin your trip. There's plenty to do around Hollywood or Santa Monica or wherever to keep you happy and learning new things for a few days.

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