- I’ve lived in Los Angeles my entire life and there’s no place I’d rather be.
- Some reasons for that include its diversity, its space, and its climate.
- I love how you can go from snow on the mountains to the beach in SoCal — all in one day.
Late last year, I was itching to leave my hometown of Los Angeles and booked a short trip to the East Coast. But, as soon as I boarded my return flight, I realized I couldn’t wait to get back home.
Though I love exploring new cities, I could not imagine another city to fall in love with over and over again. I’ve lived here for my nearly 23 years of life and there are four reasons I can’t imagine another homebase.
There is immense diversity in space and people
While sometimes Los Angeles feels like a small town when I run into secondary school teachers or college professors, the city is massive, stretching more than 469 square miles and dwarfing other major US cities.
In addition, as one of America’s most diverse cities, Los Angeles is home to people from 140 countries who speak 224 different languages. It means each street in LA feels like its own neighborhood with its own distinct feel and rhythm.
For example, while the Fairfax district has become a haven for sneakerheads and Instagram-famous eateries, historically it was a Jewish enclave where Eastern European immigrants set up businesses after World War II. Today, the signs of the delis still exist, with the famous Canter’s Deli persisting against a tide of change.
This is true of other neighborhoods too — even as they change, signs in Spanish, Mandarin, Arabic, and other languages remain as a testament to the people who made the pockets of Los Angeles what they are today.
The food is filled with stories
Another benefit of living in such a diverse place is that people have brought recipes from home.
There’s a stereotype that LA is a green-juice wasteland, but in my experience that’s just not true. It’s a city fed on a wide variety of foods from the immigrants that come here. It means I’ve had my fair share of the Oaxacan mole, sea urchin, doro wat, and more.
I only have to jump in my car — it is LA, after all — and drive a few minutes to try something new. And then I get to hear someone’s story over some food — the great connector and a key part of what I believe makes Los Angeles a beautiful city.
The climate is second to none
The flowers in bloom in Los Angeles’ Pacific Palisades.
Rachel Bernstein/Insider
In Los Angeles, we often gloat about the number of sun-drenched days we have — we get almost 300 sunny days a year, and RedFin ranks us as the 8th sunniest city in the US.
But while it’s true we get the sunshine of Florida without the humidity, we have variety, too. You can sweat in beach cities like Venice and the Pacific Palisades, and then snake your way through the mountains up to popular snowy towns like Big Bear and Lake Arrowhead.
I never find myself taking the sunshine for granted, but if I want to see some snowfall, going to the mountains is within reach, too.
There’s an endless list of things to do
The author’s view of a USC football game at the LA Memorial Coliseum.
Rachel Bernstein/Insider
In Los Angeles, you can see a show at the Pantages Theater, a concert at SoFi Stadium, a football game at USC or UCLA, or the Lakers at Crypto.Com Arena, although we’ll always call it the Staples Center. And of course, the city is packed with smaller venues where up-and-coming artists can make a name for themselves. I never need to doubt if a show or artist is coming to the city because the number of stadiums and venues mean they most definitely are.
There’s simply no shortage of things to do — I can text a friend that I want to go to the beach, or a hike, or (because they’re near-ubiquitous) a farmers’ market, and find myself there less than an hour later.
Los Angeles is recognized worldwide for everything it has to offer — the city will be hosting its third summer Olympics in 2028. When the time comes, I’m thrilled more people will get to experience my home city and realize why it’s one of the best.
