Also, I think I would kill myself rather quickly if I had to live somewhere without proper seasons. By September each year, I'm completely sick of wearing short sleeves and such, and I start to get
really cranky if it's not genuinely cold by Thanksgiving. Yeah, big snows can be a pain in the ass, but there's an equal amount about them that is fun and novel, and they only really come around every 4 or 5 years. Also, snow days.
Pretty picture though.
It's called "Winter". There's also "Fall" and "Spring" with which you might be accustomed from TV and/or books. None of which involve fires.
See, there's another thing about LA. I don't consider driving an hour to be a reasonable option; I want my weather to come to me, otherwise it's not weather, it's a vacation.
California is unique in that you can start your day sunning in the desert, spend the afternoon skiing on a mountain, and end it with a bonfire on the beach. Living in a longitudal state gives you a little of everything. It almost justifies the cost of living here.
Aside from the desert, we have all those things here too, actually. The mountains aren't quite as big, but good enough for a day trip, and my 80%-humidity-accustomed skin ain't interested in the desert. I'd probably shrivel up and turn to dust within minutes in an actual desert.
I'm acutely affected by lack of sunlight, gray skies, cold and claustrophobic canyons of high rises. I would be a suicidal wreck if I were to live on the East Coast.
Yeah, well, there are some people suited to the west coast and some people suited to the east coast. And really, never the twain shall meet. I can't stand California, and yes, I have been tons of times. It's a personality thing more than anything; I like the bitter, short, hurried pace and fuck-you attitude here on the old coast; some people like that laid-back pace and culture out there, and that's probably for the best, as otherwise, things would get
really crowded on one side of the continent.