As someone who grew up in South Florida, went to college in Orlando, and moved to Miami Beach after graduation, I think it’s safe to say I’ve had the full Florida experience – and honestly it’s not bad.
But when I had the opportunity to move to LA, I didn’t even have to think twice.
I was tired of Florida, I didn’t like the work I was doing out there, and everything felt like a struggle.
Brutal winters in New York City were out of the question, but Los Angeles, the great metropolis of the West had beckoned to me.
“There’s palm trees in LA, right?” I thought to myself.
“It can’t be that different.”
But I was wrong, so wrong, and naive.
As usual, expectations gave way to reality, and I’ve found my first two years living in Los Angeles to be full of surprises (good & bad.)
Miami vs LA – How They’re Different
The differences between Miami and Los Angeles are not all immediately apparent, but some time spent exploring either city will quickly alleviate that.
For one, my fellow Floridians should know the weather in LA is not always as mild as people here would like you to believe.
I mean, it’s not as bad as New York winters, but the climate is certainly different here, and not in the ways I expected.
Miami vs Los Angeles Weather
Living in the San Fernando Valley, I spend the year trying to anticipate when extremely cold days and extremely hot days are going to happen (and how to dress for either scenario.)
Another thing I wasn’t expecting is, because it rarely rains, it gets dusty outside fast.
When it does rain, it pours (literally) for 2 or 3 days, to the point that the parking lot floods because LA’s drainage system is not the best.
Oh, and even on hot summer days, the beach is so windy you’ll need a light jacket.
Comparing Los Angeles to Florida, the weather is surprisingly varied, and I often miss the days of warm rain and humid air moisturizing my skin.
And let’s not forget about the LA wildfires…
Fire and smoke are a very real type of weather you have to plan around here during the dry season.
LA Cops… What cops?
The cops in California are great, mainly because you hardly ever see them.
I don’t think I’ve actually ever been pulled over since moving to California.
I got away with driving around for a year with an expired sticker and still never got pulled over *knocks on wood.*
Plus with recreational marijuana fully legal here now, there’s an air of indifference in regards to driving while smoking.
This is a far cry from days spent hotboxing the car in South Florida and having an anxiety attack whenever an unmarked Crown Victoria pulled up behind you.
Los Angeles Is HUGE Compared To Miami
Compared to a city like Miami, only small parts of which are actually lively and bustling, Los Angeles is a behemoth city with many smaller areas that each have a personality of it’s own.
Don’t get me wrong, Miami is quite large, but it feels like most of the city’s personality and flavor are clustered Downtown and on Miami Beach – where all the fancy hotels, high-rises, nightclubs, and beautiful beaches spring up practically on top of one another.
With LA, you have the posh Beverly Hills, bohemian Venice Beach, the tourist trap Downtown, leisurely Santa Monica, glitzy Hollywood, and hipster Silver Lake/Echo Park areas to explore.
In N Out Has A Cult-Like Following
But I think you have to be born here to get it, because I am not at all impressed with In-N-Out.
I do love Jack in the Box though, they’re open and selling breakfast 24 hours a day, we didn’t have that in Florida.
Oh, and there’s no Publix anywhere near LA!
In fact, Publix operates exclusively in the South Eastern region of the United States.
Can you imagine?
People here don’t know what a Publix sub is!
Everyone’s Down With The Detox
Maybe it’s just the circles I run in, but it seems like people here are much more responsive to the ideas of detoxing and making healthy choices as much as possible.
South Beach had people like this, but the rest of Miami didn’t seem too concerned with nutrition, fitness, and things like colon health.
I heard so much about colonic hydrotherapy treatment, I got my first one out here a few months ago.
My esthetician recommended a series of at least 3 colonics in short succession, so I’ll report on that when I’ve finished all my treatments.
The Ocean Is Just For Show
You’re welcome to try, but first you’ll have to endure the violent crashing of the waves on the shore and the jagged rocks along the ocean floor through the entire walkable portion.
From there it drops off and you become a sitting duck for sharks and whatever other creatures lurk in the Pacific.
When it comes to Miami vs. Los Angeles beaches, I’ll always choose Miami beaches for sunbathing, swimming, and wading in the sea.
Lots of people seem to enjoy surfing and paddle-boarding here though!
Traffic’s A Bitch
Having endured rush hour traffic in and out of Miami Beach for years, I can speak with confidence on this topic.
It can be worse here because of how large LA is.
If you live and work on opposite sides of the city, it can take over 2 hours to make the commute.
Inversely, Miami can be tough because it’s so small; there’s just not enough room for so many people.
But distance-wise, things are close, so if you arrange your schedule just right you can skip the big squeezes.
Nobody Cares If You Smoke Weed
When I first moved out here, it was decriminalized but not legal without a medical marijuana card.
Even then, it was pretty lax.
The dispensaries had to be strict of course, but people are very open about smoking and using it even in public.
As long as you’re discrete, nobody seems to mind.
Whereas me, I started smoking pot by hotboxing a parked card almost exclusively to not only avoid the wrath of my parents, but my friends’ parents and the cops as well.
There’s A Lot Of Talent In LA – Most People Have Multiple Hustles
Whether LA atttracts this type of person or the cost of living in LA necessitates most people to work side jobs to pay their bills, I’m not entirely sure.
But you can expect the majority of people out here to hold some kind of day job in addition to one or two creative hobbies.
Oh and the other thing?
A lot of people are REALLY good.
LA is overflowing with talent.
This is not your hometown’s Olive Garden server/mediocre musician.
People Are Culturally Nicer On The West Coast
This one really surprised me, and it surprises LA natives when I say it.
Because sure, it’s LA, the entertainment business is cutthroat, this is where Hollywood dreams come to die.
But outside of the glitz and inside the life of the real people of LA natives –
If it’s not gridlock traffic, people tend to be unaggressive drivers.
And I don’t want to imply the work ethic is different, but work seems to happen more slowly than the pace I was used to on the East coast.
Ultimately, I’m happy I moved from Miami to Los Angeles – it was the right decision for me at the time.
The cost of living in Los Angeles is high, but not a shock for me coming from South Beach, and the work opportunities in Los Angeles are much better.
Not to mention, it doesn’t hurt to be surrounded by the dreamers, the doers, and the hustlers of this generation.
LA keeps me working hard and striving to be a better version of myself, but Miami will always have my heart.
