Los Angeles is expensive, but it’s still cheaper than San Francisco. Close to 4 million people live in the city, compared to San Francisco’s 864,000 or so residents. But unlike the 7-by-7 peninsula up north, Angelenos can spread out over 502.7 square miles of urban and suburban land.
Urban sprawl comes with its costs; one need only look to the roads and smog-choked sky to see the effects of car culture. But all that land, and all the housing that’s crept onto it, means you can live in a crowded place like Los Angeles — with all its beaches and culture and restaurants — and pay, on average, $2,220 for a one-bedroom apartment. In San Francisco, the same 800 square feet will cost you $3,426.
The numbers diverge even more in the real estate market. The median home price in Los Angeles is $674,140, according to real estate site Zillow. In San Francisco, it’s $1,341,791. The median in the greater Bay Area hit $820,000 in March of 2018 — a new record for the region.
“Alissa Nelson, 36, moved to Southern California after four years in San Francisco for a job and to be closer to her partner. The first few months in her two-bedroom house in Torrance, on the southwestern tip of Los Angeles County, were lonely.”
That’s all sorts of odd.
Westside LA is expensive. The beach cities are even more expensive than the BA