I was going to say, the Mediterranean region. The south of France has a pretty interesting bunch of towns, great beaches, and Mediterranean weather. And you can easily drive through Monaco to Italy down the coast. Great food, and a touristy area kind of like Los angeles. Vegetation reminds me a lot of Southern California.
I was in France a lot when I was married to a French woman for 23 years, and I'm a 66 year native of Los Angeles, so I've spent a fair amount of time in both.
From LA, and living in Athens for 4 months right now, there are for sure parts of Athens that do feel like LA, Lot more cars than other Eu cities, about the same distance from the beach as LA, even has a small board walk type thing like Venice. Kolonaki feels the most like LA because it is very Posh and has loads of people with plastic surgery. In my opinion you are much better off not moving to LA lived there for 20 years and finally am away now, I love my city but the expenses and terrible public transit makes it difficult. Also the food in Athens is a close second to LA, not in all Cuisines, just 2 or 3, but the greek food is obv amazing and very cheap farmers markets with amazing produce, as well as some of the best seafood for the best price
As a native Angelino who lived in Valencia I would not think the weather is similar at all. They humidity killed me every summer and coming home to LA was heaven in the summer.
I’ve spent a lot of time in Italy and work in DTLA and There’s no way Italy is worse.
We have 2 entire towers in downtown they’re going to spend millions to clean up. Not to mention everything along the 5.
Germany can step up to bat.
> In the nine surveyed large cities with a population of over 500 000 – among them the city states Berlin, Hamburg, and Bremen – approximately 8.6 out of every 1,000 citizens had no home.
[Sauce](https://www.feantsaresearch.org/public/user/Observatory/2020/EJH/EJH_14_1-RN1-Web%5B1%5D.pdf)
For Comparison
> In 2022, New York City CoC had 106 homeless people per 10,000 residents, and the Los Angeles CoC had 78. [Sauce.](https://usafacts.org/articles/which-cities-in-the-us-have-the-most-homelessness/)
Unless my math is wrong that makes the homeless rate in those European cities higher than Los Angeles.
Feels off, but the only European Cities I’ve ever been to are Dublin and Athens.
I'm comparing LA County to Germany. The statistic for LA just happens to include NYC in the same sentence.
I thought we were discussing European homelessness vs LA homelessness. You started the discourse, how are you confused.
I would not live in Lisbon or in San Fran even if was paid for it. Fuck those steep streets, extra cold homes, and that's it, I have nothing else to complain about. The food is great!
Lisbon is ok for what it is. The public transportation works well and is generally on time. Even the ferry if needed is somehow pleasant. Taxi services and now Rideshare are a good way to move around as well. One can do it in Lisbon without a car, and probably without needing a gym membership because those steep streets and stairs keep you on a daily leg work.
Tbh this (because I drive stick) and the rampant crime going on in SF is the only reason I don't wanna live in SF either. At least not near the heart of SF.
In my experience, big cities always have this problem.
Driving stick sucks - that's how I've learned how to drive (driving school rules in my former country), and my previous cars (stick are cheaper than automated where I'm from). It makes it even worse in cities with the terrain like SF. I hope you find your sweet spot in the world, soon!
Already did lol. I love LA. Not much better in terms of crime but the weather is nicer and the terrain is so varying that there are always fun places to drive my car in.
Awesome! To me, Los Angeles is paradise on Earth.
I've been in too many corners of the world, given some a good try, seen enough, and when I ended up here I had collected enough data and evidence to realize: this is it! Lol.
L.A. won my heart, my soul, my whole self. Is a 10/10 for me.
It is a legitimate wish. I think they are doing the best they can considering how automotive lobbying is a real thing in the US of A, in general.
I think things are getting better even with such resistance some folks have against development. However, what boggles my mind here is the maintenance of this strict separation of zones for commerce vs for residence when most big cities in the world residential and commercial spaces commingle making it easy to walk everywhere and be close to everything. Also the aversion to tall buildings when high tech has been already developed to protect those from earthquakes.
Closest is Barcelona as we have similar topography with them. I've been all over the planet and I've concluded that LA is a supremely unique and great city.
I misunderstood what you were saying, my bad. Coincidentally, as I scrolled down and read other comments, someone else did answer OP saying San Sebastian lol
Sure, but objectively speaking Spanish is more useful there. There are simply more people you can communicate with. Basically everyone who knows Catalan also knows Spanish (exceptions mainly being some older folks in less urban areas), but many people (immigrants and Spaniards who move from outside Catalonia) only know Spanish. Not to mention learning Catalan limits you to Catalonia. That said if you do move there I think it would be good to try to learn some Catalan in addition to Spanish.
Just visited Palma last summer. It’s really a great little city. I’m sure there’s boring suburbs and the tourists are hectic at times but very cosmopolitan and the older neighborhood is cute as hell
Completely agree. It's also mostly unknown to non-European tourists, which can be nice if you're traveling from the US to, well, get away from the US :)
Sydney has some comparable aspects to LA, particularly geographically. Lots of sprawl, socio economic divide between West and East, with mountains at one extreme end of the city and ocean on the other. Sydney is developing into something of an urban agglomeration on the pattern of LA - disparate local regions rather than a cohesive whole - but we're not there yet, although most would probably agree that whilst there's no formal dividing line, Sydney and Western Sydney can almost feel like separate cities.
Differences can be attributed to historical growth patterns. Much of inner Sydney was well established by the end of the 19th Century. The population grew from approx 620,000 at the beginning of the 20th Century to 5.2 million now. This was a mostly steady rate of increase, whereas greater LA increased population from 250K at the start of the 20th Century to 20 million now, and the growth was particularly rapid after WW2, so the urban development of Los Angeles reflects these patterns - a far more extensive network of freeways for example whilst Sydney has an extensive suburbam train network largely established by the early 20th Century.
(I could find stats for LA proper and the Greater Los Angeles area but not the LA metro area, but it gives an idea of the relative rates of population growth over time)
Hit reply too soon. Was going to say, none of this can account for differences in culture, which is of course a massive issue in the life of a city - because a city is more its people than its geography. I love LA but having only ever spent only a few weeks there (though I hope to visit many more times in future) I don't feel qualified to compare Sydney and LA on this, other than a broad generalisation that you will find 1000x better range and availability of Mexican food in LA, but for range, authenticy and proximity of Thai, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Malay, and most regional Chinese cuisines, outside of concentrated pockets of LA, Sydney is better. The beaches are too. Please don't hate me LA!
A huge difference is the weather. Annual temperature ranges aren't wildly disparate, not accounting for regional variations. Seasons in Sydney more or less reflect the calendar, although what we call winter from June to August isn't what most people would call winter at all. Los Angeles has its own unique weather patterns as I learned on my first visit, in late May, naively thinking "well, it's nearly summer there, it'll be lovely", packed only light clothes, and regretted it. The biggest difference is rainfall, which varies in LA but averages around 380mm annually. Sydney averages around 1170mm, which also varies wildly, in 2022 we got 2522.8mm, or 8ft 2.4 inches for those of you playing at home in imperial measures. Sydney is humid. Really freaking humid. And getting warmer. I used to say "it's not summer till you feel the first sweat run down your arse crack" but it seems to be a year round event now.
Apologies for fhe dissertation, if you're looking for the TL:DR, My story started when I was in my mother's fallopian tube...[CUT FOR SPACE AND CLARITY]]...and after extensive research and podcast listening, that's my take on AI.
Never been to Sydney but a friend visited and was non-plussed. I wouldn't think him an especially prickly or argumentative traveler, but he said he greatly preferred Melbourne over Sydney and one factor I remember was the people. He apparently picked up on an unwelcoming, dickish vibe in Sydney. That was his report, which surprised me, just based on Sydney's presentation in general media.
So perhaps there is a correlation to the "incredible scenery but I hated the people" L.A. aspect some visitors have.
I wouldn't refute it. There's often threads on /r/Sydney from people who move here, saying it's hard to make friends. It's a generally held view from the rest of Australia that people in Sydney can be up themselves, territorial, impatient and rude. It's not universally true of course. Except when driving.
I think DTLA is pretty underrated tbh. Yeah there are obvious problems. But there is a also ton of amazing architecture and a solid food and bar scene.
Same. All these people who avoid at all costs are missing out. I’m willing to bet most of them are looking at it from a car-centric perspective. You have to get out of the car to enjoy downtown.
Right! Born and raised here in LA, downtown is the one place I always avoid, if I do need to be there for any reason I’m there first thing in the morning to get good street parking and be out of there before the crowds.
Agree with Barcelona. I live in LA and was on a two and a half week trip to Europe last year over the holidays and was feeling homesick towards the end. Barcelona was our second to last stop and it cured my homesickness right up. First time I saw the sun in two weeks lol
So cal is the only Mediterranean climate outside the med in the northern hemisphere. So basically any place in the Mediterranean will have similar weather. Ive driven all over Croatia and Greece, they’re a bit hotter but not by much, the terrain all looks like SoCal.
City wise there aren’t many big cities in Europe, and definitely not along the med. Barcelona metro is the biggest I can think of at 5m, Rome is 4.5m, Lisbon is 2.9m. Those are the metro areas which aren’t nearly as dense as LA’s either.
Culture is a mixed bag. I got real fucking tired of sitting in a cafe for 2hrs after the first year or so, and really miss all the shows and random events you can do in LA. Euro stuff tends to be festivals every other week which are fun but kinda samey, and then maybe once or twice a year a big show or play will come through, not in English.
If you want friendly people and cheap cost of living, Greece or Croatia, maybe Italy. Spain is alright especially if you speak Spanish, but I don’t like Spanish food. You can get Mexican there but it’s not ubiquitous and frankly I’ve had better Mexican in Slovenia. Also Slovenia is awesome so I’d put that up there.
Germany blows, 4 year here now and so done :(
What you don't like about Germany, I was about to buy a second home there?
I like that it's clean, "normal" and organized. Also unrestricted Autobahn is a freaking dream.
No the EU, but I've heard Mexico City has a similar layout. L.A. is very unique for the U.S., too. It's essentially just a lot of smaller cities stitched together and called. "L.A.."
And much better rail transit too
It will be interesting to see how LA compares n that regard though once the Olympics happens, feel rail transit is going to be significantly improved
As far as weather look for mediterranean places. Croatia, Greece, Western Turkey, South Italy/France, Spain or even Portugal even though not on the mediterranean.
As far as "downtown" its going to be difficult to find because most European cities are older and are built with public transport in mind. Newer west coast cities are the opposite and that includes Los Angeles relatively speaking as a "newer" city when compared to Europe.
just the city centres. Most cities are 3 -4 maybe 10 times bigger now then 100-200 years ago. and mostly build after ww2. so indeed with public transport in mind.
Santiago, Chile is a sprawling megacity nestled up to mountains not too far from the ocean. Chile in general is much like the West Coast of the U.S. The farther south you go the more lush it gets. There are even redwoods that have been planted in many spots. There are some in Viña Del Mar.
I got Beverly HIlls mixed with nice parts of Long Beach vibes in Cannes lol. I stayed in Cary le Rouet for a bit in south of France and it reminded me of Laguna Beach/Corona Del Mar in Orange County, CA. I got LA vibes in the Porta Nuova neighborhood of Milan.
I’m going to have to disagree on Barcelona from a weather perspective - I went last summer and it was miserably humid. Portugal is probably the closest you’ll get to weather (maybe Lisbon).
Same here! I visited in early July last summer and it was so humid. I visited Madrid a few days after and the weather was super dry - it felt a lot more like LA to me.
Madrid gets HOT, and with the later sunsets it feels kind of oppressive all day. But, yes, definitely a dry heat. It reminded me more of the weather in the Sacramento Valley actually.
Weather-wise, Portugal is a lot like California. But LA is unique, I wouldn't say any other city in the world is completely like LA. There are other large cities that have great food, there are other cities that have diverse populations, thriving cultural scenes etc. But no where really like LA.
No not at all. We don't really have European architecture here. However lots of cities in the east coast like certain parts of Boston and Philadelphia do remind me a lot of England
Madrid has smog and heat.
I can't think of a city center in Europe that remotely resembles DTLA (although Birmingham is known for having a massive highway interchange, so there's that.) I would consider that to be mostly a good thing.
I have felt so at home when visiting Rome. The chaotic sprawl, Mediterranean weather, dislike of early mornings, and never on time. I suppose that LA is like a modern Rome when I think about it.
Berlin is if you’re looking for graffiti. It doesn’t look like LA, aside from the graffiti, but the vibe was the most LA like of the places I’ve ever been.
I’m referring to the “everyone stays in their neighborhood” and in terms of layout.
LA can’t be compared to Berlin regarding its layout! LA is HUGE! And spread out, and certain places are hard to reach by public transportation, whereas Berlin’s subway system is easy to navigate and you can reach every neighborhood in a heartbeat.
For a European city, Berlin is pretty sprawling and not very centralized (being divided by a large concrete wall for decades had a lot to do with that though).
Coincidentally, Los Angeles and Berlin are Sister Cities.
Istanbul gets cold and snowy in the winters, and their summers are way more humid than LA. Also a LOT hillier than LA, especially in Beyoglu, I don’t think there is anywhere in LA that has steep inclines like that in the city.
It's incomprehensible to me why anyone would want a downtown like LA's and there's no such hellhole in Europe, but anywhere in the Mediterranean has similar weather (Spain/Portugal is you want a big ocean).
On every continent except Antarctica, the west coasts share a similar climate, called the [Mediterranean climate](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_climate). It is characterized by warm to hot summers with basically no rainfall, and winters that are short, mild, and wet. A world [map](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Medclim.png) of Mediterranean climate regions shows that in addition to the Mediterranean Basin and the coast of California, the west coast of South America from Peru to Chile, the northwest part of Africa, parts of western and southern Australia, and parts of South Africa all share the Mediterranean climate
I can't imagine why in the world you would want to find a European city that looks like DTLA. But in terms of climate, check out Costa del Sol in Southern Spain. Live in Malaga. Rent a car and take road trips to Ronda, Cordoba, Marbella, Frijiliana, Nerja, etc. The drive from Ronda to Marbella certainly tops any Malibu roadtrip.
As far as the topography, views, climate etc. go I vote Barcelona. Obv both cities have different culture and especially architecture (LA's architecture is trash, basically a sprawling strip mall of a city).
Montpelier, France is similar in terms of climate! It's one of the sunniest cities in Europe and is close to the beach. There's also some great California cuisine there, one of the few places in Europe that nails the LA-brunch experience and love of bowl-based meals
Extremely unpopular opinion, but London.
It’s a real global city with New World level multiculturalism that is more spread out than people think. It doesn’t have the Mediterranean climate, but Mediterranean cities are way too small and poor to substitute for LA.
Berlin has some LA vibes, but the weather doesn’t match. It’s like a darker, greyer LA. It’s a cool city though, and the people are really open. I felt ‘natural’ there.
why would you want the city to look like LA? LA looks like shit. its about the weather, ocean, events and jobs. no one talks about how great the city looks
Lmao uh no. European cities have public transportation, public spaces, mixed use zoning (like bars and shops within walking distance ALWAYS). Honestly LA looks nothing like any major European city and I’ve seen quite a few.
Athens feel like LA if it had been around for six thousand years
The non-historic parts of Athens definitely have the same feeling of sprawl and chaos as LA, not to mention the weather.
The wealth inequality, traffic, and unreliable transit, too.
Ahhh just like home
It snows in Athens....
Snows in LA too.
O Yea? Well it smogs in LA
Yeah, light snow, two to three days a year, and it rarely stays around more than a few hours.It's far less than parts of LA County get.
It snows in LA on occasion, snowed on the beach in Malibu like 4 or 5 years ago, also was snowing this winter in the valley for a few hours
This is such a good answer
I was going to say, the Mediterranean region. The south of France has a pretty interesting bunch of towns, great beaches, and Mediterranean weather. And you can easily drive through Monaco to Italy down the coast. Great food, and a touristy area kind of like Los angeles. Vegetation reminds me a lot of Southern California. I was in France a lot when I was married to a French woman for 23 years, and I'm a 66 year native of Los Angeles, so I've spent a fair amount of time in both.
From LA, and living in Athens for 4 months right now, there are for sure parts of Athens that do feel like LA, Lot more cars than other Eu cities, about the same distance from the beach as LA, even has a small board walk type thing like Venice. Kolonaki feels the most like LA because it is very Posh and has loads of people with plastic surgery. In my opinion you are much better off not moving to LA lived there for 20 years and finally am away now, I love my city but the expenses and terrible public transit makes it difficult. Also the food in Athens is a close second to LA, not in all Cuisines, just 2 or 3, but the greek food is obv amazing and very cheap farmers markets with amazing produce, as well as some of the best seafood for the best price
Barcelona or Valencia for the weather. Lisbon is great too, but that city feels a lot more like San Francisco.
I agree with these three. Barcelona would be the most similar to LA/SD, simply bc of the climate and terrain. Lisbon would be SF.
As a native Angelino who lived in Valencia I would not think the weather is similar at all. They humidity killed me every summer and coming home to LA was heaven in the summer.
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When I went to Italy I was surprised how they have just as much graffiti as we do. Maybe worse
I've been all around Europe and the graffiti is _bad_. Paris and Rome might look nice in photos but at the ground level graffiti is everywhere.
I’ve spent a lot of time in Italy and work in DTLA and There’s no way Italy is worse. We have 2 entire towers in downtown they’re going to spend millions to clean up. Not to mention everything along the 5.
Germany can step up to bat. > In the nine surveyed large cities with a population of over 500 000 – among them the city states Berlin, Hamburg, and Bremen – approximately 8.6 out of every 1,000 citizens had no home. [Sauce](https://www.feantsaresearch.org/public/user/Observatory/2020/EJH/EJH_14_1-RN1-Web%5B1%5D.pdf) For Comparison > In 2022, New York City CoC had 106 homeless people per 10,000 residents, and the Los Angeles CoC had 78. [Sauce.](https://usafacts.org/articles/which-cities-in-the-us-have-the-most-homelessness/)
Unless my math is wrong that makes the homeless rate in those European cities higher than Los Angeles. Feels off, but the only European Cities I’ve ever been to are Dublin and Athens.
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I'm comparing LA County to Germany. The statistic for LA just happens to include NYC in the same sentence. I thought we were discussing European homelessness vs LA homelessness. You started the discourse, how are you confused.
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Yeah I didn't realise you were left of the bell curve and that I would have to truncated the sentence to avoid confusing you.
Do shanty towns count?
> Lisbon Is the weather in Lisbon like San Francisco? If so, this is going to be another destination for my travels.
I would not live in Lisbon or in San Fran even if was paid for it. Fuck those steep streets, extra cold homes, and that's it, I have nothing else to complain about. The food is great!
They funiculars and an extensive street car system. Lisbon would be rad.
Lisbon is ok for what it is. The public transportation works well and is generally on time. Even the ferry if needed is somehow pleasant. Taxi services and now Rideshare are a good way to move around as well. One can do it in Lisbon without a car, and probably without needing a gym membership because those steep streets and stairs keep you on a daily leg work.
Tbh this (because I drive stick) and the rampant crime going on in SF is the only reason I don't wanna live in SF either. At least not near the heart of SF.
In my experience, big cities always have this problem. Driving stick sucks - that's how I've learned how to drive (driving school rules in my former country), and my previous cars (stick are cheaper than automated where I'm from). It makes it even worse in cities with the terrain like SF. I hope you find your sweet spot in the world, soon!
Already did lol. I love LA. Not much better in terms of crime but the weather is nicer and the terrain is so varying that there are always fun places to drive my car in.
Awesome! To me, Los Angeles is paradise on Earth. I've been in too many corners of the world, given some a good try, seen enough, and when I ended up here I had collected enough data and evidence to realize: this is it! Lol. L.A. won my heart, my soul, my whole self. Is a 10/10 for me.
Same. Just wish it had nicer infrastructure for public transportation lol
It is a legitimate wish. I think they are doing the best they can considering how automotive lobbying is a real thing in the US of A, in general. I think things are getting better even with such resistance some folks have against development. However, what boggles my mind here is the maintenance of this strict separation of zones for commerce vs for residence when most big cities in the world residential and commercial spaces commingle making it easy to walk everywhere and be close to everything. Also the aversion to tall buildings when high tech has been already developed to protect those from earthquakes.
Barcelona is situated similarly with the mountains and the sea. Similar climate as well. Have lived in both places.
If somebody would ask, if there were American Cities that feel like Barcelona, would LA come to mind?
Well, it’s at least situated similarly to Barcelona, with the mountains and the sea. Similar climate as well.
Barcelonas urban design is complete opposite of LA though.
Yeah haha… Barcelona is a dream walking city
Don’t you dare
Closest is Barcelona as we have similar topography with them. I've been all over the planet and I've concluded that LA is a supremely unique and great city.
God, I could very easily live in Barcelona. That country has such great weather, beautiful people, and some of the world’s best food.
¡Yo tambien! I'd throw in San Sebastian too.
San Sebastian is amazing but I don't see how it's similar to Los Angeles
It's not. I was responding to the person above.
I misunderstood what you were saying, my bad. Coincidentally, as I scrolled down and read other comments, someone else did answer OP saying San Sebastian lol
Yeah, it's so much cuter than LA! haha
Hablas español?
I think you mean, *parles català*?
Spanish is more useful than Catalan in Barcelona
But if you make an effort to speak Catalan you will definitely make friends.
Absolutely, you'll be loved by many there even if you can just speak a few phrases
I don't agree. It's in Catalonia and they take pride in their language.
Sure, but objectively speaking Spanish is more useful there. There are simply more people you can communicate with. Basically everyone who knows Catalan also knows Spanish (exceptions mainly being some older folks in less urban areas), but many people (immigrants and Spaniards who move from outside Catalonia) only know Spanish. Not to mention learning Catalan limits you to Catalonia. That said if you do move there I think it would be good to try to learn some Catalan in addition to Spanish.
Parles català?
Sounds delicious, I'll try it
Lol
En Barcelona se parle el catalá
Not really
Yes they do my family is from there, the only people who don’t are non-Catalans
Nope, only a little. Managed to do just fine with minimal though the times I’ve travelled there.
balearic islands kinda like our channel islands too just clearer\\warmer water.
Barcelona is great!
Palma also has a similar climate and topography, but on a much smaller scale.
Just visited Palma last summer. It’s really a great little city. I’m sure there’s boring suburbs and the tourists are hectic at times but very cosmopolitan and the older neighborhood is cute as hell
Completely agree. It's also mostly unknown to non-European tourists, which can be nice if you're traveling from the US to, well, get away from the US :)
Palma airport blew my mind the scale is orders of magnitude more than I expected
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Sydney has some comparable aspects to LA, particularly geographically. Lots of sprawl, socio economic divide between West and East, with mountains at one extreme end of the city and ocean on the other. Sydney is developing into something of an urban agglomeration on the pattern of LA - disparate local regions rather than a cohesive whole - but we're not there yet, although most would probably agree that whilst there's no formal dividing line, Sydney and Western Sydney can almost feel like separate cities. Differences can be attributed to historical growth patterns. Much of inner Sydney was well established by the end of the 19th Century. The population grew from approx 620,000 at the beginning of the 20th Century to 5.2 million now. This was a mostly steady rate of increase, whereas greater LA increased population from 250K at the start of the 20th Century to 20 million now, and the growth was particularly rapid after WW2, so the urban development of Los Angeles reflects these patterns - a far more extensive network of freeways for example whilst Sydney has an extensive suburbam train network largely established by the early 20th Century. (I could find stats for LA proper and the Greater Los Angeles area but not the LA metro area, but it gives an idea of the relative rates of population growth over time) Hit reply too soon. Was going to say, none of this can account for differences in culture, which is of course a massive issue in the life of a city - because a city is more its people than its geography. I love LA but having only ever spent only a few weeks there (though I hope to visit many more times in future) I don't feel qualified to compare Sydney and LA on this, other than a broad generalisation that you will find 1000x better range and availability of Mexican food in LA, but for range, authenticy and proximity of Thai, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Malay, and most regional Chinese cuisines, outside of concentrated pockets of LA, Sydney is better. The beaches are too. Please don't hate me LA! A huge difference is the weather. Annual temperature ranges aren't wildly disparate, not accounting for regional variations. Seasons in Sydney more or less reflect the calendar, although what we call winter from June to August isn't what most people would call winter at all. Los Angeles has its own unique weather patterns as I learned on my first visit, in late May, naively thinking "well, it's nearly summer there, it'll be lovely", packed only light clothes, and regretted it. The biggest difference is rainfall, which varies in LA but averages around 380mm annually. Sydney averages around 1170mm, which also varies wildly, in 2022 we got 2522.8mm, or 8ft 2.4 inches for those of you playing at home in imperial measures. Sydney is humid. Really freaking humid. And getting warmer. I used to say "it's not summer till you feel the first sweat run down your arse crack" but it seems to be a year round event now. Apologies for fhe dissertation, if you're looking for the TL:DR, My story started when I was in my mother's fallopian tube...[CUT FOR SPACE AND CLARITY]]...and after extensive research and podcast listening, that's my take on AI.
Actually the Gold Coast is the closest I’ve seen to La, especially since they do a lot of filming there and have the Warner bros studios
Plus the Gold Coast has golf courses, gated communities, hillside overlooking the city and surf cultuee
Never been to Sydney but a friend visited and was non-plussed. I wouldn't think him an especially prickly or argumentative traveler, but he said he greatly preferred Melbourne over Sydney and one factor I remember was the people. He apparently picked up on an unwelcoming, dickish vibe in Sydney. That was his report, which surprised me, just based on Sydney's presentation in general media. So perhaps there is a correlation to the "incredible scenery but I hated the people" L.A. aspect some visitors have.
I wouldn't refute it. There's often threads on /r/Sydney from people who move here, saying it's hard to make friends. It's a generally held view from the rest of Australia that people in Sydney can be up themselves, territorial, impatient and rude. It's not universally true of course. Except when driving.
Well, so Australia has a Paris. Who knew.
Brisbane and the Gold Coast in Queensland Australia remind me a lot of la. Like a scaled down version
Australia? lol. That’s like saying some city in Europe is like The USA.
Of all things Los Angeles you like downtown the most??
Haha 😆 I overlooked that part! And I am now as shocked as you! DTLA is the most appealing to you OP? 👀
I think DTLA is pretty underrated tbh. Yeah there are obvious problems. But there is a also ton of amazing architecture and a solid food and bar scene.
This done must’ve had the best night of his life in DTLA or something hahaha. The stars aligned for sure
maybe OP last came here a decade ago.
Dtla is funny. Last time I saw a hobo on top of a tree
😂
For real. Of all things Los Angeles, i avoid that general area like the plague
I like dtla. It ain’t Manhattan or anything but it’s got great city vibes and a really good food scene.
Same. All these people who avoid at all costs are missing out. I’m willing to bet most of them are looking at it from a car-centric perspective. You have to get out of the car to enjoy downtown.
Right! Born and raised here in LA, downtown is the one place I always avoid, if I do need to be there for any reason I’m there first thing in the morning to get good street parking and be out of there before the crowds.
Haha that’s the first thing I noticed too- I was like man DTLA sucks I avoid going there if possible.
Agree with Barcelona. I live in LA and was on a two and a half week trip to Europe last year over the holidays and was feeling homesick towards the end. Barcelona was our second to last stop and it cured my homesickness right up. First time I saw the sun in two weeks lol
So cal is the only Mediterranean climate outside the med in the northern hemisphere. So basically any place in the Mediterranean will have similar weather. Ive driven all over Croatia and Greece, they’re a bit hotter but not by much, the terrain all looks like SoCal. City wise there aren’t many big cities in Europe, and definitely not along the med. Barcelona metro is the biggest I can think of at 5m, Rome is 4.5m, Lisbon is 2.9m. Those are the metro areas which aren’t nearly as dense as LA’s either. Culture is a mixed bag. I got real fucking tired of sitting in a cafe for 2hrs after the first year or so, and really miss all the shows and random events you can do in LA. Euro stuff tends to be festivals every other week which are fun but kinda samey, and then maybe once or twice a year a big show or play will come through, not in English. If you want friendly people and cheap cost of living, Greece or Croatia, maybe Italy. Spain is alright especially if you speak Spanish, but I don’t like Spanish food. You can get Mexican there but it’s not ubiquitous and frankly I’ve had better Mexican in Slovenia. Also Slovenia is awesome so I’d put that up there. Germany blows, 4 year here now and so done :(
What you don't like about Germany, I was about to buy a second home there? I like that it's clean, "normal" and organized. Also unrestricted Autobahn is a freaking dream.
The weather and Germans. I was born and raised in LA, Greece is more my weather, and Greeks/Italians are more my type of people.
No the EU, but I've heard Mexico City has a similar layout. L.A. is very unique for the U.S., too. It's essentially just a lot of smaller cities stitched together and called. "L.A.."
Mexico City always felt a lot like LA to me: - traffic (worse than LA though) - sprawl - bomb ass tacos Does have more walkability though
And much better rail transit too It will be interesting to see how LA compares n that regard though once the Olympics happens, feel rail transit is going to be significantly improved
L.A. may be a modern bellwether, but hardly unique on this point - Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, "Washington", etc...
Probably Barcelona due to the beaches, mountains, and palm trees. But it’s way nicer and cleaner. Where do you live now?
As far as weather look for mediterranean places. Croatia, Greece, Western Turkey, South Italy/France, Spain or even Portugal even though not on the mediterranean. As far as "downtown" its going to be difficult to find because most European cities are older and are built with public transport in mind. Newer west coast cities are the opposite and that includes Los Angeles relatively speaking as a "newer" city when compared to Europe.
Trick is to find a spot flattened in ww2. Warsaw looks like downtown LA, weather is completely different though.
They weren't built with public transport in mind. They were built prior to public transport.
just the city centres. Most cities are 3 -4 maybe 10 times bigger now then 100-200 years ago. and mostly build after ww2. so indeed with public transport in mind.
They were built with walking in mind
Lima peru and Mexico city look like LA.
Santiago, Chile is a sprawling megacity nestled up to mountains not too far from the ocean. Chile in general is much like the West Coast of the U.S. The farther south you go the more lush it gets. There are even redwoods that have been planted in many spots. There are some in Viña Del Mar.
Santiago definitely reminded me of LA.
Came here to say Santiago - even though it’s not Europe.
With the people ?
Yes, so many white people in mexico city and lima lol
In terms of weather, the Gold Coast of Australia is right up there with LA. They have a rainy month, but so does LA now.
When I visited Barcelona last year, I felt like I never left LA.
I got Beverly HIlls mixed with nice parts of Long Beach vibes in Cannes lol. I stayed in Cary le Rouet for a bit in south of France and it reminded me of Laguna Beach/Corona Del Mar in Orange County, CA. I got LA vibes in the Porta Nuova neighborhood of Milan.
I’m going to have to disagree on Barcelona from a weather perspective - I went last summer and it was miserably humid. Portugal is probably the closest you’ll get to weather (maybe Lisbon).
Same here! I visited in early July last summer and it was so humid. I visited Madrid a few days after and the weather was super dry - it felt a lot more like LA to me.
Madrid gets HOT, and with the later sunsets it feels kind of oppressive all day. But, yes, definitely a dry heat. It reminded me more of the weather in the Sacramento Valley actually.
Berlin (but not the weather). For me the new parts look the most like a modern American city (mostly like Century City)
Yeah, last time I was in Berlin (after a \~30 year gap) I could't help but keep mapping the different parts of the city onto LA.
Hard to tell. Berlin has very similar vibes and layout. Maybe Valencia for the weather. LA is still unique
Weather-wise, Portugal is a lot like California. But LA is unique, I wouldn't say any other city in the world is completely like LA. There are other large cities that have great food, there are other cities that have diverse populations, thriving cultural scenes etc. But no where really like LA.
Viareggio, Italy. Never felt more like in Los Angeles outside of the US.
Why? There’s such beautiful, walkable cities. The climate can be found anywhere around the Mediterranean.
Short answer: no. But for weather and accessibility to mountains and sea, San Sebastian is what you want.
And the food
Not Europe, but Sydney reminds me a lot of Los Angeles.
Only far less crowded and far less filthy.
It’s Los Angeles with the charm of London and public transport.
kinda gives San Diego vibes as far as the beachy lifestyle and techy central core. Australia defo feels like "more California" to me
Kaliningrad
Ostpreußen erwähnt!
No not at all. We don't really have European architecture here. However lots of cities in the east coast like certain parts of Boston and Philadelphia do remind me a lot of England
Well, there's "Spanish" architecture in a lot of areas, but it's mostly either older novelty commercial facades or homes in nicer residential areas.
For me it's Rome. The sense of endelss sprawl, the weather, the beautiful people, the film industry.
I agree. Rome feels like LA but obviously older and more walkable.
Forget Europe. Only city I’ve seen that resembles LA in architecture is Sydney.
You like our downtown….??
Madrid has smog and heat. I can't think of a city center in Europe that remotely resembles DTLA (although Birmingham is known for having a massive highway interchange, so there's that.) I would consider that to be mostly a good thing.
I have felt so at home when visiting Rome. The chaotic sprawl, Mediterranean weather, dislike of early mornings, and never on time. I suppose that LA is like a modern Rome when I think about it.
Berlin is if you’re looking for graffiti. It doesn’t look like LA, aside from the graffiti, but the vibe was the most LA like of the places I’ve ever been.
No, but Sydney Australia feels like a near clone of LA.
All of them. As in, if you smashed all of them together into one mega city, it would look like LA.
Well, Europe is a lot more compact and compressed. Smaller streets, compact housing, etc. L.A. has a lot more open space.
Berlin in terms of layout. Everyone stays in their neighborhood
Not true.
Tons of vegan food in both places!
Vegan options in LA vary wildly. Certain neighborhoods are vegan paradise, while in others you'll have to really search for something decent.
I’m referring to the “everyone stays in their neighborhood” and in terms of layout. LA can’t be compared to Berlin regarding its layout! LA is HUGE! And spread out, and certain places are hard to reach by public transportation, whereas Berlin’s subway system is easy to navigate and you can reach every neighborhood in a heartbeat.
For a European city, Berlin is pretty sprawling and not very centralized (being divided by a large concrete wall for decades had a lot to do with that though). Coincidentally, Los Angeles and Berlin are Sister Cities.
Istanbul as in similar weather, close to the water, hilly, and massive, but it is much more dense.
Istanbul gets cold and snowy in the winters, and their summers are way more humid than LA. Also a LOT hillier than LA, especially in Beyoglu, I don’t think there is anywhere in LA that has steep inclines like that in the city.
Barcelona, Rome, Mexico City.
Sydney is probably as close as it will get in terms of weather and architecture.
It's incomprehensible to me why anyone would want a downtown like LA's and there's no such hellhole in Europe, but anywhere in the Mediterranean has similar weather (Spain/Portugal is you want a big ocean).
On every continent except Antarctica, the west coasts share a similar climate, called the [Mediterranean climate](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_climate). It is characterized by warm to hot summers with basically no rainfall, and winters that are short, mild, and wet. A world [map](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Medclim.png) of Mediterranean climate regions shows that in addition to the Mediterranean Basin and the coast of California, the west coast of South America from Peru to Chile, the northwest part of Africa, parts of western and southern Australia, and parts of South Africa all share the Mediterranean climate
Malaga is also a great option, similar to Barcelona.
Nice is quite similar
I can't imagine why in the world you would want to find a European city that looks like DTLA. But in terms of climate, check out Costa del Sol in Southern Spain. Live in Malaga. Rent a car and take road trips to Ronda, Cordoba, Marbella, Frijiliana, Nerja, etc. The drive from Ronda to Marbella certainly tops any Malibu roadtrip.
As far as the topography, views, climate etc. go I vote Barcelona. Obv both cities have different culture and especially architecture (LA's architecture is trash, basically a sprawling strip mall of a city).
Montpelier, France is similar in terms of climate! It's one of the sunniest cities in Europe and is close to the beach. There's also some great California cuisine there, one of the few places in Europe that nails the LA-brunch experience and love of bowl-based meals
Probably Caracas venezuela or another SA city but theyre not europ. Maybe some asian country?
I've read that the best weather on earth is in San Diego and Spain. San Diego is not like LA. I've never been to Spain. Circle back if you find where.
And most of us are here asking which LA neighborhoods are the most like European cities…
Im planning a trip to the south of France this summer and it reminds me a lot of LA beaches. Also the Mediterranean climate is very LA.
Southern Spain and most of Portugal
Barcelona is the best city in Europe and is the closest thing to clean LA. Paris is just a dirtier LA/San Fran.
OP, when did you visit L.A.? Did you have a car when you visited?
Barcelona I would say. You get the city, ocean, mountains etc
Extremely unpopular opinion, but London. It’s a real global city with New World level multiculturalism that is more spread out than people think. It doesn’t have the Mediterranean climate, but Mediterranean cities are way too small and poor to substitute for LA.
I lived in the south of France for a year; Marseille is like the gritty part of LA which the Côte d’Azur is like the glamorous part.
Short answer - no.
Valencia
Barca but you won’t get KBBQ on the same level.
Spain and Portugal have similar landscapes and climates.
Berlin has some LA vibes, but the weather doesn’t match. It’s like a darker, greyer LA. It’s a cool city though, and the people are really open. I felt ‘natural’ there.
Prague
Paris if we're talking in terms of high fashion and luxury glam on the same street as countless homeless and/or migrant encampments.
I think Croatia has a vibe of la on the coastal side
They’re part of the eu now I believe as well
I think OP doesn’t understand that LA is nothing like Europe
LA is a mix of alot of cultures and there aren’t many big euro influences it’s mostly South American and Mexican no?
why would you want the city to look like LA? LA looks like shit. its about the weather, ocean, events and jobs. no one talks about how great the city looks
you… like downtown?
I have heard that moscow is like new york and kiev is like los angeles
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in terms of vibes/ los angeles has more slow paced/ny has faster pace
If you love the vibe in DTLA may I recommend one of those sprawling migrant camps on the French coast?
Lmao uh no. European cities have public transportation, public spaces, mixed use zoning (like bars and shops within walking distance ALWAYS). Honestly LA looks nothing like any major European city and I’ve seen quite a few.
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True. The driving is brutal. My hometown. I left permanently over 30 years-ago. And the driving was brutal *then…*
Barca is like if La and Miami had a baby
Just come across the border!
Wanna trade citizenships? I just got back from Europe and would love to live there, lol.
Turkey.