bigbassturd is on the money about LA. HORRIBLE traffic. Mostly a dirty city full of people trying too hard. I have fun visiting, but it's always nice to come home and slow it back down. I do like Venice and parts of Santa Monica, though.
SD sometimes feels like a city that doesn't know it's a city. Gorgeous springs with flowers blooming all over the place. The culture is very active and there is a lot to do if you are someone who likes to do things like hike, scuba dive, run, ride your bike, etc (though I really have a bad taste in my mouth when I come across some of the die hard triathlon crazies). The residents seem to forget how to drive when it rains, though. Dude, turn on your effing headlights. I've seen more near accidents in the past two days than I have almost the whole year I've been here.