SF and LA: Where’s the Love?
How a new California could offer a stronger relationship between the two
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A miracle is happening: the construction of the California high-speed rail.
The final $4.2 billion was released this month and, by 2030, high-speed trains will be running.
While Sagrada Familia is slated to be finished before the Los Angeles to San Francisco corridor, let’s hope the railway doesn’t take 140 years to be completed.
As for Elon Musk’s dubious 2013 plans to connect the two cities in 45 minutes, there still has been no working hyperloop to date.
Connecting California is something I support: I’m a California transplant and I take public transportation. I lived for 14 years in the San Francisco Bay Area, and moved to Los Angeles in 2021. I’ve discovered major differences between the two cities. What follows includes primary and secondary research as well as my own experience, written to mark my one year anniversary in LA.
The Facts: California is changing.
Once a destination for growth, California’s population has declined the past two years.
The main reason has been Californians moving to other states. A slowdown in immigration, lower birth rates, and increase deaths during the pandemic are also contributing factors to the largest state’s changing landscape. In addition, 265 companies left California during 2020–2022.
At a glance:
- The San Francisco Bay Area is made up of 101 cities and has around 7.8 million people.
- Los Angeles County is made up of 88 incorporated cities (plus additional unincorporated cities) and has around 10.4 million people.
Los Angeles is the most diverse city in California with Oakland and Long Beach coming in second and third, according to California.com. San Francisco has again been ranked the most gay-friendly in 2021.
Both San Francisco and Los Angeles are among the most expensive cities in the US. While you need $5.1M to be wealthy in the Bay Area, you only need $3.9M in Los Angeles, as seen in Charles Schwab’s Modern Wealth Survey.
