i moved to redondo beach (just south from la la) ~1 month ago and my experience is completely different.
there's no real traffic issues UNLESS you get on the freeways, and that is usually only at an inopportune time, otherwise the freeways are just difficult to navigate, lot's of lanes and lots of freeways. but very little construction on any of them.
i can walk to a retail area (riviera shopping center) that has shops, restuarants and grocery stores, etc. post office. i live on the beach esplanade and while the beach does get more crowded on the weekends, there are always still places to park and big empty spots on the beach to set up your gear and during the week i can take my dog down on the beach and we can play around with no hassles, it is that empty, and the surf!
i was telling my family from back home just the other day that i have yet to see ANY graffiti ANYWHERE i have gone in redondo beach and that is a fact.
i find most the people very friendly and chatty, with plenty of white americans. i went to cal for college, lived in san francisco for a while of that and the ethnic variations there were more prominent, as i recall.
and there's nothing like seeing the cali girls riding their beach cruisers in bikinis!
life's a garden, dig it!
