My friends who are California natives say LA is what SF was like before tech ruined it. Venice Beach is so chill and laid back, I really loved the culture there. Sad to see it vanishing there, too, and I really empathize with the fact that I'm part of the problem.
Your friends just sound like bitter assholes tbh. LA is a sprawling metropolis that makes absolutely no sense to compare to San Francisco. LA as a whole isn't 'like' anything because it has such wildly diverse areas. Do you think Santa Monica has a similar feel to Compton or Hollywood?
See, we actually do agree here, given that the SF Bay Area has lost its diversity and become so monolithic that you can no longer draw a comparison anymore.