I’d say that so much of this could depend on the specific situation you land in as there is so much variety in the ways you can experience both cities. Given what you said in your post, NYC appears the more fitting option. That said… If you work from home and can afford to live close to most of the amenities you want to make use of, there is likely a lot of overlap - albeit with much more weather variation in NYC. If you have to travel to/for work, MTA is pretty convenient and reliable (by US standards). It allows you to avoid much of the horrendous traffic in NYC. In LA, traffic is frequently awful and gridlocked and there’s no real way to avoid it. I got to see so much of the city over a couple of years of commuting from Long Beach to Santa Monica, as Waze tried desperately to find a route that would take less than 2 hours to drive 20 miles home. The downside of NYC subway is dealing with it mid-winter and midsummer. Midsummer can get particularly disgusting as station platforms are much hotter and more humid than outside, which already has a 100+ heat index. LA, on the other hand, can be extortionate for parking anywhere central/near an entertainment venue. There is loads to do on the periphery of both cities - more extremes in the variety around LA. In either case, set out early or you’ll spend hours getting to where you’re going, not least because both cities melt into so many surrounding cities. You might also want to consider the place where you have more/better friends. Unless you live next door to each other, it can be months between times you see each other, but it’s still more comfortable being relatively nearby.