David, Hard questions to answer w/o knowing more about your priorities; one person's hell is another's acceptable place to live. For example, there is not enough $$ in the world to get me to live in Phoenix, but somebody must like it. There are hundreds of thousands moving there. (Same w/ Vegas, fastest growing city in U.S.). Then again, I wouldn't even want to live in the SF valley, (too hot), and that is 10 minutes from me. My cousin loves it. Go figure.
A good person to talk to if possible is Tyson Schmidt, a Pelicanite from Seattle who recently moved here for much the same reasons. We live 1 block apart in Koreatown, an area about 3-4 miles west of downtown L.A. that unfortunately has been "discovered" as a cool old part of town. Rents have gone up quite a bit in the 4 years I've lived here, but L.A. city has rent control so it only raises sharply when someone moves. Best thing to do is get a cheap plane ticket to both places and rent a car and see what you think. That way you could see rents for yourself and what you get for $$.
Once again, impossible to advise w/o knowing more. The other guys are right about Bakersfield being cheaper, (I would imagine), but it is an agricultural area in central CA., hotter than hell and boring as prison. Of course it's cheap, who on earth wants to live there? There are other reasons why I like living in big cities that have nothing to do w/ cars, L.A. has the bonus of being car nirvana. If you come here I'll show you around a little.
