NYC hates on L.A., but do we care?

Having grown up in L.A., where I was reared by "wild creative types" and forced to go to private school before finally making it to New York, where I spent a carefree post-grad summer couch-surfing in Williamsburg, I can't really get defensive about Radar's trend report concerning Angelenos moving to New York and taking over the city's nightlife scene. In Manhattan Transfers (via LA Observed), Radar reporter Sarah Wick captures frustrated New Yorkers hating on the latest influx of L.A. transplants. From the article:

Exhibit A
One L.A.-born NYC fashion assistant explains, "All the L.A. kids hang out together. Literally. They all went to Windward/Crossroads and now they all go to NYU." She adds, "It's just an extension of being backstage at Coachella every year, going to private school and having very wealthy parents who are also wild creative types."

Exhibit B
A beleaguered Lit regular says, "Make up your mind: do you miss L.A. or do you love New York? Why are you here talking about Cali bud? If your buddy back home has a club card, why don't you stay there and stop complaining about East Coast weed? Why are you here?"

And there's Exhibit C
"They have even less regard for the weather than New Yorkers. They assume they can wear leather jackets in the summer," claims another New Yorker.

This is where I can't help but take issue. Are we to assume that all the tank-topped ladies wearing scarves in this New York Times summer style piece are from L.A.? Or is it possible New Yorkers don't have any regard for the weather either? (Anna Wintour, feel free to leave a comment below.) I'm all for calling it like it is, but commenting on Angelenos' inappropriate dress is like the pot calling the kettle black.

I'm sure the piece was supposed to ruffle some feathers, but at the Metromix L.A. HQ we just rolled our eyes and wondered aloud if New Yorkers ever get bored with this one-way rivalry they've waged against us. (My dear friend Adam Rathe likes to call the West Coast the "worst coast." I like to call him a genius, but that’s a story for another time.)

You don't see us dismissing New Yorkers when they move to L.A. For the most part, we admire them for their ambition—because we can relate to it. Who else but a New Yorker could move to L.A. for rehab and then have the will power to stay clean while club-hopping in Hollywood? (Those aren't apple martinis in their hands; it's green tea.) And what about New Yorkers who come here to open NYC-style bars, like Andy Fiscella (Crown Bar, Winston's, the Dime) and Allison Melnick (the soon-to-open Apple Lounge)? Not only do we welcome them with movie roles and reality TV shows, but we also make their venues blockbuster hits.

Allison Melnick: an ode to L.A. and NYC

L.A. is more than a city of laid-back slackers. A lot of us are dreamers on a mission, meaning we're too busy thinking about our next big break to occupy our time obsessing over the scruffy, Chanel-wearing hipsters that exist in every cosmopolitan city from here to Paris, London, Barcelona and everywhere else Elle Girl's street team has pointed its camera lenses.

—Alexandra Le Tellier