The mean, stupid and expensive capital of the U.S.? Survey says Los Angeles is a contender

Hey, here’s some good news, of a sort, for anyone planning on leaving Los Angeles anytime soon. In Travel & Leisure magazine’s annual survey on America’s favorite cities, readers agreed that just about every place else is better, in one way or another, than Los Angeles is.

When it came to public transportation, pedestrian-friendliness and friendliness generally, Los Angeles ranked dead last among 35 major U.S. cities.

Oh, yes, and the affordability of Los Angeles and the intelligence of its residents were ranked 34^th of 35.

By whom? Well, the results were compiled from responses to a survey that appeared on the T&L website between July 1 and Sept. 15. Respondents ranked the 35 cities in each category using a 1 to 5 scale. Staffers at T&L’s New York headquarters said that more than 50,000 responses were tallied (that’s responses, not respondents) and that people were allowed to vote more than once.

In other words, you’ve already spent too much time thinking about this.

Still, if you’re outward bound and share the sensibilities of Travel & Leisure’s readers, congrats! Your world is apparently about to get cheaper, smarter, friendlier, tastier and culturally richer, with better lodgings, more attractive people and superior coffee, beer and barbecue.

On the other hand, if you’re one of the 2 million or so visitors Los Angeles gets every month… well, I’d stay away from anybody you see in town reading a copy of the December Travel & Leisure. Whether local or tourist, they’re bound to be cranky.

Some of the T&L reader favorites:

-- For culture: New York, followed by Washington, Boston and Chicago. Los Angeles ranked 29^th and Orlando, Fla., was last.

-- For food and dining: New Orleans; followed by San Francisco; Providence, R.I.; New York; and Chicago. Los Angeles was No. 12 and Anchorage was last.

-- For nightlife: New Orleans, followed by Austin, Texas; Las Vegas; New York; Nashville; Chicago; and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Los Angeles was 16^th and Salt Lake City was last.

-- For friendly people: Charleston, N.C.; followed by Savannah, Ga.; Nashville; Honolulu; and Salt Lake City. In finishing last, Los Angeles trailed just behind Miami, Philadelphia and New York.

-- For attractive people: Charleston again (did we mention that respondents were allowed to vote more than once?), followed by San Diego, Savannah, Miami, Salt Lake City and Honolulu. Los Angeles ranked 14^th and Memphis, Tenn., was last.

Though the poll’s disparagement of Los Angeles was fairly thorough, there were exceptions. The T&L readers ranked Los Angeles fourth for luxury shopping, sixth for big-name restaurants, seventh for home decorating and design stores and eighth for big-name luxury hotels and weather.

“We thought it was pretty humorous,” said Michael McDowell, senior director of cultural tourism for LA Inc., the city’s convention and visitors bureau. “We were caught a little off-guard that we ranked below Portland, Maine, in terms of culture. But we do know we’re the second most popular destination in the United States. Or, as I like to say, the most popular destination west of the Hudson River.”

Because what Angelenos treasure most of all is pity from New Yorkers, I asked a couple of T&L staffers if they had any words of consolation.

“L.A. came in No. 4 for shopping. That’s pretty good,” offered T&L spokeswoman Jill Davison.

Rich Beattie, the magazine’s online executive editor, pointed out a part of the survey that compares residents’ and visitors’ opinions. The Los Angeles numbers might not be world-beaters, Beattie said, but “the perception of the locals seems to be on par with how the city is perceived by people who didn’t live there.”

So Los Angeles, stop insulting tourists and Googling yourself for a moment – you might even want to pull over -- and listen up. Your real problem here, despite anything else you may have heard over the years, just might be insufficient self-esteem.