Cost of Living

Re “L.A. Area Is Newly Affordable,” Feb. 28: I remain unconvinced that the cost of housing in Los Angeles city is comparable to that in Seattle or Atlanta. Casually reading through The Times’ Westside Homes section I find any claim of affordability to be almost laughable.

The huge area (Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, Orange and Los Angeles counties) utilized in the research makes the study somewhat suspect. Without knowing the study area of the other cities cited, the article doesn’t appear to be comparing apples to apples. Was this a comparison between the city of Seattle and a five-county region of Southern California? Did the study include the metropolitan area of Atlanta, or just the city of Atlanta? I don’t dispute that the family quoted in the article who moved from Seattle to Mission Viejo found comparable housing prices, but I will argue that Mission Viejo isn’t Los Angeles.

BOBBY RAY

Los Angeles