It's better than it used to be. A LOT better.
Sure it looks the way the TV portrays it. You just have to catch it the day or 2 after a good rain. Then the smog creeps back in.
Regarding LA:
I hate traffic. I don't really like having to drive 30 minutes to get anywhere (OK, some things are only 10 minutes away, but still). I hate that, at any time of the day, the I-5 is a parking lot.
that being said, there's things I don't like about Philly and Detroit too, both places I've lived for 2 years. Hampton Roads has its problems. Heck, even rural Missouri had 1 or 2 issues.
There's things to hate about every location. The trick is finding all the cool things that outweigh them.