As a Torontonian who recently visited LA, I wanted to chime in on this discussion. I definitely saw a lot of similarities between Toronto and LA. Both are very much cities of neighbourhoods. People who visit LA shouldn't just visit downtown, but need to go out and see Venice Beach, Beverly Hills, Hollywood, etc. People are more connected to their neighbourhood than to a bigger city picture. I see this all the time in Toronto. Although amalgamation happened over 10 years ago, I still feel Toronto divided into its former municipalities. And with the City of Toronto itself becoming so expensive, I've come to accept that people who live in surrounding cities (Richmond Hill, Markham, Mississauga, etc) are essentially a part of Toronto - the way Anaheim, Santa Monica and others feel part of LA.
I also find that both cities are very accepting and inviting. I was charmed to arrive in LA and find that you really can be anyone and fit in. I think Toronto, with its many quirky neighbourhoods, can rival Venice and other quirky LA hoods for being open to just about anyone.
Both cities also have a transit system that has failed to keep up with the reailty of its size. Yes, Toronto's system is great considering, but I lived in York Region for a while and found that the transit connections are very difficult as you get farther out. The same is true of LA - the subway system really need to be massively extended, and light rail should be used in place of heavily used bus lines.
But of course all these things take money. The point that I wanted to make (and which inspired me to create an account on these forums) is that Toronto and LA have a lot in common. Despite differences in weather