You could find parking at the beach?
You could get to and from the mountains without half a day in bumper to bumper coming and going?
You could go to a park, with your kids, and not end up regretting it more than half the time?
After the smack dealer moved in across the street, watching my boy in little league being coached in Spanish, and realizing that 3x my income would qualify me for a 2 bedroom shack in Inglewood -- I had enough.
Not sure what bummer deal you happened to experience, but down here in OC, it's so mundane, it's almost boring.
Parking lots in HB are 1% of capacity 90% of the year. (And of course, as every native knows, the nicest beach days are in the winter.) Even on the busiest summer days, you can usually find a spot.
People commute from the Santa Ana Mtns (eg Trubuco Cyn) on a daily basis - perhaps they experience some of that traffic you mentioned.
Parks in OC are peaceful and idylic - nice Little League fields as well.
Sound like you were living next to Inglewatts - any inner city rathole in any state would be like that, not just Calif.