To me it's the city on the other side of the mountain. To everyone else it's the San Fernando Valley or just The Valley. It was described to me by a 45 year resident of LA as being the place where the normal people live.
Since our new place lies in the hills about halfway between Hollywood and Studio City I've been avoiding the not-so-normal people and shopping in Studio City. I must admit it's superior to the Hollywood side in terms of congestion and item price. I can actually push a shopping cart around the grocery store in the valley where I was restricted to hand baskets in Hollywood because there were so many people.
Groceries are a hell of a lot cheaper when compared to the Pavillions in West Hollywood where we were shopping and parking isn't as big of a problem. From here out I think I'm going to try and avoid Hollywood whenever possible.
The Valley is great! We chose Burbank because it reminded us the most of Colorado suburbia. Much more "normal" than Hollywood.