I lived in San Diego for seventeen years–a very long time–the longest time I’ve ever lived in one place. I raised my son there, I made friends for life there, and I grew a career there. Until three months ago, when I relocated to Los Angeles.
The last time I lived in LA was after college–I’d moved from New York. In both cities I was trying to start an acting career–that didn’t go as expected, and ultimately I ended up back in my home town of Washington D.C.
I moved from LA to DC with my boyfriend at the time. He would go on to be my husband of seventeen years, and the father of our incredible son. After five years, we’d leave DC and move to San Diego with the idea in mind that we’d to be closer to the Pacific ocean and to able to virtually live on vacation year-round.
Fast forward to today, and I wouldn’t have imagined in a million years I’d be living alone and unmarried in LA–again.
Admittedly, this time I come to LA triumphant. With a job, versus auditioning/begging for work and feeling rejected at every turn–a different world all together.
LA doesn’t seem the same to me as back in the 90s when I lived in a dumpy apartment in Toluca Lake. Today, restaurants are amazing, there’s a diversity of neighborhoods to explore, and the the city is far more beautiful than I remember from my 20s.
Biking to work every day I see the seasons turning, as leaves change color among the huge trees over the brick mansions in Hancock Park. I love biking past the Orthodox Jewish families walking to and from synagog. I’ve traveled to Baldwin Hills, Culver City, Silver Lake, Los Feliz, Beverly Hills, Larchmont, all over Hollywood–and even the Valley–I try to steer clear of that area as it requires driving by freeway.
Despite its reputation as a smoggy over-crowded mess of a city, the LA I’m getting to know is like a really smart friend–the more you discover, the more you appreciate their beauty and quirky sense of humor.
Here’s 5 surprising discoveries about the city I now call home.
- When you’re biking in LA, Prius drivers are the absolute most aggressive–after moms in SUVs, followed by overweight women in expensive cars.I own a Prius, I hope I’m not too aggressive.
- LA is extremely quiet–except for the helicopters.
- Not everyone is a celebrity–in fact most people aren’t, and when you do spot one, they’ll usually disappoint you with their normalcy or how badly they’ve aged–which in turn makes me feel old as I think I remember them as I also remember my face in its younger days.
- It’s very hard to make friends here–hoping that will change.
- Literally every day the scent of marijuana wafts by me as a bike to or from work. It’s a nice smell and for some reason it gives me the feeling as if I’m living in a city where personal freedom is granted–and I like that.
