the worst things about la

this. and this. and this. and this. and this.

Why LA? Why not Buffalo?

Fascinating article I came across today. It contains most of the things I was planning on saying in this blog...maybe I should just give up and end it now. Read it here.

Yeah, I'm not too interested in Buffalo, New York. But a lot of the sentiments shared by these people are the same I have about NYC. Whenever I browse through craigslist ads for apartments in LA (or anywhere besides NYC, for that matter), I have this same exact thought: "And all of a sudden, they found they were staring at a very different what-could-be life: the one they’d be able to have if they were willing to leave New York."

I first came to NYC for the same exact reason--to live my "what-could-be life." And now that I've finished school, have a job, and am on my own, this is it. I am currently living my "what-could-be life." And it's really not as grand as I hoped it would be. And of course much of it is my own fault, not New York's. If I was willing to work for money, things might be better. But then again, things could be much worse. If I was more sociable, maybe I could have become an actual community member of the neighborhoods I've lived in and grown some roots. But I'm not, and I didn't. So in the end, this is it. My NYC-what-could-be life has peaked at the age of 25. Maybe not "peaked," but I can see what the remainder of my life would be like if I stayed. And it wouldn't be horrible. But it wouldn't be that grand, either.

So now, ironically, my what-could-be life is elsewhere, and it's no longer in NYC. And maybe LA is where it's at.

The shortest and sweetest quote from the article is this:

“I don’t miss my old life in New York. I only miss the life in New York I know I never would have had.”

Amen.

PS: Bonus points if you can recognize the skyline that's featured in the banner on top of my blog.

i want one right now

No donut in NYC can beat a fresh sugar-raised donut from Bob's at LA's huge Farmers Market (even though it's not really a "farmers market"). And a cup of their coffee, of course. Apparently, LA has the most donut places out of every city in the country. Drool...

new york city nights

When the weather in NYC is great, it feels GREAT. Maybe because those days are so few and far between, but definitely the entire city feels like it comes to life when the temperature and the sky and the breeze are just right.

We had that perfect weather this past weekend. And when one of those days come around, I want to go to water. Any water! The more obvious Manhattan choice is South Street Seaport, but for some reason that area gives me the chills...in a bad way. So instead, N* and I planned an evening that went like this:

1) Eat Korean fried chicken at bonbon
2) Head westward and catch a movie at the Battery Park theater (one of the best overlooked theaters in NYC, in my opinion)
3) Take a walk along the southern edge of Manhattan

Well, we got #1 and #3 done. When we got to the theater, none of the films jumped out at us so we headed to the water. And it was BEAUTIFUL. The crappy cell phone photo above makes it seem gross, but it was great. We saw the Jersey skyline, the Brooklyn skyline, and of course the Statue of Liberty along the walk. I know people love to hate this area of Manhattan, but really...if you had money or if you could find an apartment on the water in Battery Park for $500/month would you not live there?? I beg to differ. It was pretty late at night, and we passed a few couples sitting together on benches, a group or two rush by on their roller blades, and some singles walking their dogs. Enough people to not be creepy, but a small enough number to make you feel alone.

I do have a fear that the constant perfect weather in LA would be boring to me. But honestly, if the heat doesn't reach the humidity+heat level of NYC summers...I think it will be totally worth it.

chronicling an epic tale of adventure...

I've lived in NYC for seven years now. The first two years I absolutely despised it (especially its native inhabitants), the next four years I absolutely loved it (and became one of its native inhabitants), and the past year...well...I've become "meh." Meh is the best way to describe it. I do have those moments where I look around and see fascinating foods in Chinatown or the beautiful water edging DUMBO and think, "Only in New York!", but those times are becoming less and less frequent. But what has been increasing in frequency are the times I look around myself and see piles of garbage on the sidewalks, rats running down subway tracks, shockingly mean people who only care about themselves, and think, "Only in New York." I definitely always had these negative thoughts about NYC, even at the height of my love for it, but living here was sooooo worth it back then that it didn't mean much to me.

So...Los Angeles, then. I could use a big change. I'd specifically like to be somewhere with pleasant, invigorating weather. And yes, please, DRY heat. And I'd love to live in an apartment with more than one exposure! With sunlight coming in all day long! Where I can open two windows and feel an actual flow of air! Where the kitchen isn't an alley and has tons of counter space! What a dreamland. (I could probably get what I just listed almost anywhere except NYC, though.)

When I first started pondering this move, I scoured the internet for perspectives on NYC and LA. What I really looked for was someone's story of relocating from NYC to LA. I couldn't find any such thing, so I decided to start this blog as a way for me to flush out my own thoughts about this coastal move, and as a way of helping anyone else out there who may be considering the same thing.

Here it begins: the bests and the worsts of NYC and LA.

Had lunch today at Five Guys Burgers and Fries. Okay, there's one location between LA and Long Beach, but in NYC there's one a few blocks away from my office and also one a few blocks away from my apartment, so I'm gonna count it as a feature of NYC. And I have to say, it was pretty darn good.

But then again, LA has In-N-Out. And at In-N-Out, you can get great burgers (not as good as Five Guys') but at a much cheaper price. And you can eat lunch at the same In-N-Out with Gene Simmons from Kiss in LA. Not that I'm a Kiss fan, but they're pretty entertaining.

It's a close one, but I'm gonna have to go with LA on this round.

PS: I'm really hoping to hear from some hardcore New Yorkers and LA lovers in the coment section of this blog. Duke it out, people!