Thursday, September 25, 2014

Homesick in Hollywood: What this New Yorker likes about LA

Whew!  It's been a while, hasn't it?  I've been so busy settling in from my recent move, adjusting to new everything, blah blah, etc. etc., that I'm literally just starting to come up for air...

(Exhales)

I've been a bit homesick lately so, in an effort to make myself feel better, I decided to make a list of all the things that I enjoy about my new life here in LA.  After all, it's almost been 4-months since I moved from NYC!

Here goes, "things I like about LA"...
  • Every bathroom stall, regardless of how hoity-toity or crappy the venue, is stocked with toilet seat covers.
  • Neighbors actually interact with one another.  In fact, I met 3/4 of mine on the first day I moved in (although that, in and of itself, was quite overwhelming).
  • Instead of seamlessly walking to the bodega for a midnight ice-cream run , I'm just too GD lazy to get in my car here and search for something that's even open outside of my immediate radius.
  • There's this amazing, old-school rap/hip hop station, K-DAY 93.5, that plays all of the jams that we used to listen to in the 90's.  Think Tupac, Snoop, Notorious BIG, Easy, Outkast, A Tribe Called Quest, Nas...................  
  • LA is where gangsta' rap was born, y'all! 
  • All of this sunshine is good for me.  I guess... 
  • It's socially acceptable not to date a guy who doesn't work in finance.
  • The cost of living is almost 50% less (for me, at least) than it was in NYC.
  • The average cocktail ranges from $9-$14; in NYC, I was looking at $14-$20.  And I drink.  A lot.
  • Palm trees.
  • Mexican food.
  • Outdoor dining.  All year long.
  • My neighborhood.
  • My pup, Lucy, loves going for walks outdoors and meeting new friends.  In NYC, she would get so dirty on walks that we had to resort to "ball in the hall," a game where I would throw the tennis ball down our floor of the apartment building's long hallway and she would run and fetch.
  • Ralph's Grocery Store, which is stocked with some of the coolest (no pun intended) and hard-to-find frozen meals on the market.  And a Murray's Cheese kiosk.
  • Sushi.  It's wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy better here.  And Sugarfish is the best of the best.
  • The expansive view from my 39th-floor office.  Including, but not limited to, Candy Spelling's two-story penthouse.
  • My sister and her husband live 45-minutes away. 
  • Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.
  • The chile relleno burrito from La Azteca Tortilleria
  • Ridiculous shet to make fun of.  Like this...
  • And this tidbit of info, if it's actually true...
  • The new friends that I've made here (special shout-out to Cate and Elaina).
  • Reconnecting with old friends (Marisa, Cristina, Yas, Nicole, Meg & Hung, Carmen, Ada, and Portia).
  • Driving: I actually don't mind or dread it as much as I thought I would.
  • LA Mexican Food Lovers' Meetup Group: You're damn right I started this group here!
  • I can walk, bike, or drive to work.  It's only 1.5 miles each way!
  • Seeing Larry King huddled at his favorite corner booth with all of his cronies (at the bagel shop he owns close to my apartment) always puts a smile on my face.
  • The cocktails at Goldie's...
  • My apartment and its square footage.
  • Events that rival those in NYC...
  • Wine, beer, AND alcohol is sold in grocery stores, pharmacies, and convenience stores.  And we're not talking Franzia, folks!  This shet is legit.

I'm sure there are more things that I like in and about LA, but this is a list that immediately came to mind.  That's a good start, no?  Come to think of it, there aren't too many things that I don't like about this town but, at the end of the day, it's just not NYC.  And I looooooooooooooove NYC.  So then why the hell did you skip town, you ask?  First and foremost, I have always yearned to be closer to my family.  The other two major reasons?  Well, let's just say that they didn't work out according to plan.  But, hey, you live and you learn...
Speaking of The Big Apple, I'm headed back home in November for the first time since I moved.  While I'm ecstatic, I'm also terrified.  Will I not want to board my LA-bound plane at the end of my trip, or will that chill in the air and hustle/bustle assure me that it's OK I left?  Only time will tell...

...

Lindsay, Beverly Hills Bites

      1 comment:

      1. Listen to 92.3 for more old skool music and The Conservatory ( and independent coffee shops) have better coffee (located on Washington Blvd across from Sony Pictures)...You'll yearn for the warmer weather, but the warmth of friends might fulfill that

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