Monday, December 1, 2008

"Chik-Fil-A Doesn't Exist Here" And All The Other Reasons Living In More Than One City Is Confusing

I took this picture while driving around. I had time to kill so I just drove and drove and drove through three counties. Funnily enough, I don't even remember in what county this picture was taken.

So I have been feeling really out of place here in LA. I haven't found anything that just makes me feel like I belong here. Not yet anyways. I think I want to leave, and then come back. I also think I want to go to New York. There's no denying how amazing it is. What I love is how you can live your own life and yet stay connected to the city simultaneously. It's such a living, breathing city. You can tell when its sad, or happy. You can feel it when New York holds its breath, and you can let out a sigh of relief when it does.

Anyways, totally NY unrelated, I have also been seriously thinking of going back to Atlanta. I will admit it has gotten a little bit funner (although the vast amounts of fun are still reserved for those 21+), I still feel like I should stay in LA a little longer. That is one of the things I love about LA. Not only are there OODLES of things to do for the under-car-renting-age crowd, but it's all right there, in your face. In Atlanta, you have to dig deep and seek out the fun. It takes time and patience, but then again, those aren't as popular in LA as they are in the South. Which brings me to something else. The South is sloooowww. LA is FAST! Move fast, live fast, meet people fast, do things fast, fast food, fast women, fast money, fast everything. ATL is slow cooked, slow churned, strolling along, hard work, perseverance, patience, blah blah and so forth. I don't know if I can handle that.

But I have been looking at apts in Atlanta and I could save a ton of money by moving back there. We're talking 800 for a studio apt to 675 for a one bedroom. With a washer/dryer in it!

A part of me feels like if you go to LA, you should be ready for it. You have to be prepared to fully open your arms and your mind to everything it has to offer, or else you'll be sad, disappointed, and lonely. Only now am I ready to immerse myself in LA, and funnily enough, I'm not really ready at all.

So Alex, if you do want to write that book about me, don't do it in pen, because you'll probably get tired of scratching things out over and over again.

E

3 comments:

MACK said...

chik-fil-a is incredible, for the record.

secondly, COME TO NY! okay.

thirdly, bouncing between cities is strange; you get used to one thing, and think that youve sucessfully assimilated and then you go somewhere else and you think, maybe this is where i belong? its something ive struggled with my whole life, constantly moving from state to state every 3-4 years.

When I moved to NY, even if I hated it, I wouldnt have noticed. I had my mind set on coming here, so, other options? I didnt even consider them. Then, when I went to LA two summers ago I felt so natural and so at home. The cali vibe matched mine perfectly. And I began to question my fierce loyalty to NY.

I love NY. And I fit in here. People that I meet SWEAR that there's no way I could have grown up anywhere other than NY. But to be honest, Im not sure if here, is where I ought to be, long-term. Of course, for now it's good. But after I graduate from college? LA looks better every day. DC is inching its way into my heart as well. Its hard to put criteria on something like choosing a place of residency, especially when you connect with some many different places.

I think its just how you put it: "I love how you can live your own life and yet stay connected to the city simultaneously". That applies to all cities, really.

Lolita Hazed said...

Your stated sentiment is exactly why New York is my destination. LA is beautiful, but it's not me at all.

GAWD I know EXACTLY what you mean about the whole boredom thing in Atlanta. Finding shit to do in my town is so. Hard. I never wondered about why, but I think you've hit the nail on the head. LA is not a patient city. Strike it rich fast, get famous fast, live fast, die young, etc... damn good analogy, I never thought of it like that. Here in the south, there are so many values. Can I even SAY I live in the south? I'm not sure I'm allowed to...

Alex, where do you go to school? I forget.

Valentina said...

I miss NY. Entirely too much. Nothing in the world, no city, no matter how fabulous will ever replace NYC. It's the only place I think I ever have been truly happy with my life. And sad sad news bears...I probs won't be able to go back for winter break