Monday, November 14, 2011

Life in L.A.

It's been nearly 4 months since our big cross country move. While we've settled into our apartment and daily routine, I'm not certain we're exactly settling into the west coast. Needless to say, it is drastically different from the hustle and bustle of New York City though I have to admit, the weather here is ah-mah-zing and the produce, spectacular. I am definitely eating my fill of fresh fruits and vegetables from the local farmers markets.

Here are just some random thoughts I'd like to share:

1) The traffic in L.A. is atrocious. Luckily I work from home so I avoid most of the horrific rush hour traffic but when you're stuck in it, it is barely a crawl. When I do need to drive, run errands, meet people, etc., I try not to leave home before 10:30 am and I need to head home around 3PM ish or wait it out until after 8PM. Yup. There is a strict schedule to follow. Sure, traffic during rush hour is pretty bad in NYC but there are other options, ie: public transportation. I never thought I'd say this but I really miss the subway.

2) Different branding: This was just something random (but interesting) that we noticed. The packaging (sans logo) as well as product taste is exactly the same - to be honest, we didn't pick up on this immediately.
3) Celebrity sightings: (Though celebrity sightings are somewhat common in NYC...) We haven't seen any A-listers out and about but have come across a small handful of actors and actresses. Personally, I don't like accosting strangers in public. It seems like a huge invasion of privacy. And, for the most part, I am horrible at remembering the real names of actors. (We saw Scott Porter, Jason Street from Friday Night Lights or George Tucker from Hart of Dixie at a Petco and I had to google his name while holding toys for our pups.) If you saw someone famous, would you say hi?

In any case, I leave you with one bit of advice. Adding a little rice wine vinegar to your ramen makes it exponentially better. Didn't see that one coming, didya? :) But really. It does.

3 comments:

  1. haha I can understand how hard it is to get accustomed to the east/west coast change. I lived on the west and moved to the east temporarily and I have the same gripes as you. (I am from San Diego, not as crazy as LA and better drivers) The branding really threw me off in the beginning all the way down to Hardee's (Love Carl Jr's) People are just different here and that was really hard to adjust to. As well as not being able to find anything (Jamba juice anyone?) or have a good burger (In N out forever) but like anything over time we found some new things to love. I cannot wait for the day we are on the WC again but right now things are livable haha.

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  2. Hahaha :) This post totally made me laugh! YES, traffic in LA is outrageous. I took a cousin (from Taiwan!) around LA last week, and it took an HOUR to get from Culver City to Downtown. And holy crap, do people NOT know how to drive in LA (it's better in the OC :). And, nope, I never approach famous people when I see them - I just think, "Cool!" - and ironically, most of my celeb sightings have been outside of LA, haha :)

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  3. Best wishes in LA! I moved to San Diego & only lasted about 2 years before I missed the East Coast too much & moved back. But I will forever & always miss In-n-Out!!!

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