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Five Thanks to Los Angeles
Five reasons I am thankful to be living in this city...
1. Urban + Nature
It's truly the best of two worlds to live in Los Angeles. My native Angeleno ex-girlfriend used to ask why would anyone want to leave LA? You can surf in the morning and ski at night. She didn't do either and, well, she eventually moved away. Still, pick up a Southern California hiking book or two and you'll find an endless amount of nearby trails to hike and areas to camp. My current favorite is still Rock Pool at Malibu Canyon, a 20-minute drive from Sherman Oaks.
2. All the music in the world
I never have to wonder if one of my favorite bands is coming to town. It's only a matter of when and then how soon will they be back after that? And it's just not the rock scene, it's the jazz, the world music and the classical. There is sooooo much here, my brain is going to explode from music overload. And that's a good thing.
3. Community Engagement
The neighborhood council system may not be perfect and NIMBY homeowner associations may exasperate your mental well being, yet I still love that fact that Los Angeles has so many communities and so much activism and engagement. If you want to get involved, you can get involved. If you want to make a difference, chances are, you will. The door is yours to build and step through.
4. Green Power
The Mayor wants us to be the greenest city in the US. Every mayor wants that for their city. And while Los Angeles may be lagging behind in some areas policy wise, this city has green ideas, green people, green beans and tons of green events. Sure, we have the lowest acres of parkland per resident and we all drive cars that are not so nice to our status as worst air quality in the U.S, but we all live here and want to stay here. And with that, we're going to be green whether you like it or not.
5. A city that is still developing.
Los Angeles is not done. This city is constantly in flux and change and that's exciting to see, especially when the potential for something good is to come of it. People complain about the public transit system like what's there is final. Definitely not true and when the next steps are complete and the steps after that, we'll all maybe go "traffic what?"
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