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This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

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Waterloo, Iowa or Los Angeles, California?

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LAist just lost a writer to the Midwest, and on Monday, the Los Angeles blogasphere may lose another major player -- Mayor Sam, otherwise known as Michael Higby who is a City Hall watchdog and whistle blower. "The last week or so I've been exploring whether to stay in LA or move to my family's hometown of Waterloo, Iowa," Higby wrote in an e-mail last night to LAist. Over the past week, he's compared LA to Waterloo, looking into cost of living, housing, crime, weather, food and most importantly, the Iowa blog scene. On Monday, he will announce his decision.

To us, choosing between the two is all about style, preference and where you are in life. We love LA because, despite the bars closing at 2 a.m., this city is in non-stop action mode. If you can't find anything to do, you're not even trying. You can surf in the morning, then ski at night. Just about every rock band stops by to sing "hi." If you get sick of your local sushi place, you've got a billion others to choose from. You can live in your bubble or easily pop out. Really, LA pretty much has it all.

Yet, we speak from where we are in life. Waterloo just might be a perfect place to settle down for awhile to take a breather. Though, if we were to make such a drastic move, we'd opt for Missoula, Montana.

Photo by spcummings vis Flickr

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