I just spent a weekend in Palo Alto and San Francisco visiting my in-laws. Yes, everybody loves San Francisco with its big-city vibe and 20 kinds of olive oil, blah, blah blah, big vacation destination, etc. But really, I missed our land and think we have it all over the SF Bay Area. Here's why.
1. We have more homes for sale. Many more. (Had to get that search term in there, but it's true.)
2. We have Universal City and Disneyland. They have Pier 39. Please.
3. We have less traffic. Really.
4. They have Stanford. We have UCLA, USC and Makeup Art Designory.
5. There, everybody wears hoodies and looks like the Unibomber. We have Aloha shirts and fat kids in baggy, calf-length shorts. Way more cheerful!
6. We have more tattoos and piercings.
7. We have Zankou Chicken.
8. Many of us can see a Costco or Target from our houses. What can they see? The Golden Gate Bridge, maybe? Meh.
9. We have more parking. You can actually turn your car off close to your house here.
10. Housing costs less here.
11. We have more Armenians, and more of every other ethnic group, too. Except maybe Chinese.
12. We have the Lakers. (We'll leave the Dodgers v. Giants argument for another time.)
13. We have The Arclight(s).
14. They have upscale shopping in Union Square and Stanford Shopping Center. We have upscale AND downscale shopping everywhere.
So let's stop with the inferiority complex, folks, and learn to appreciate where we live!
Judy Graff's sublime-to-the-ridiculous (well, mostly ridiculous) take on real estate for east San Fernando Valley and North Los Angeles communities. This includes Hollywood Hills, Burbank, Studio City and Toluca Lake real estate and homes for sale, and also covers Valley Village, North Hollywood, Glendale, Atwater, Highland Park, Silverlake, Sherman Oaks and other L.A. areas too. General news and musings as well.
I appreciate the spirit of this post, but, for item #4, they also have UC Berkeley, UCSF, USF, UC Hastings and if you stretch a bit further, UC Santa Cruz and University of Santa Clara.
ReplyDeleteBut, in fairness, we also have Caltech.
On the other hand, they have a one-of-a-kind grocery store up there called Berkeley Bowl. And it sells raw macadamia nuts in bulk. You know how hard those things are to find down here? Sheesh.
Al, I figured somebody would bust me re the schools. Raw macadamias in bulk? Wow!
ReplyDeleteHold on a minute, JG! Who you talkin' to, girl? You have to distinguish between wanting to LIVE in a place and wanting to VISIT that place. You and I both know that the exotic has it's draw. Coming from Phoenix ...which a Los Angelean once told me was only really far East LA...means that LA isn't different enough from my hometown to--well, I'll be blunt--draw me out to visit. But ask me if I wanna go to SFO for a vacation? H3[[ yes!! And my 25 yr old daughter is living in Fogtown right now, in the heart of the Haight, and she LOVES it!!! Ha, shes fond of raw macadamia nuts, too.
ReplyDeleteTerry, I meant no offense to your daughter! LOL And this post would be WAY different if I was in my 20's instead of ... never mind. And my own Steve lived in SF, and Berkeley, and Marin when he was that age. And he loved it -- the parts he can remember, anyway. And you're right -- SF is really, really much more attractive to visit if you're from Phx.
ReplyDeleteGreat Blog...
ReplyDeleteThey can keep the bluk Macadamia Nuts and their beloved Clam Chowder. We have the L.A. gourmet food truck scene such as "Kogi BBQ", "Cajun-on-wheels" and the "Flying Pig Truck.." Eat great food for cheap...That's hard to beat!!
I Love L.A./SFV!!