52 Reasons I Love the East Side, Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Commute
Ξ November 1st, 2007 | → | ∇ Highland Park |
Slowly moving North towards Brentwood on Barrington Avenue I started thinking about yet another great thing about living in North East L.A., and I counted 52 reasons before I hit the 405 Freeway.
Working on the West Side and living in NELA isn’t always easy. For one, when I tell friends about how much I love living on the East Side I am inevitably hit with “yeah, but your commute must suck.”
“Hogwash,” I insist.
It’s true that I drive 26 miles to work everyday, and 26 miles home, and on an average day that translates to about an hour drive. But what really accounts for the “suckyness” of the commute? The West Side, that’s what. This last week, it took me 52 full minutes to drive 2.7 miles along Barrington and Sunset to the 405 Freeway. From there, less than a half-hour home. There was no accident to be seen. No Sig-Alert holding things up. No construction closing down a lane. Just early Tuesday evening traffic. 52 minutes. 2.7 miles.
And to me, that sums up the East/West debate so easily. Living in L.A., traffic is a demon that we all have to face at times, but if you’re smart you can avoid it at home. A leisurely trip along York, Eagle Rock or Colorado Boulevards will never take more than 10 minutes. Whether it’s driving to the grocery store, going out for dinner or even grabbing a drink on a Friday night, in Highland Park nothing is ever more than 10 minutes away. Meanwhile, try doing the same thing on the West Side. House sitting for a friend in Westwood, my wife and I spent over 30 minutes trying to get to the Whole Foods just a few blocks away, and once we got there we circled the parking lot waiting for a spot, and upon finding one, we had to get our parking validated just to buy milk. On the West Side traffic infringes on every aspect of your life. There is no quick trip, no small outing and no freedom on weekends.
So every afternoon as I listen to “All Things Considered” and watch the scenery change as I come up over Mulholland Drive, past Sherman Oaks, Studio City and through Glendale, I breathe a sigh of relief to be heading home, knowing that for at least the next 12 hours, traffic will be far, far away.
