Bane Macleod

I miss Los Angeles

When I first moved to Los Angeles in 1998 I instantly fell in love with the skyline... When I could see it. I could sit outside my apartment at night and just stare downtown. While other cities may have comparable views none of them have the feel of LA. So many dreams wandering it's streets. So many nightmares waiting to pop out and make faces at you.

Jogging in the roads above Dodger Stadium afforded some really fantastic views of the city and really made it a pleasure to exercise there. Something I have difficulty with now that I've moved to southern Louisiana. Being able to look out on the city and surrounds from up above was something that quite honestly got stuck in my throat the first time I saw it. During the day it's a city alive and possessed with doing everything at once. At night the lights spread underneath you like a carpet.

The sights and smells and crush of downtown LA will always stand out in my mind regardless of how long I stay away. So too will the thin layer of muck from freeway traffic that covered everything outside my apartment in Chinatown. A gift and a curse those freeways. You can get anywhere you want to go at an incredibly high rate of speed when you aren't stuck behind someone who's car is pouring out smoke like the insides were on fire. Somewhere over 30 separately named freeways stretch out to serve an area with more car registrations in one county than the entirety of the country of Russia.

While the surrounding area is quite nice, Los Angeles is pretty much the defining city for the "Nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there" quip. And while I really enjoyed my time there and would happily recommend a visit to anyone who loves the sights and sounds of the city, I get more mixed feelings when asked if I would ever move back. The traffic, pollution, and price is enough to drive anyone insane. But just the feel of that wondrous city around you, the constant movement, and the ability to get decent kung-pao chicken at 3am all add up to something everyone should experience at least once.