Tomorrow morning I will load up a 16-foot Penske truck with most of my worldly possessions and move from Los Angeles to Santa Clara.
Even just a little over six months ago I would've had a somewhat difficult time believing that would be me any time soon. It just didn't seem to be in the cards. Little by little, though, things changed.
For the longest time I only ever really wanted to live in LA. Back in Bosnia, afterwards in high school in Thousand Oaks, and even in college in San Diego, LA was always a bit of a dream destination. There was something glamorous, magical about the city, an allure I don't quite know how to describe.
And then I moved here and started realizing it wasn't all I cracked it up to be. From traffic to smog to obsession with vanity to exorbitant housing prices to lack of safety, LA has its warts.
However, for all of said warts, it has its shining spots, too. From weather to relaxed attitude to diversity of all sorts to food to love of cars, LA has charms I find hard to ignore.
As I look ahead to a more suburban lifestyle in the future, I realize I'll remember my time here fondly, for I'll think of the walks around Culver City and along the beaches nearby, and the drives in Santa Monica and San Gabriel mountains. I'll think of the weather, attitude, diversity, food, and cars. I'll think of the good stuff.
In spite of those good times, though, it's time for me to go. I want to try something new (which is, in some ways, something old), a different kind of life, in a different kind of place. It won't be too far from here, but far enough for this to be the second biggest move of my life, trailing only Bosnia-to-California, which I don't think I'll ever beat.
It's time to look ahead, and move onwards.
Stay well, Los Angeles, and I'll see you around.
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