We Have A New Home!

As you can see I have updated my contact information. Meg and I have managed to secure a nice flat overlooking the beach in Santa Monica. In fact, we are only five blocks back from the water, just off of Main Street, and there is a bit of a hill, so that our third floor balcony has a nice view! I believe the area is called Ocean Park and it is nicely sandwiched between Venice Beach and downtown Santa Monica. One of our biggest concerns in coming to Los Angeles was the dreaded "drive-a-holic" culture in the city. "Everybody drives everywhere" was something that friends told us about Los Angeles much in advance of arriving here. The "405 Parking Lot" was a familiar refrain as well. We are not really driving people, so images from Steve Martin's hilarious "LA Stories" where people get in their cars to drive four or five houses away were swirling around in my head. I have preferred for years to ride to work, and Meg and I adjusted very well to using the Metro, walking and cabbing around in Madrid and London. I think that if all public transit was as easy and cheap to use as the metro in Madrid we'd all be converts! We really have only used our car as "a recreational vehicle" over the years. So, all along the plan was to perhaps pay a little more, but be in a location that allowed us to maintain a somewhat "European existence" within the "freeway city." From our new location, I will be able to bicycle commute on "bikes only" paths for about 90% of my commute to work. We will be able to walk to most major amenities including the gym, a fresh vegetable market, cafes, restaurants and a public library! In fact, the cafe that is two blocks away called "Urth" makes great cappucino and is already becoming a favorite. All in all, it was a bit of a struggle to find something, but I think what we have found will work out nicely for the year.