We currently have a 4, bedroom, 3 bath house with a nice big pool in the backyard for $2,000. But, there is no central air and cats pee in our garage all the time and you have to live here.

(phones ringing that I should answer)

This is the point at which I start putting them on hold each time the phone rings.

Them: And see when I called last week I asked to talk to Mr. S, but y'all said he was out so.
(Ring)
Me: Hold please!
30 seconds later
Me: Go ahead.
Them: So anyway he wasn't there so I had to talk to somebody else who..
(Ring)
Me: Hold please!
30 seconds later
Me: Sorry, go ahead?
Them: Yeah so I need to send y'all my paperwork, but Mr. S wasn't there, so I need to see if
(Ring)
Me: Hold Please!
30 seconds later
Me: Sorry.
Them: Y'all seem really busy.
Me: MmmmHmmm.
Them: So I wanted to send Mr.S my paperwork cause I'm trying to get this done and...
(Ring)
Me: Hold Please!
30 Seconds later
Me: Sorry! This phone is just ringing off the hook!
Them: Can I just get your fax number?

Works every time.

Re: quality of life in LA--

I felt it a lot more when I was living in the Valley. Pasadena has changed my perspective a lot. Partly it's that we live in a nice bungalow on a quiet road (a place we could never afford in LA proper), but mostly it's that Pasadena feels more like a town than a city. I feel comfortable chatting with neighbors or wandering around the shops and restaurants downtown. I don't feel like I'm in the middle of a press of people the way I did in North Hollywood.

The commute to work sucks, but I've mostly made my peace with that. NPR and podcasts are my friends (I don't know when I'd listen to the news if not for that drive), and since I love where I work and where I live, it's worth it.

I adore the weather (she says, smiling at the fact all of the windows in the classroom are open and the sun is shining), and I adore the "stuff" to do. We don't go out often, but I love the option to do so. Also, I definitely love that being gay or bi doesn't seem to really matter in LA: people just tend to let you be.

Don't get me wrong--I'm no Pollyanna. I know that LA has major drawbacks, and I don't know if I'll want to live here forever. But after years of living in a small town in the middle of nowhere, I'm really enjoying this city. Which, since I've found my OTS and ND's business is here--is just as well.

That said, I get that others are ready to flee. Just gives me more excuses to come visit you, I guess! And vice versa.

I love LA. Krav is a huge part of that, but I loved it before krav. I'd visited a few times, and hated it, and the last time I came out I was standing on Colin's driveway waiting for...msbelle, IIRC, to pick me up, and I heard kids and dogs and birds, and it occurred to me that I had no idea about the place. Suddenly it felt people-friendly in a way that Michigan never had.

Different strokes for different folks, obviously. LA felt like a place I could find my people, and I have in a compelling way.

And, very importantly, I can get ignored here. It's also why I tried to move to New Orleans. Being un-notable. Very important to me.

I miss LA.

I heard kids and dogs and birds, and it occurred to me that I had no idea about the place. Suddenly it felt people-friendly in a way that Michigan never had.

Different strokes for different folks, obviously. LA felt like a place I could find my people, and I have in a compelling way.

Oh ita, yes. This is me too.

I've definitely found my people here. For that matter, I found myself here in a way that I never would have been able to in Michigan. I never ever thought I'd want to leave, but with Em, that feeling changes every time we go back there. Makes me realize how much she's missing being in LA.

And, we'll never be able to afford a house out here, and we'll never be able to afford the private schools.

Hi, all! Home from work again today, which is a good thing because I slept 13 hours last night. 13. Dear me.

we'll never be able to afford a house out here

I keep going back and forth as to whether or not I'll be able to. I strongly suspect no, but I'm going to look into it in a couple of years.

we'll never be able to afford a house out here, and we'll never be able to afford the private schools.

I startled myself by realising I'd made peace with the former, and startled myself even more by realising I didn't want to need the latter, that I had no intention of being a mother.

I'm not sure I really care about owning anymore. Of course, with an HOA it doesn't exactly feel like "The freedom of home ownership"