Cities that I love

Since we just spent three months in LA I must note the things that I love about LA.

imgresEach place we spend long periods of time in have special places in my heart that make me yearn to return.  Paris, well it is the architecture, the bakeries, the museums, the restaurants, the walking and the light.
Los Angeles.  The sushi is off the charts.  Tacos are everywhere.  The sunshine is abundant.  Valet parking is pretty sweet.  Salads are better in LA for some reason. Weed is always a bonus considering it is state grown.
More than anything I feel really at home in LA (and Paris funny enough).  But at the end of the day NYC is the place I feel the most at home.

Comments (Archived):

  1. awaldstein

    Actually these cities are very connected and the three I as well, go back to again and again.If I could have three homes, they would be there.Welcome home!

  2. William Mougayar

    What’s there not to like about New York and Paris?For me, I would add Vancouver & Beirut. I keep thinking I’m in Toronto temporarily, although it’s been 29 years.

    1. awaldstein

      i did really love living in Vancouver.More beautiful than interesting to me but oh so beautiful.Running around Stanley Park, reading poetry to my class on Wreck Beach and forever hanging out in the Museum of Anthropology, more that often asked to leave when they were closing.And my early hippy entrepreneurship with one of the first pirate radio stations there back when.

      1. William Mougayar

        Vancouver is a very charming city, and you didn’t even mention Whistler that’s 80 mins away.

        1. Mario Cantin

          I love Vancouver too, but also the Okanagan Valley in the summer.

        2. awaldstein

          I seriously loved living in BC back in my youth, between Vancouver, the North Okanagan and touches on Peace River.But in the two times I lived in Vancouver, first as hand to mouth student, then struggling to feed my family, it was a decade before I learned to ski. I come from humble stock.Used to ski Whistler a bit when I lived on the west coast. Too far away with such iffy weather to choose it over the Rockies from NY.

    2. Gotham Gal

      Beirut is in my list. Berlin is a fave too

      1. William Mougayar

        You can’t plan Beirut without me being there 🙂

  3. Kirsten Lambertsen

    OK, am I the only one asking myself, “Did Gotham Gal just say, ‘Weed is always a bonus?'”Meanwhile, I really need to get Paris. Haven’t had the pleasure yet, despite a lifetime of dreaming about it.When I left NYC in 1994, I literally went into mourning for months. It felt like I had broken up with the love of my life. I spent the next 13 years thinking about how I’d get back here, even tho I loved where I was (SF).As a kid from Wyoming who knew from age 5 she wanted to live here, whenever I walk down the street in NYC, I feel like I’ve won the lotto.Welcome home!

    1. Donna Brewington White

      Ha! You are not the only one. :)The idea of being from a place like Wyoming or Montana fascinates me. But I meet so few people from those places that I wondered if people actually left.

      1. Kirsten Lambertsen

        It’s an interesting phenom: when I went to college in Denver, I knew quite a few people who had fled NYC to be in the wholesome atmosphere they had always imagined existed in Colorado. Meanwhile, I couldn’t wait to flee the homogeny of where I was from in order to be in the diverse and rich cultural atmosphere I believed to be in NYC (and I have never been disappointed).So, Donna, IS weed always a bonus in the Golden State? Ha ha ha!

    2. Gotham Gal

      Get to Paris!!!

      1. Donna Brewington White

        I haven’t been there yet (maybe this summer) but I already know that I will LOVE it!It was the same with NYC.You mention being most at home in NYC and that is how I feel about LA (although literally the part I live in because while there is an LA state of mind, there are very culturally distinct areas of town). Part of me feels at home in different places so in my true life I’d live in multiple locations. I think you and Fred have the right idea.

      2. jonathanc

        We’ve been going to Paris probably once or twice a year for 20 years (we have family there). Recently I was there for the Fête de la Musique, a city-wide free musical festival held on the summer solstice. So much fun.Last year we were also in Madrid. I had been there a decade ago on business, but not since. In many ways I like Madrid better than Paris. An incredible foodie, art and fashion town, it has a creative energy and informality not really seen in Paris. Also, it is a whole lot less expensive than Paris, especially if you do an airbnb. Nice weather, good transportation, friendly people. I was really impressed.

        1. Gotham Gal

          I am just a sucker for Paris. We go often too.

          1. Sofia Papastamelos

            Loved my recent trip to Paris a few months ago. Fred has some awesome foursquare tips from your travels there!

    3. Erin

      I saw this quote somewhere a while ago Kirsten- living in New York is like being being in an abusive relationship with the coolest guy in the world. Sounds like he treated you ok though…

      1. Kirsten Lambertsen

        Ha! Maybe the abusive part is that he’s always dipping into your wallet when you’re not looking 😉

  4. Shelly Lipton

    Welcome home Joanne!!Traveling is so wonderful but establishing a home base like LA for an extended period of time, where you can immerse yourself in the local scene is a whole other experience. You picked a good winter to avoid NYC. But Spring is here (at least on the calendar) and the scene is right where you left it.

    1. Gotham Gal

      it really feels good to be home

  5. Erin

    Don’t forget Montreal, folks.

  6. BillMcNeely

    I love Dubai in January and Febuary

    1. Gotham Gal

      Never been

  7. LE

    If you haven’t been to Philly since the early 90’s (or even 00’s) you should visit.Here are three good reasons:1) The restaurant scene is vastly different.2) Center city is totally transformed. When I operated a business in the city (Old City Area) it was almost entirely warehouses and wholesalers. Now it is filled with restaurants, residents an a bit of nightlife. (And that’s only one neighborhood..)3) Real estate is under priced. The chinese and foreigners haven’t discovered Philly real estate yet. When they do you will see prices appreciate in a way that you would never be able to obtain in NYC metro (which is already run up). Philly should be a portion of your real estate portfolio. Nice possibility of price appreciation in higher end properties over a reasonable time span.

  8. TanyaMonteiro

    I’ve had your post rattling around in my brain, it reminds me of Baz Luhrmann’s song, “sunscreen” – Live in NYC once but leave before it makes you hard, live in California once but leave before it makes you soft.<iframe width=”420″ height=”315″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/emb…” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen=””></iframe>

    1. Gotham Gal

      that’s awesome.