I was in Los Angeles recently for a few days for the first time since I had moved from there in 1996. I was a "starving actor" in LA for four years and for some reason I’ve just never gone back to visit. Much has changed, but I enjoyed seeing some of my old haunts. The one thing that hasn't changed out there is traffic.
LA is a driving town. Everyone drives everywhere. It used to take me 30 minutes to drive the 4 miles from my "palatial" Sherman Oaks apartment overlooking the 405 freeway to the restaurant where I worked in Beverly Hills. LA is the only city I know that gives traffic updates on the radio at 11:00 p.m.! Going to the grocery store, the dry cleaners, or the post office would always take 30 minutes. Then you had to drive around for another 10 minutes to try to find a parking spot anywhere you went. I once got my car towed for illegally parking on the right side of the street on a Tuesday because there was no parking on the right side on Tuesdays!
Don't get me wrong; I love LA. The weather is perfect. The people are great, and there is always something fun to do outdoors. But in May of 1996, after four years of not being "discovered,” I decided to move back to Atlanta. With the Summer Olympics being held in Atlanta, I decided to spend that summer back on St. Simons Island instead of fighting the crowds.
Well, here it is almost 20 years later and I'm still here. Guess I'll stay. The weather's perfect, the people are great and there's always something fun to do outdoors. As I'm cruising down Frederica Road with the top down at 4mph in traffic trying to get from Sea Palms to the Village in 30 minutes, I smile, thinking back on those LA days . . . Now if I can just find a parking spot!
You can tell us what you like best about living here by voting for your favorites in EIL’s annual Best Of. Go to elegantislandliving.net to vote between May 1-31. We’ll be announcing the winners in the July issue.
