Finding Peace and Quiet in the Concrete Jungle

Andi, a fellow journaler, is moving to Los Angeles at the end of the month. Wow! I just realized what a coincidence that weekend is for her move. I moved out here on Memorial Day weekend too. This year will mark my ninth year here.

Having moved as much as I have in my life, I have lived in all kinds of geographic/demographic locations. I've been a city girl, a country girl, a small town girl, a beach bum, and then some. I think, out of all the places that I have lived, I like San Antonio the best because of the small town feel with the amenities of a large city. It took me a long time to adjust to Los Angeles, but the whys and hows are best left for another journal entry.

Los Angeles, as spreadout as it is, can be a hustling and bustling city. There's a lot of people out here and the numbers are growing by the hundreds of thousands every year. Los Angeles County has over ten million people. Los Angeles, the city, has four million plus people residing in it. Where I live, I am part of Los Angeles municipality. I actually thought the population was larger than that. However, what people don't realize is that there are other municipalities such as West Hollywood, Burbank, Beverly Hills, Culver City, etc., etc., that the Los Angeles municipality surrounds.

Andi has expressed concern that she won't be able to find peace and quiet amongst all the hustle and bustle. Rightly so! But, I wanted to share the above pics to put her concerns at ease - somewhat. It's amazing but you really can find little oases amidst the concrete jungle. The above are pics from Lake Hollywood and is but one example of many such oases. The pics aren't the greatest because the day I took them was overcast. But it's only one example of a place to escape to for a little slice of solitude. I was amazed when I found it. The picture in the middle is a satellite image from Google. It shows that it is surrounded by the city yet when you're there you feel as far removed from the noise and congestion as if you were in some remote country setting.

Be of good cheer Andi, you'll find your nugget of the simple life out here. And, it doesn't have to cost you all the money you have to get it. It doesn't even cost to park and walk around up there. :-D