So the day has finally come... the day the Williams leave Los Angeles. It's been almost 30 years since my parents arrived here from St. Louis (by way of Des Moines) and now my wife and I are heading back. I can only imagine how awesome Los Angeles was in its glory days, and even now I feel a pang of regret for leaving my city, my family, my church, and all my friends behind. Still, I know we're following God's will for our family, and I'm extremely excited about my new job, my new house, and all the new friends we're going to make. It's the circle of life....
Yesterday was an adventure. The packers were coming to put all our stuff in boxes, but when we woke up there was no hot water for the shower. Strange. Let's go outside and see... oh nice, the water heater has collapsed into a pile of jagged rusty metal. So in addition to everything else we were doing yesterday, I had to purchase and install a new water heater (with enormous help from my step-dad Clayton). So it goes.
Today they come to haul the boxes and furniture and cars away, and then we ride into the sunrise in our rented Toyota Sienna packed to the gills with everything we'll need until they deliver our belongings at some indefinite time in the future. I'll try to post from the road if we can find WiFi hotspots, but no guarantees. See you soon!
Best of luck with the move and your new life in St. Louis.
The glory days of Los Angeles are now. When I arrived 32 years ago, the smog was so thick, you couldn't see Mt. Baldy more than a few times per year from Pomona!! We had massive problems with Fog as well with frequent closures of the airport and several days each year when driving was hugely dangerous.
The freeways were congested, as were the surface streets during rush hours. Same as now? Worse? Better? Probably depends on where you had to be. But I don't think my Dad's commute got much better or worse than it had been from Creve Coeur to downtown St. Louis, which was a huge mess.
The schools in LA were at least a year behind the 17th worst school district (out of 18) in St. Louis, which I was leaving. As a senior, Pomona schools didn't even offer advanced Chemistry or Physics.
There was huge black vs Mexican, Mexican vs Mexican, and other racial tensions, fights, and such on the campusus. We arrived to an almost immediate race riot.
Many of the fantastic cultural and entertainment venues in LA today that I have reported on my blog were not even thought of. The road systems to get you to San Diego, Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Palm Springs, and the local mountains were primative and dangerous.
I continue to wish both of you great things in your journey, but I'm not sure you will help to squash your sadness over leaving by bringing the negative of your old neighborhood to the forefront.
Just a thought. GWG
Good luck! I hope your move goes smoothly! If you need any St. Louis info, let me know!