I went to college in small town Iowa and anyone within like a 2 state radius of Chicago claimed to live there, so that part of your story made me snicker. I guess nothing has changed. People well outside of the greater Chicagoland area. I spent 9 years in a town about 2.5-3 hours away. I'm sure people claimed "Chicago" further out than that. It was funny, particularly to a friend who had grown up on the Southside. I never claimed to be anything other than a small town stoner. I figured it was better to just own it. In my New York days, the Midwest basically didn't exist. Iowa and Illinois may as well have been Madagascar for all they cared.
The only part of the LA area I've ever really been to is Irvine. I used to work for a company with its headquarters there for a couple years.
I always found it odd when I lived in L.A. how people didn't like driving what seemed like short distances to see people. I mean, I understand gas is more expensive, and traffic can be horrendous, but it couldn't be that bad to drive a couple towns over, right? Seeing friends and being in community seemed to be worth the effort.
Then again, I have driven cross-country road trips and traveled long distances to national parks, so 30 minutes or even an hour isn't that long at all to me. And I had to drive a decent distance to get anywhere growing up (Maryland/D.C. metro area). Usually D.C. and L.A. are high up on list of high traffic cities.
But I guess when I think about L.A. being spread out, and less centralized than other cities, once people find their city within L.A., it's the place they want to be. And it doesn't have to be necessarily bad, from having a sense of pride in where you live to knowing the community and what is important to it. But if that sense of identity inflates the ego to where one thinks their way is the only way --that's when it's necessary, and even before then, to break that icon of one's reality so it can grow into a deeper understanding of how humanity lives, and respectful of people who live differently. I guess it also depends on how much effort and energy people have to give. You'd hope people could be willing to put forward that effort for a 30-60 minute trip. But don't expect people from Thousand Oaks and Indio to create regular cross-town relations, that's a little too far of a distance lol.
More to your point, I hear you how our lived experiences in specific places shape how we see the world. It's neat to hear about how Valley living to you meant focusing on the future and less on the past, and constant reinvention. I think on the East Coast there can be such an emphasis and weight on history that it can stifle innovation ("this is the way things have always been"), and it can be scarier to take risks. Moving forward from history can feel like abandoning identity or compromising important values. Then again, knowing that history can give centuries or more of guidance to show what has worked, and what hasn't. It can inform a vision for the future that is connected to the story of who we are in the places we are. It can be a light to make informed changes or risks. It can even give oneself a sense of deep identity so you aren't tossed back and forth by the tides of change. I think there's a healthy balance necessary between staying true to who you are (knowing yourself) and being willing to change and innovate yourself.
"a cultural and socioeconomic temporality issue" very well put!! !!
I went to college in small town Iowa and anyone within like a 2 state radius of Chicago claimed to live there, so that part of your story made me snicker. I guess nothing has changed. People well outside of the greater Chicagoland area. I spent 9 years in a town about 2.5-3 hours away. I'm sure people claimed "Chicago" further out than that. It was funny, particularly to a friend who had grown up on the Southside. I never claimed to be anything other than a small town stoner. I figured it was better to just own it. In my New York days, the Midwest basically didn't exist. Iowa and Illinois may as well have been Madagascar for all they cared.
The only part of the LA area I've ever really been to is Irvine. I used to work for a company with its headquarters there for a couple years.
I always found it odd when I lived in L.A. how people didn't like driving what seemed like short distances to see people. I mean, I understand gas is more expensive, and traffic can be horrendous, but it couldn't be that bad to drive a couple towns over, right? Seeing friends and being in community seemed to be worth the effort.
Then again, I have driven cross-country road trips and traveled long distances to national parks, so 30 minutes or even an hour isn't that long at all to me. And I had to drive a decent distance to get anywhere growing up (Maryland/D.C. metro area). Usually D.C. and L.A. are high up on list of high traffic cities.
But I guess when I think about L.A. being spread out, and less centralized than other cities, once people find their city within L.A., it's the place they want to be. And it doesn't have to be necessarily bad, from having a sense of pride in where you live to knowing the community and what is important to it. But if that sense of identity inflates the ego to where one thinks their way is the only way --that's when it's necessary, and even before then, to break that icon of one's reality so it can grow into a deeper understanding of how humanity lives, and respectful of people who live differently. I guess it also depends on how much effort and energy people have to give. You'd hope people could be willing to put forward that effort for a 30-60 minute trip. But don't expect people from Thousand Oaks and Indio to create regular cross-town relations, that's a little too far of a distance lol.
More to your point, I hear you how our lived experiences in specific places shape how we see the world. It's neat to hear about how Valley living to you meant focusing on the future and less on the past, and constant reinvention. I think on the East Coast there can be such an emphasis and weight on history that it can stifle innovation ("this is the way things have always been"), and it can be scarier to take risks. Moving forward from history can feel like abandoning identity or compromising important values. Then again, knowing that history can give centuries or more of guidance to show what has worked, and what hasn't. It can inform a vision for the future that is connected to the story of who we are in the places we are. It can be a light to make informed changes or risks. It can even give oneself a sense of deep identity so you aren't tossed back and forth by the tides of change. I think there's a healthy balance necessary between staying true to who you are (knowing yourself) and being willing to change and innovate yourself.
Congrats on starting your PhD! 🥳🫶🏻 I’ve never been to LA but you make it sound interesting. 😘