When my husband and I thought about moving back to the west coast from New York, we said our dream location was this area called “West LA.” It’s walk friendly, has beautiful streets with beautiful homes (that we’ll never be able to afford but can appreciate as we walk by), and it’s near the beach. I love the hustle and bustle of the city! Even being able to hear other people’s pots and pans clanking during dinner time makes me feel like I’m part of a community.

I grew up in the suburbs and was pretty confident that I never wanted the suburban experience for my children. Of course, I may change my mind entirely after a while! After all, LO is merely 16 months old. Living in the city is tough – but that’s exactly why I love it. I remember how my jaw would drop as I would see very young kids taking public transportation with their friends with no adult supervision. How did anyone teach them how to do things? Was this just normal for them? When I look at those young kids, I have flashbacks of when I was too timid to order a pizza in the 9th grade. (True story.) Los Angeles gets a bad rap because of the terrible traffic and… honestly, I think that’s it! It is often stated that if you could get anywhere where you wanted in a timely manner, Los Angeles might be the most perfect city in the world. I agree!

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If you can get past the bad traffic, here are some reasons why raising your kids in Los Angeles could be a great thing:

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Street Smarts

I would love Baby Pencil to have the skills to “figure things out” when things don’t pan out exactly the way you want it to. This happens almost everyday! I want him to be able to think quickly on his feet and problem solve. This could mean anything from understanding which direction is east and west, to controlling your anger when someone cuts you off, to knowing how to deal with an unstable homeless person. How do you know when it’s getting too dangerous and when do you know to step in? How do you know if you’re being scammed by a con artist? I want to raise him to be tough and capable. I say this because I was the complete opposite! I was so naive to the point where if someone approached me or asked me a question I didn’t understand, I would want to cry or barf. I was extremely sheltered and had no idea how to deal with some “normal” everyday situations. Given, I was the youngest in my family and was often treated like “the baby.” I’m not sure if this is just a personality issue, but I know that most of my suburban friends grew up very similarly until they went to college or decided to live in a large city.

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Weather

California has some of the best weather in the US with sunshine most of the year. Sure you can live in different parts of Southern California that get extremely hot, dry weather when everyone wants to trek to the beach (or we call it “the westside”). My parents travel all the way to me from 45 miles east just because it feels 10-15 degrees cooler! The closer you get to the ocean, the cooler and breezier it gets. When you walk around the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica, you can smell the salty water in the air!

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Walking along the pier on a cool, breezy Saturday afternoon in Santa Monica.

Activities for the family

There are so many things to do around us that people from other countries come to do! The Getty Museum and Rodeo Drive are both just minutes away. LACMA, The Grove and the Tar Pits are a hop, skip and a jump away. And of course, Malibu, Venice and Santa Monica beaches have endless miles of things to do. All these places are great for children and families. My family and I recently spent an entire day just lounging and picnicking at the Getty. There’s tons of concerts, street events, random parades and great hiking trails along some of the most famous mountains, like the Runyon Canyon or Mulholland Drive trails. (You can often spot celebrities here… just an extra perk!)

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No entrance fee at the Getty, just parking fees. There is a family room for fun activities for the kids!

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These daddies are carrying babies in those huge backpacks! They even have a shade hood for blocking out the sun.

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The end of the Rodeo Drive strip in Beverly Hills.

Everyday things to do

There are so many things to do, just outside my door. Very much like NYC, LA can be pretty walk friendly. You just have to know where (and when) to go. Because I see the local cobbler store or the pet store so often, I usually walk in because it’s just right there. I just DO more, because it’s so easy to get there. I’m definitely an “up and at ’em” type of person and I love being out of the house. Baby Pencil sees me interacting and greeting the same people. The 7-11 staff know him so well that they come out behind the counter and play with him! They have seen me through all the stages, from pregnancy until now. I go inside local stores about 2-3 times a week just to grab a drink or something. It’s not uncommon to accidentally run into a street parade, festival or a block party that has been an annual tradition for years.

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Here’s a random parade that I ran into just walking by. I think it is from a Japanese or religious tradition, but all the people who decided to learn this dance were from all different ethnic backgrounds and ages.

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We stumbled upon a FREE huge community picnic at a beautiful park! Free hot dogs, burgers, cookies and activities for the kids.

Ambition

If you live in a large city, chances are that thousands of the most ambitious and courageous people from all over the world have challenged themselves to make it big in your city. And you’re living with them! Lots of people in my community came from random parts of the world with very little in their pocket. They are so wide-eyed, talented and bustling with ambition. I was introducing myself to one girl I’ve never met before and after I asked what she’s doing in Los Angeles, she said, “I want to become rich and famous!” We both laughed because it was so honest, but that really was her reason for moving here. I would love Baby Pencil to grow up around that kind of atmosphere and have him grow up thinking that dreaming big and aiming high is normal!

Diversity

Just like Bee mentioned her post, I love how diverse the people are in the city in ethnic backgrounds, religion and age. People typically speak more than 1 language fluently. If you live in California, you most likely speak a little bit of Spanish! I always chuckle at the memories of getting my hair done at a Korean salon and the Hispanic hair washer speaking to me in perfect FLUENT Korean, but I had no idea what she was saying because I do not speak Korean. I was trying to speak to her in Spanish, but I realized later we both could have spoken English! It was a very confusing moment for us both. People are also pretty open in discussing their sexuality, religious ideas and political stance. It is very interesting to hear and observe people around me who believe in something else – it can get controversial, but most of the time, it is just really educational!

Besides cultural and belief diversity, there is also the personality diversity. There are people in my life that are straight up just awkward acquaintances. Call it social awkwardness or just not being raised in the same standards, it’s definitely not very free flowing and comfortable conversations when we talk to each other. But that’s ok! We don’t have to get along on every level to be friends. Because of convenience and some source of common ground, I find myself friends with people who are extremely different from me. It really helps you understand how to be open minded, ask questions, be courteous, not judge others and just plain and simple become more accepting of other people. I would love for Baby Pencil to also experience this while growing up and not only befriend people who are exactly like him. It’s totally okay to have a variety of people in your life!

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Recognizing the world for what it is

We live in an area where there are homeless people. We have our Starbucks homeless man, whom we also see at our local mall. Then we have our 7-11 homeless man. Baby Pencil is very aware of them and sometimes they say hello to him. Even from an early age, I want him to be exposed to such things. The world is not a perfect place. There is always stinky garbage piling up, daily inconveniences, and rude behavior all around us. We accept these things but we also have to be careful as we walk around certain areas. It’s just as normal as any part of our day. In the future, I would love to take him to trips around the world to help serve truly poor people. I hope that this contrast will help him appreciate that he has a home, food and a bed to sleep in at night. But most of all, I want him to see brokenness because it really does something in your heart that cannot be taught. Life lessons and character development!

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I’m not going to lie, it’s pretty tough to live in Los Angeles. I’ve been in so many hit and runs, seen physical fights, been infuriated by rude people, been “had” by scams, and been asked to join cults. Sometimes I feel like I’m walking in a land mine of weirdos and psychos. But there are many times when I’m in conversation with total strangers who are so different from me, and I love how organic those types of situations are. I have a heart for people, all people. I think meeting and seeing all kinds of people and children is what I would love to grow up in. I want Baby Pencil to experience these wonderful moments and also the hard moments. I want him to not only be physically healthy, but also mentally strong. It can be tough surviving these big cities, but I have high hopes that the pros outweigh the cons. And Los Angeles just seems like home to me!