Escape from LA

I'm sure you've all heard by now. Times are tough. Unless you've been living in a cave with your fingers in your ears, you know that I've just made the understatement of the century.

Los Angeles is being hit particularly hard. So many of my friends are out of work, and not just the industry peeps either (although a lot of them are industry peeps). It's slim pickings for job seekers, no matter how qualified you are.

Still, we always joke and say "Yes, everything kind of sucks right now, but at least we live in LA." "Sure, it takes an hour to go eight miles, but at least we live in LA." "Yes, the earth just randomly shook on its own, but at least we live in LA." Most of us grew up wanting nothing more than to live and work in HOLLYWOOD! so we're able to forgive a lot of faults.

So, imagine my shock when I had this conversation with a dear friend recently:

Me: How's it going? How's the job hunt?
Dear Friend: Not so great. In fact, the boyfriend and I are thinking of moving to Texas.
Me: Oh, I know that feeling. I just tried to convince my Beloved that we should abandon everything and move to Santa Barbara to live in a trailer on a beach.
Dear Friend: Yeah, but we're really leaving.
Me: Yeah, okay...wait, you're serious?
Dear Friend: Yeah, we love LA, but...we just can't win here. It's time to think about the future.

Wow. First off, I will miss her tons when she goes. She's a dear friend and a wonderful person. Texas is definitely gaining an amazing couple. And, it's definitely LA's loss.

There seems to be some kind of flight from LA lately. More and more people are leaving the city for greener pastures (or snowier pastures, or more mountainy pastures, or whatever). My Dear Friend is moving to Texas. My BFF moved to Las Vegas three months ago. My Buddy keeps talking about moving to Arizona.

Is Hollywood losing some of its glitz and glamour? I don't think so, but I'm one of those crazy people that spends an hour and ten minutes in traffic just to go across the city. I understand what it means to get burned out on a place. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Los Angeles is HARD.

So, what do you think? Is the grass really greener on the other side, or is it bad everywhere?

PS Speaking of grass, my gerainium and basil plants are still alive. So, that's something at least.