I had a chance to visit the Bay area last weekend.<\/p>\n
I used to live there. I spent about 7 years there.<\/p>\n
Now that I’ve lived in L.A. and am a homeowner, I look at my old neighborhoods with new eyes.<\/p>\n
Fact is, when I lived there I had no chance to become a homeowner. The houses there had nothing to do with my life. I lived in apartments, and the houses I passed on the streets made no impression on me.<\/p>\n
I saw<\/i> them. I appreciated some aspects of them. But it was like the art hanging on the wall of a restaurant I might frequent. I might notice them and admire aspects about them, but they were just background noise.<\/p>\n
Now I that i spend a lot of time on and in my home, I have a baseline to compare.<\/p>\n
L.A. and the Bay area grew up around the same time. The ranch houses there are very similar. Now I see with new eyes.<\/p>\n
I also see better what I always suspected:<\/p>\n
I lived in seedy neighborhoods. I tried to find the cheapest possible apartments, and that meant they were a little scary.<\/p>\n
I guess it worked out. I made it out of scary rentworld into my own mortgage.<\/p>\n
But I have attained a sense of neighborhood. I guess I can trust my own judgement a little more now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I had a chance to visit the Bay area last weekend. I used to live there. I spent about 7 years there. Now that I’ve lived in L.A. and am a homeowner, I look at my old neighborhoods with new … Continue reading