Across the Pond

So L.A.'s much announced Carmageddon didn't happen; the closure of a ten mile stretch of the 405 freeway from Friday night until mid Sunday did not bring gridlock and mayhem to this city of ten million car addicts. Instead, those who were out and about found streets and highways more empty than usual. L.A. officially thanked its residents for being cooperative and keeping the car parked. As of lunch time on Sunday the electronic signs along the freeways which had been warning drivers to expect big delays during the weekend showed a new message: "405 open. Thank you Los Angeles". Very nice. You're welcome. The Carmageddon that wasn't reminded me of Y2K, another catastrophe averted. Both not-events show that preparation is key. The blow we can see coming will not throw us for a loop as easily as the one which takes us by surprise. In Los Angeles, proof of this is one major earth quake away. As far as the addiction goes - does the fact that we can leave ou...

How long does it take for a newcomer to feel at home in L.A.? A year? A decade? A lifetime? Answers to this question were floated at a panel discussion on angeleno identity this week in Pasadena (Angelino, Angeleno, Angeleño: Who Are We?) I liked moderator  Leslie Berestein Rojas' take on the subject: you become an Angeleno when you have "that Zen moment on the freeway", when you see the traffic, sit back, and relax thinking all is well. I remember my first visit to L.A., in 1998, the sense of bewilderment, distrust. This place lacked a center; it pulled in too many directions: Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Hollywood, L.A. downtown. Each part of Los Angeles that I got to experience as a tourist had its own character, its own identity. As a whole the city was so different from what I was used to from Europe that I felt uncomfortable. When we moved here in 1999 I made a conscious effort to take Los Angeles for what it is, a hodgepodge city, patchwork, a place with more...

Sunny days, brilliant light, endless streams of traffic - after two years in Vienna we are back in L.A. We moved from the most livable city in the world to one of the most stressful cities in the US, gave up the security of life in Austria for the uncertainties of life in the USA. Are we crazy? According to a Forbes study which was published last week only Las Vegas beats Los Angeles for stress level in the USA. Forbes used six metrics "that can either cause or be caused by stress" to arrive at its conclusions: high unemployment, long commute times, long work hours, limited access to health care, poor physical health, and a lack of exercise. The main reason for Los Angeles to fare poorly is apparently the physical health of its residents. 22.8 percent of Angelinos report that their health is "less than good". Forbes comments that "physical and mental health are closely intertwined, and it's hard to keep from stressin...