| Sunday, July 16, 2006 |
| IN RESPONSE |
"In Response" will be a weekly segment in which we answer questions or emails from friends and family.
QUESTION: What are some of the most obvious differences between living in Winston-Salem, NC and LA, CA?
ANSWER: First off, know that we do not live in the middle of the Sunset Strip craziness. We are in Burbank, so we easily avoid some of the token LA-ness.
- Climate: We are in the SFV and the temperature has been hovering around 100. HOWEVER, unlike NC, there is no humidity. (And NO, we are nowhere near the wild fires!) It rarely rains here. When it does, I'm told, people freak out. The months of oil build up on the streets makes driving conditions bad and people have a tendency to forget what precipitation looks like. As a result, car washes are very popular.
- Landscape: We are surrounded by mountains and palm trees. It's a very pretty place if you're in the right areas. The smog isn't as bad as it was ten years ago, but a thin haze does linger.
- Traffic: Yes, traffic CAN be a nightmare. BUT, if you know when and where to drive, it is VERY manageable. If you take it as it comes and leave early, you learn that it's just a part of life out here. (When Kerri traveled from Burbank to Beverly Hills at 9:30am it took her an hour to travel 9 miles. That is a popular route in the morning and evening.)
- Cost of Living: Not a huge difference, but enough to notice. Unless you are buying or renting a house, things are fairly reasonable. Some examples are: gas is in the $3.30 area, our car insurance has doubled, our grocery bill has gone up by 30%, Kerri's booze bill has tripled (but we're still stressed from the move), movie tickets are $8-10, and eating out costs about the same as NC.
- Proximity: Things that are relatively close to us now... Disneyland, The Tonight Show (two blocks away), Universal Studios Hollywood (two miles away), Las Vegas, Palm Springs, Disneyland, San Diego, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, Mexico, and Disneyland.
Other than a heightened sense of sexiness, those are our major life differences here in California.
We enjoy hearing from everyone!
Until next time... ENJOY!
--KAW & CJW
*Photo: Burbank, CA (The buildings are Disney offices.) Our place is about two blocks left of the smaller tower. |
posted by CJW @ 7/16/2006 07:57:00 PM   |
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