During my university days in San Diego, my friends from NorCal and I would blast Wax’s Southern California driving home for holidays and school breaks, a song of regret and remorse about living down south.

“Why did I move to Southern California?” we would scream, counting the miles until we got back on our home turf. I was not a fan of SoCal in the nineties, and for years I was convinced in the superiority of NorCal with its vibrant nature, its clean air, and its prominent food and wine scene.

But all that has drastically changed over the last few years.

The number one thing I get asked from my friends up North: “Don’t you miss all the nature and the hills around the Bay Area?”

Uh….look at the above photo from last night’s drive home (and, yes, I’m well aware that was not the safest thing to do, but it was too beautiful). Driving west from Pasadena to Burbank at sunset is the highlight of my day, every single day of the week. The majestic mountains to my right, the ocean glimmering out in front of me, the tall buildings of downtown in the distance to my left, the rolling hills of Eagle Rock sprawling to Los Feliz and the Griffith Observatory.

Do I miss the food? I do not. Having lived in Los Angeles for over two years now, the one thing I can say with certainty is that—if you’re into unpretentious, regionally-specific, international cuisine—we’re living in the middle of food paradise down here. From the hundreds of specialty food trucks, to the world’s best taquerias, to the dumplings of the San Gabriel Valley, to the sushi along Ventura Boulevard, to several of the best pizzas I’ve ever had in my life, I’ve never been more excited about any food scene, anywhere.

Working in Pasadena has been one of the best developments, as I’ve gotten to know so many interesting, laid-back, like-minded individuals who enjoy the slower pace of life on the east side of LA. The more I drive the 210 freeway, the more I can imagine myself retiring out here, enjoying the snowcapped peaks of the San Gabriel mountains with the multitude of trails and easy hikes that I’ve come to enjoy on many a Saturday morning during COVID. I know that I’m surrounded by good people.

So I’m here to say, on record, that I take back all the negative and naive things I once thought and said about Southern California in the past. At this point in my life, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.

-David Driscoll