It has been a month and a half since we arrived in LA, about midway through our stay and perhaps time to put down some thoughts about what living here is really like. A lot of people think the grass is greener on the other side, and USA (especially California) is seen as paradise on earth by many. One can certainly appreciate the great weather, the availability of all kinds of goods at ridiculously low prices (especially for those who earn US incomes), the public facilities (free beaches, parks, libraries etc), the 500 TV channels, and the general convenience of being able to do almost everything online. And yet something is missing and it is difficult to pinpoint. Despite having more control of my time I feel that I have less time to think. Despite having opportunities to achieve more I feel I am achieving less. Despite having all the facilities at my fingertips I feel I am not sufficiently making use of them. Despite having more people around me I feel I am not able to really connect with them.
It is difficult to explain this because it is a state of mind and not necessarily a characteristic of the geographic location. Maybe it is me holding back because I know that our stay here is temporary. Maybe it is a search for quality over quantity. Maybe it is just plain laziness. I feel that I am surrounded by people who somehow manage to have gone to the gym, thought deep thoughts and put in an hour or two of meaningful work by the time I drag myself out of bed each day. Maybe this is the difference - there is an abundance of choices and opportunities here that makes me feel guilty living at the pace that I'm accustomed to. It's like being told that this is my last day on earth and still choosing to spend a third of it sleeping.
Maybe the grass is indeed greener here (well, the sprinklers ensure this!). But it's also more artificial - there would be no grass at all if it weren't planted and irrigated. So perhaps the question I should be asking is "do I like grass and is green my favourite colour?". Thinking about it in this way may give a very different answer. Maybe in a very roundabout and unnecessarily lengthy fashion what I'm trying to say is "less can be more". And perhaps the most important thing to appreciate is that not many people get to try living on both sides of the fence before finding out which side they prefer.
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2 comments:
Dom - I'm going through exactly the mirror image of your experience there, and you've put it eloquently into words.
I've been thinking a lot about productivity and what it means to different people, especially since there are times I'm almost exasperated at the pace and what I perceive as the 'lounging' state in the way things are done (and not done) here. In addition to that, I'm recognizing just how 'connected' and 'convenient' it is in the states (where I could do all my errands from my bed, or while sipping a frap at starbucks).
But while muttering and complaining about how much time is wasting having to physically go to the bank, or to someone's office just to have a 10 minute meeting, I began thinking about where the time otherwise "saved" would go to. Cut out the human interactions, the conversations, then what else is there besides an empty feeling of 'productivity'?
As expected, I haven't reached any useful conclusions. But it's still an interesting point to think about. In some ways I feel lucky to have experienced the New York pace and now the other extreme. It's easier to form an analysis when you're looking at hyperboles.
Hope you're well!
Jeni - thanks for your comments. And I am really enjoying your blog as well - keep writing!
I guess one thing I noticed about the productivity thing here is that all the extra time saved does tend to get spent in watching TV or driving long distances so at the end of the day it really is about whether productivity is a virtue in itself or just the means to an end objective (which for some people might be watching every re-run of Friends, or spending 8 hours a day on Second Life!).
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