I worked in LA up until about 10 years ago. At the time I belonged to one of the museums in Exposition Park and I'd get free tickets to the Imax films there. I had no problem leaving work (which was maybe a mile from Expo Park), driving home to Long Beach to pick up the kid, and then driving all the way back to see the film. On a week night.

Now I work in Costa Mesa, the same miles from home as before, but I can't get myself to attempt the same thing. Yes, I'm older and fudzier, but it's mostly so impossible to get between anywhere in the O.C. and home that I can't generally handle doing anything else. Yes, there is an Orange Curtain and it's called the 405.

Our problem is that we break through the curtain too often. Believe me, as the gayest straight man who actually still posts here (hi Nirvanaman!), I would most enjoy a day at Huntington Gardens (you do remember my thread about my blacony garden, right?)...I've just got to weigh that enjoyment against the reality of yet again making the drive, spending a night away from home, yadda yadda yadda. Like CP mentioned earlier, we realized back at the beginning of March that we had zero free weekends until June, and high proportion of those booked weekends involves a drive up to and a stay in the Valley or LA. We do it because we love our friends and family, and love the things we do...but it does eventually become very very wearying.

And for those of us in south county, the 5. I live south of the "Y", and I work across the street from the Spectrum. I have to drive over the 5 north every night before I go home, and the thought of sitting in that traffic to go somewhere *fun* or *swanky* in LA is not appealing. Heck, going to Disneyland in that traffic isn't appealing.

And it seems no matter when you go north, unless it's between 1am and 3am you will hit crummy traffic.

There are fun and swanky places in Orange County. Maybe not as many as in LA County, but they are here, and as NM pointed out, much closer and easier to get to.

Good natured ribbing is good natured ribbing, but implying that the county one lives in is sucking the life and fun out of them is a little more than good natured ribbing. I can't really blame CP for her post.

What NM said....

But I gotta say, we were at the Avalon last night (club in Hollywood) and holy sht, now THAT is a place to get a drink and shake your ass on the dance floor. The place is your standard old-theater-reborn with ornate ceilings and balconies with an incredible light set up that threatened to give ME a seizure. The music was rather good and the place was packed...

I'm pretty sure there's nothing like that in OC. ;)

It totally sucked ass to drive back down at 3:30am though. Damn you, wonderful Orange County! I hope we move to Fullerton...

It's not lke OC is a desolate wasteland, it just doesn't have the diversity and excitement of LA. The further South you go, the more mundane it gets with the exception of some of tbe more "liberal" beach communities (Laguna is a prime example). The problem I found with living in OC was that I, like Lindyhop, found it hard to leave. It DID seem to suck the life out of me. There's something about the comfort level that makes me lead a much more boring life. But, I LIKE cities and diversity. I like the excitement, the creativity, the vibe that just isn't there in OC. But, I love love love Long Beach. It has a city feel and a beach community vibe. Lots of unique experiences to be had here and we're freeway close to anywhere in LA - and to Disneyland. We're also freeway close to OC in general, but I rarely end up there for any other reason that to visit friends who live or work there.

But, I've lived on OC, worked for a major OC city, lived in Hollywood and in Long Beach for many years so I've experienced the differences firsthand. If you choose to live in OC there are many benefits, but hip happenings isn't really one of them and the drive you have to make to get to "someplace" is tedious. But, these are my priorities talking.

Totally agreed. Even places that are kinda cool, like Laguna, don't hold a candle to the splendor of old-Hollywood, a-la the Avalon. Clubbing in OC is, well, clubbing, i.e lame. Clubbing at a place like the Avalon...is still lame, but at least you're at the freaking Avalon!

If I didn't have a job that I truly love, I'd seriously be looking for a way out of here. But I'm in a niche industry, and the few opportunities in SoCal that exist are here in OC, and I really do hope to be at this company for a long while. Hopefully, this summer will bring a move closer to the county line. As much as I enjoy the benefits of Irvine (clean, quiet, safe-ish), I'll trade it for proximit to something other than another Daphne's and another Dave & Busters.

That is us too. And AZ is a much suckier place than almost anywhere in CA. But a good job and family (ok, so I'd sort of like to move away from family :p ) keep us here for now. When we're ready to leave the job though, we'll leave the state. Probably for someplace where we can buy more than a one bedroom apartment for what we pay for rent here, though. CA is nice, but it ain't cheap.

So, back to this weekend.

Who is confirmed? I have another friend who is also going to be joining us. Another non-gay man who likes flowers, zen gardens, art, literature, carniverous plants, good company and wonderful food. I have the best friends ;)

I need to pick a restaurant as well.

Well, hmmm, I'm in ... but I'm not sure about my boyfriend.


Are you sure your flower-loving friend isn't gay??

I love the Huntington - but I'm gonna pass, so my brain and body can recover a bit from this Spring Breakdown...