Highland Park Hideaway

I've been in the house 1 week now and am loving it. Despite the stress of my poor sick Puppy, it's been a great week in the new house. I get lots of natural light in the morning and wake up to the sounds of birds chirping. It's cute but a little annoying at 5:30AM, but better than the helicopter and highway traffic which I used to hear. The house is in shambles because of the construction and there's dust everywhere, so I haven't even unpacked. But I still love my little house, vegging in front of the tv with Puppy, and exploring the neighborhood.

Highland Park is AWESOME. When I decided to move here, I had no idea where or what it was. It is a very cool, funky neighborhood which has become a benchmark in LA for rapid gentrification (which I guess includes me now). There was a lot of plaid. It was featured on NPR's Marketplace last year when they set up a storefront in the neighborhood to track the progress of gentrification. Economics and politics aside, I love it! It feels like a community where people know each other, it's ethnically diverse (11% Asians!), it's close to downtown and Pasadena, and it has less of the urban sprawl feel that most of LA has. It's a little gritty, but it has character, much like the neighborhoods I've lived in before (which all skyrocketed in real estate price after I left. You're welcome).

And most importantly, HP has great food. Already I've found my favorite huarache and burrito place, a great pizza place, and a boozey cocktail bar with a great patio. All within strolling distance. What more could a girl need? A Korean restaurant or ramen shop would be nice, but hey, I can't get too spoiled. Not when I have these tacos right next door...

 And a fun little fact about Highland Park: fashion megastore Forever 21 started right here. It actually started as "Fashion 21" and you can still visit the original location on Figueroa Street.

While I don't support their labor practices, or skimpy clothing, it's funny to see their origins right here.