Love where you live
I grew up on a grain farm in Saskatchewan, about as far from Los Angeles as a place can be, and for a long time I thought loving where you live meant finding the right place. The place that finally felt like the one. I moved a lot chasing that feeling, Japan at fifteen, New York for a while, and I kept waiting for somewhere to just click the way I assumed it was supposed to.
It took me embarrassingly long to figure out that loving where you live isn't something a place hands you. It's something you build, on purpose, wherever you land. These days that's Sherman Oaks, with my husband and our two kids and a life that took real work to feel this settled, and some mornings I still catch myself a little surprised by how much I love the ordinary parts of it, the school run, the same coffee spot, knowing which street floods a little when it rains.
So when I say love where you live, I don't mean fall in love with your zip code. I mean build a life in it that you actually want to be living, because that's the part that makes any house feel like a home.
Did you know?
- A geothermal system can cost between $40,000 and $75,000 for a 4,000-square-foot home. That is high, but with electric bills soaring, this could pay for itself within four to six years.
- ChatGPT—almost exactly three years old since launch—already has around 800 million weekly users and one million enterprise customers, including Spotify, Canva, and Zillow. Instagram took about seven years from its launch to reach 800 million users, more than twice as long. (FT)
- The percentage of mortgages under 5% peaked at 85.6% and is now around 72%. Around 18% of borrowers have a rate of 6% or more. (FHFA)
- To return home buyer affordability to its pre-Covid level, one of the following must happen: wages must rise 56%, lifting the median household wage to $132,000 a year; the 30-year mortgage rate must fall 2.65%, assuming no resulting increase in home prices; or home prices need to slide 35%. (econ70.com)
What’s happening in LA?
- Brother-and-sister team Sol and Ghazi Bashirian took over the Centinela Avenue pizzeria their father ran and reimagined it into Sunday Gravy, a locally loved red-sauce joint that embodies Inglewood's richness and history.
- A richly marbled, perfectly grilled steak is one of life's greatest pleasures. Thankfully, Los Angeles has no shortage of feast-worthy steakhouses serving inventive and classic cocktails, sides, and expertly rendered red meat.
- At Lapaba, a new Koreatown pasta bar, a pair of Osteria Mozza veterans infuse regional Italian dishes with Korean ingredients. Husband-and-wife chefs McKenna Lelah and Matthew Kim fill deep-fried supplì with mozzarella and Spam, while jjajang meets guanciale.
Featured listings
- Sunset Strip–Hollywood Hills West — 1737 N Stanley Ave, 90046. 4 BD · 4 BA · 3,165 SF · $3,597,000. A gated, private home on a quiet cul-de-sac near Runyon Canyon with old Hollywood glamour.
- Beverly Center–Miracle Mile — 432 S Willaman Dr, Unit 401, 90048. 3 BD · 4 BA · 2,310 SF · $1,995,000. A penthouse with no shared walls, abundant light, a bonus room, and three private patios.
- Sherman Oaks — 4041 Davana Rd, 91423. 4 BD · 4 BA · 2,737 SF · $2,699,999. A fully renovated home with mid-century bones, vaulted ceilings, exposed beams, and rifted white oak cabinetry.
- Toluca Lake — 10225 Valley Spring Ln, 91602. 3 BD · 2 BA · 3,128 SF · $3,399,999. An oversized lot across from Lakeside Golf Club with vaulted wood-beamed ceilings.
- Silver Lake — 3924 Sunset Boulevard. 3 BD · 3 BA · 14,139 SF · $25,500,000. An iconic Sunset Junction property with a 3,000-square-foot apartment and eight retail spaces.
- Hollywood Hills East — 2890 Durand Dr, 90068. 4 BD · 4 BA · 3,317 SF · $2,749,000. A Bauhaus Mediterranean residence in Beachwood Canyon with steel-framed casement windows and sweeping views.