Vladimir Cole / Vlad Cole / VC

Richard Florida’s Who’s Your City was a key read in my quest to become comfortable with the idea of moving to Southern California. If not for that book, I might have never made the move, and I’d certainly still harbor a lot more venom for the goddamned sprawl (and attendant traffic and pollution) that defines this region. However, Richard Florida helped me understand that all that stuff is nothing compared to the huge advantages that come to a region that becomes a world magnet for creative talent (as LA has). Because knowledge workers of all types tend to mass together, LA is to the creative world what NYC and London are to finance, San Francisco is to technology, and Washington DC is to stupidity.

So, it’s with some glee that I saw LA top his Bohemian Index.  If that were a worldwide index, it would pretty accurately describe the only cities I’d want to live in.

Short update: After a weekend spent frantically driving between Ikea, Nob Hill, Costco, and various other purveyors of nesting goods, we are now officially a two-city family. I’m in Seattle working for Microsoft, while Fiona’s an hour-and-a-half to the south (as the plane flies) working for Bain as a consultant. Looking forward to reconnecting with all my friends in San Francisco on my trips down there. These lyrics ring particularly true for me, now:

I left my heart in San Francisco
High on a hill, it calls to me.
To be where little cable cars
Climb halfway to the stars!
The morning fog may chill the air
I don’t care!
My love waits there in San Francisco
Above the blue and windy sea …

-v

Thursday through Sunday I’ll be in the old stomping grounds (Manhattan) for a very good friend’s wedding. I’m very much looking forward to dinner at Peter Luger’s and all of the other events we’ve got planned for the weekend (kayaking, go-kart riding, chicken dancing, etc.). If I could write my own itenerary, the trip would also involve pizza pilgrimages to Grandaisy Bakery (SoHo) and Pepe’s (New Haven), but … maybe another time.

This Monday and Tuesday I’ll be at Gamefest in downtown Seattle as part of the sizable Xbox team present. It’ll be nice to have a four-minute commute for a couple of days this week. Give me a ring if you’re in town for the event and would like to meet up for lunch, dinner, or beverages.