Local Loving

The city I live in gets a bad rap. It is not undeserved.

I live in a portion of Southern California called the Inland Empire (IE). I live in one the biggest cities in the IE, with probably the worst reputation, San Bernardino. This area is often believed to be high in crime, gang activity, low-socioeconomic statuses (the city itself recently went bankrupt) and various lower class activities.

This is all true and there many things I do not like about living here. I have lofty dreams of packing up and moving to San Francisco, New York City, Boulder or various parts of Spain. And, although I know I will eventually move, circumstances have me living here, right now and I am determined to make the best of it.

I plan to start a segment here on the blog called Local Loving, where I highlight some of the best parts of living in this area.

My favorite thing about where I live is that it is central to all of the amazing topography Southern California has to offer. Within an hour, I can easily drive to the ocean and spend the day at the beach, or I could head in the other direction and within an hour, be in the mountains, hiking beautiful trails with amazing views. I can also head another direction and be in the gorgeous landscape of the desert. There have been some weekends I have literally spent one day at the beach and the next in the mountains. No plane ride or hotel needed, and I was comfortably sleeping in my bed that night. I am also only an hour’s drive away from Los Angeles, where I know I can catch nearly any Broadway show or concert, as it goes on tour. And, even though I am continuously swearing it off, I am also close enough to drive to Las Vegas on very short notice.

hiking in the mountains

Vegas

drum circle at Venice Beach

running in the mountains

trail running in the desert

Please check back as I start posting some of my favorite things to do around this valley and hopefully put more a positive spin on this area of the world.