Yes, we are moving AGAIN! I am more excited about this move than any other move in the past. I have wanted to move to Oregon since I first went there at 18. Every year my husband and I feel it out and every year it has seemed closer to the possibility of us moving. Last year we tried but there was no flow. So, we were able to experience one more year in beautiful Topanga Canyon on the outskirts of Los Angeles. I see why we came here for another year. We have learned so many lessons through experiences. Yet, there was apart of me this past year that was not completely content with my living situation.
Many people in my life, judge me for moving so many times. In the past 10 years, we have lived in Sherman Oaks, CA, Cape Town, South Africa, Topanga, CA, Montezuma, Costa Rica back to Topanga and now to Bend, Oregon. These people ask me questions about whether I am harming my children by moving so much. This is what I say to all of those judgements. My children are always in our decision making processes. We would never move unless all 5 of us were in agreement. There is an empowering feeling for them to be apart of the family decisions. They like to adventure and explore new places. Also, moving so much has united us as a family. We have to stick together to live and survive. All we start out having is each other. This keeps our love growing together. My 3 daughters are all friends. They play all day with respect for one another because they ultimately know that all they really have is each other. This is from moving and adventuring together. When you move so much, you let go of many unnecessary material things and you become more adaptable to change, learning to detach and to remember what is important. I believe these to be gifts for the soul.
With the state of the world, we feel that now more than ever is a time to move to a place that supports our way of life, ultimately of ‘getting off the grid’ as much as we can. Topanga Canyon did fulfill our desire for self-sustainability in many ways but not fully and not without a hefty price. You see because Topanga is in a very natural part of the over-populated Los Angeles, people, especially families are coming to find a community among the natural world. The windy roads of this once hippie haven is attracting more people than it can hold. Finding a home to rent is almost impossible and if you do you are going to pay an average of $4500 for a 3 bedroom house.
As I pack up my belongings to find a new way of life that I have been craving, it is bittersweet. I love Topanga, my friends, my family who is within 40 minutes from me now and the beach so close. However, where I am moving there are a many more positives than these and its time to keep exploring while my girls are young.
People from all over the world put Los Angeles on this pedestal of places to live and visit. It interests me because I grew up here I just want to be anywhere but in LA. Wherever I have travelled and lived, people change their attention on me because I am from LA. Its the film industry that has made Los Angeles out to be an ideal place to be and see beautiful people. While yes this is true, there are many beautiful people in LA, it is not what is important. I do not want my children concerning themselves with this unrealistic beauty and materialism. I just want them to find themselves through nature to be the best people that they can be.
People from all over the world put Los Angeles on this pedestal of places to live and visit. It interests me because I grew up here I just want to be anywhere but in LA. Wherever I have travelled and lived, people change their attention on me because I am from LA. Its the film industry that has made Los Angeles out to be an ideal place to be and see beautiful people. While yes this is true, there are many beautiful people in LA, it is not what is important. I do not want my children concerning themselves with this unrealistic beauty and materialism. I just want them to find themselves through nature to be the best people that they can be.
This is my opinion. Of course there are positive parts of living in LA but for someone that grew up here, I am ready to experience a life of experiences in a healthy environment rather than living in a culture thats supports the bigger, better, more, more and more mentality with pollution swirling around the very dry desert of materialistic, image- centered people. As I pack up, I am grateful for my experiences in Los Angeles, especially my sacred Topanga where I birthed my child myself and where I have grown and blossomed to be who I am today.
Topanga will always be in my heart and here if I ever want to come back!
Topanga will always be in my heart and here if I ever want to come back!
Heres to the next chapter in the journey though my life! Here we come Bend, Oregon!
Cheers!
~ Alex
Pictures from our trip to Oregon:
