Commuting (back) from COPenhagen

Last year our family made what we thought was a pretty bold move. We left my hometown – the place I was born and raised and have built a bank of significant relationships -  to experience life in Copenhagen. When we left a number of our friends and family predicted that we’d stay overseas for good.

I decided to write about our experiences on a blog I called “Commuting from Copenhagen.” It is a title both metaphorical and literal, symbolizing a personal commute across the world, as well as the wildly different modes of transportation the residents of each City depend on to get around.

During our year abroad our children made friends with kids from all over the world, learned a fair bit of the language, spent priceless time with their family in Denmark, and became pretty damn good at soccer. They also attended schools where worries about class size, union rules, and shortened days (or is it weeks now?) are concerns beyond comprehension for Danes, whose social welfare safety net is more like a California King bed made with Frette sheets and a goose down pillow.

I sat in cafes undisturbed by endless conversations conducted over ridiculous looking bluetooth headsets, or by blinking faux-news video monitors with “breaking stories” detailing how the latest reality star was seen doing coke in the bathroom stall at a Hollywood hotspot. And didn’t hear a single mention of a soy latte or a skinny macchiato. At least I don’t think I did. The coffee wasn’t cheap but the civility alone was worth every Krone. (The Danes have left the feeble Euro to most of the rest of the Continent.)

I also met and worked with extremely talented filmmakers, creative types and change makers who made Oscar nominated films, great ads, and worked hard to make a real impact on environmental issues during the UN Conference on Climate Change (COP15).

We would jump on a less than one hour plane ride to find ourselves in Prague, a dark and mysterious City that is worlds apart from Copenhagen, with its spotless design and laid back – yet sometimes aloof – people.  I drove solo across beautiful farmland to a ferry on the Danish Coast, spent 45 minutes in the boat, unloaded in Germany, and was soon hitting 140 mph on the autobahn on my way to action packed Berlin.  We even loaded up a mini-van National Lampoon European Vacation style and took the whole family on an epic two-week tour of Europe that went from Denmark to the south of France, through Paris and up to Amsterdam.

On each of these trips I played a mental game where I would find myself calculating the mileage and trying to imagine the what exotic locale I would see by traveling a similar distance from LA.

Hmm…let’s see:

Copenhagen to Prague = 346 miles

LA + 346 miles = Stockton, California

Copenhagen to Amsterdam = 490 miles

LA + 490 miles = Winslow, Arizona

Yikes.

All the while, I scanned the hometown news keeping an eye on events at home.  I watched unsurprised, but disheartened, as the City budget crisis threatened to decimate already meager levels of city service.  On a quick visit home, I saw that some rain had caused damage on Mulholland Drive near Laurel Canyon but the budget shortfall prevented its repair.  I took a picture for posterity.

Los Angeles - Circa 2010

Actually, the budget issues facing LA and the State aren’t all that different than the “crisis” brewing here.  As part of its “austerity” efforts the government is pushing hard for a radical restructuring of the Danish workforce. They want to push the maximum work week 37 to 38 hours. Can you imagine? 38 hours!

To encourage support for the proposal, the Danish government has a media campaign which goes along the lines of “you give us an extra 12 minutes a day and we’ll keep you happy, educated and well fed for the rest of your life.”  Or something like that.  It couldn’t help but remind me of the all-news radio station pitch that promised  “give us 22 minutes and we’ll give you the world.”  (A statement which of course has now been made obsolete by Google’s ability to give you anything in the world in .22 seconds.)

Despite the doomsday scenario of a 38 hour work week, by any statistical measure the quality of life and overall well being of people here is higher.  Much higher.  Just look at those annual “world’s happiest people” surveys.  Year after year, Copenhagen and its Scandinavian neighbors top the list.  LA generally falls somewhere between Kansas City and Kuala Lampur. Our economy continues its slog with very few real signs of progress.  The McCourts still own the Dodgers (please someone make it stop), while SC is in NCAA hell.  Let’s face it, it’s not even purgatory.  And as for the prospects for my kids college education…the recent UC fee increases make the one-time jewel of the U.S. higher education system seem more and more like a distant dream for most folks.

Yet, with all that we have decided to return to LA. Why? Well, yes, it is home. And of course there is the weather.  Always, the weather.

What surprised me though is that people over here still seem to have faith in – and almost a reverence for – LA and California generally. Wherever I went I would get a similar response to my telling people where I was from. Eyes would light up.  People would ask if it was really like “Entourage.” And of course I would tell them “yes, it’s exactly like that.”

They’d share stories of visits to Malibu and rides up the coast on PCH, the Hollywood sign, some minor celebrity sighting or how great the late night burger was at that “place that looks like a train.”  And not even one person said “how can you stand the traffic…the smog…the crappy schools”  But I guess that’s what we have New Yorkers around for.  Especially the ones who have moved to LA.

I guess either the Dream Factory is alive, well and doing its job or there is something still vital about LA,  at least in people’s minds.  And while not convinced that LA is ready to completely turn the corner I still believe that on its best days there is no place in the world like it.  Only time will tell, but we are looking forward to coming back and being a part of what’s next.

So this will be my final post on “Commuting from Copenhagen.” I have no plans to keep a blog about our life back in LA…I’ll just tell my friends over here to watch Entourage.

Hej hej.