My move from Los Angeles to Palm Springs was supposed to be temporary. Six years later, I'm still here.

When I lived successful Los Angeles, I considered Palm Springs a sunny respite astir a fewer hours distant from the hustle and bustle of the city. I made a constituent of visiting the godforsaken metropolis a fewer weekends a twelvemonth to bask cleanable wintertime upwind and laid-back, poolside hangs.

I ne'er imagined surviving there, though, until the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Suddenly, Los Angeles felt claustrophobic.

Like galore others successful the metropolis during this time, I wanted to find a spot pinch much breathing room. Since astir of my activity was already remote, I was not tethered to a location and decided to make a move.

Palm Springs offered a little organization density, plentifulness of wide-open vistas, and a slower gait of living, each of which appealed to me.

I planned to conscionable "wait out" the pandemic successful Palm Springs and return to LA erstwhile it was over. So, I negotiated my lease down to a six-month stay.

Pandemic-related restrictions lasted good beyond that first period, but I didn't want to leave. I'd started genuinely falling successful emotion pinch the desert, truthful I kept renewing my lease connected a month-to-month basis.

I quickly fell successful emotion pinch the city's quality and arts scene

One of the biggest contiguous perks of surviving successful Palm Springs was the easy entree to quality and hiking. Even wrong the metropolis limits, location were great, secluded trails to explore, not to mention spots for illustration Joshua Tree National Park conscionable complete an hr away.

In those early days of societal distancing, I took afloat advantage of these hikes — arsenic good arsenic vicinity walks, which offered truthful overmuch Modernist architecture and gorgeous godforsaken landscaping.

Once physical-distancing restrictions were lifted and we could commencement sharing much spaces again, I began moving for the Palm Springs International Film Festival, which remains 1 of my favourite section events.

I developed friendships wrong the organization of coworkers and volunteers, and built respective meaningful intergenerational relationships that proceed to this day.

As things continued to unfastened up, I often attended unrecorded euphony events passim the region, including shows astatine Pappy and Harriet's and the Coachella festival.

As personification who has ever worked successful arts, music, and culture, these places provided awesome opportunities to meet like-minded group successful municipality and get a taste beat connected the city.

Community, friendships, and activity helped maine determine to enactment successful Palm Springs

By the clip the highest of the pandemic had passed, LA had changed — galore of my friends had besides moved elsewhere.

Plus, I'd go profoundly ingrained successful Palm Springs' organization done activity and caller friendships, and fallen into routines here. I didn't want to leave.

So, I didn't. And six years later, I'm still successful the city.

There person been benefits I didn't needfully expect. Compared to surviving successful Los Angeles, drives are short, postulation is light, and parking conscionable astir anyplace downtown is easier (and free!).

You besides simply cannot hit the wintertime upwind here, pinch chiefly sunny days and temperatures successful the mid-70s.

Though I miss galore things astir Los Angeles — for illustration the amazing, varied nutrient scene and late-night civilization — Palm Springs has a batch to connection for mundane life.

And it doesn't wounded that I'm only a two-hour thrust distant from my aged home, truthful I tin caput backmost arsenic often arsenic I request to for activity opportunities aliases visits pinch friends who still unrecorded there.

I'm not ruling retired a return to Los Angeles eventually, and I ever for illustration to enactment elastic and unfastened to caller opportunities. For the foreseeable future, though, Palm Springs is home.