I am a New Urbanist. There, I said it. It’s true, but I never set out to make a statement by my living situation. I simply needed a place to live, and after looking at shitty place after shitty place I just chose the place that didn’t suck as much as the others. That place happened to be a loft style place in the NoHo Arts District. Which, it turns out, is a major example of New Urbanism, Los Angeles Style.

For those who, like me until very recently, are ignorant of exactly what New Urbanism means, click here.

Sounds great, huh? I mean, living here means I’m all ecologically friendly and stuff. And, yeah- there’s a lot to be said for my neighborhood. It’s nice walking to EAT Restaurant, or any of the even-newer (or better, yet- older, like that Indian restaurant on Lankershim) places in the neighborhood. It’s nice being near a big park.  It’s kind of cool, getting on the subway and ending up in Hollywood.

I’ve done that. Twice. Oh, and I went to Universal on the subway to meet my uncle for dinner, once.

 I’ll also tell you, for all the eco-friendly glamour of living in a New Urbanist community there are a few pitfalls. First of all, it’s expensive to live here. Crazy expensive. Like, my loft could easy be a house the way things are priced in Los Angeles. The almost-nightly gunshots, and the every-night sirens and “ghetto birds” in the air get a bit tiring at times. Then there was this homeless lady on the corner, whenever I’d run by she’d try to spit on me. I never took it personally, though: she spit at everybody. I think the gentrification of the neighborhood eventually pushed her out. Is it weird that I miss her?

I have a diverse group of interesting neighbors, in my New Urbanist neighborhood. There’s the agent at Endeavor whose mail I keep getting, the actress in indie films, a bonafide rap artist on a major record label (he just moved to Beverly Hills last week), my neighbor the production designer for Hollywood, and me- struggling but awesome writer-director guy. And my buddy Brandon who does editing for us lives only 5 minutes away.

There’s also a few scary neighbors, like the Russian guys who don’t like it when I work out in the gym while they’re trying to sleep at 2 in the afternoon after a late night of gunplay and recreational drug abuse. Speaking of drug abuse, there’s a crackhouse only 2 blocks away.

And lastly, there’s a ton of spoiled young adults who live on trust funds and think the world revolves around them. I think I like them less than anyone.

Still, if you ignore the bad there is a lot to be said for this New Urbanist lifestyle. I enjoy walking to the bank and the grocery store. I love my impromptu jogs through the city (contrary to one’s preconceived notions, not all of said jogs are inspired by the local gangs). I like that I’m “in the middle” of things, here. It’s interesting. It can be exciting.

And of course, there’s that whole eco-friendly vibe.

Even though most of the people who live here have no clue about how green their lifestyle really truly is.

Ever have one of those days where you just don’t do a whole lot?

It’s pretty rare for me. I’m usually running on all cylinders. All the time. But not today.

Therefore, here’s my list of things of note that I did today:

• Smelled my girlfriend’s neck.
• Enjoyed a 100 calorie fat free jelloâ„¢ brand chocolate pudding while wearing flip-flops.
• Took a picture of a bird on my balcony. I call it “North Hollywood Dove”. Others call it “Flying Rat” or “Pigeon”.

Here’s the picture*:



* Yes, I do believe this poor bird only has one leg. Therefore, let us call him “one-legged north hollywood dove”. And no, having one leg does not seem to have affected this stalwart feathered being one whit. I’ve always wanted to say ‘whit’. Now, I have. 

Visit www.couchcases.com for a preview of our show! Couch Cases is the first project from High Five and a Hug Productions, and I co-created and directed it.