We do. We live in the middle of chaos. On Friday and Saturday nights, parties rage, music thumps, groups of people on bicycles cruise by looking for parties to attend. We moved here from a quiet English village. A village so small, there was no street lighting, at night it was pitch black and a torch/flashlight was required to make it home from the only entertainment available – the village pub.
Here, it is never quiet, never dark. Sometimes police helicopters fly overhead, their spotlights trained on an area near our house, trying to find someone. On the last occasion, a villain had absconded from the local supermarket with a trolley full of vodka. That crime had the Newport Beach police helicopter in hot pursuit and hovering above our house.
It sounds terrible! But we love it. We love the energy. Locals call it the ‘war zone’ and I’m so used to this term that I’ve never given it much thought. We could be living in a nice, suburban area of the peninsula and maybe at some point we’ll move somewhere more sensible but at the moment this is where we’ve ended up.
Susanna Scott, the creator of British Mummy Bloggers, recently told me she had lived in the ‘war zone’ during her time in Newport Beach (Susanna also worked at The Spaghetti Factory!) I laughingly told her that she’d inspired me to write a blog post explaining the term.
Along with the chaos, we also have a lovely group of neighbours who hang out and chat. On Saturday night we poured glasses of wine, sat out on our patio and soaked up the atmosphere. The next thing we knew, a neighbour we’d never met before walked by, said hello and sat down. We poured him a glass of wine and laughed about the antics going on across the road. Then a friend of his happened to be walking by, he sat down as well, another glass of wine was poured. And so it continued.
Sunday mornings are the most entertaining. As I make waffles, girls appear from the house across the street, dressed in their Saturday night best, creeping away from where they’ve just stayed the night. The three single guys across from us seem to do quite well! We enjoy watching the ‘walk of shame.’ Some girls hold their head up high, some come out looking decidedly the worse for wear, a little sheepish and with their hair stuck up in the air.
I don’t think I could ever go back to living in a place without energy. Yes, it gets a little crazy at times. The Fourth of July was like something I’d never seen, an endless array of drunken people in bikinis vying for attention. It’s rare for it to be that intense, usually it’s just mellow surfers and college students creating the energy.
So yes, Susannah, we live in the ‘war zone’ for better or worse. At least it gives me some great material for my blog!
Red Magazine will be featuring Susannah’s British Mummy Blogger network in the January issue, in shops on 1st December, make sure you grab a copy!
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
I hadn’t gone to the Peninsula since High School. Going to your house was the first time in 16 years. Several of my friends lived in your neighborhood, I had to ride my bike there. It was awesome when I was in high school. My friend’s mom was single and she was gone all the time. We would roam the streets at night, and get into trouble as any High School should. The helicopter, well those are my people too. Maybe next time, I will have them give you a shout out from above, “HEY LORNA, Julie says Hi”.
I spent a year living in the war zone – I have great memories. But these days, I prefer biking in and out, returning to my quiet little neighborhood ‘across the street.’ But the energy of the war zone is so young and contagious. It’s sort of like being in my 20’s all over again. Jaeger shots at the Class of 47, shooting pool and watching INXS shoot the video for Devil Inside. Good times! Thanks for bringing it all back.
If I squint I can just about remember my time in the war zone… it was the end of the 80s. I was at Uni, and I took all day classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. That meant I had a four day weekend, plus a day off in between! Not sure how I got from there to here, but it is what it is.
It sounds ideal Lorna, enjoy it! I’ll picture you on Fridays with your neighbours drinking wine on a balacony, watching the sun set (have you seen the blue flash yet?!)
I want to go on record as never doing to walk of shame (!) but I do have a few good fourth of July stories to tell.
We’ve done the opposite: moved from living on the edge of Brixton (constant sirens, parties from the twentysomethings next door and helicopters hovering over the prison) to a suburban wood. The only noise here is the fire station half a mile away, which has a habit of sounding an air-raid like siren at 6am on a Saturday morning….
That made me miss living in the city.
Lorna — so funny because I know exactly where you’re at by your post. I’m guessing the peninsula? It is such great energy but a little busy in the Summertime. I’m glad you’re enjoying it — along with the beautiful views of the Pacific!
A great description of life on that part of the peninsula! I am a Scot but lived in London for many, many years and I can only liken the energy of Balboa’s fun zone (and I dont mean the kid’s fun zone) to New Year’s Eve around Trafalgar Square….and that would be on most weekends! I also prefer to travel onto the peninsula to visit friends and watch the wildlife…what a beautiful group of people we have living in our coastal community. Look forward to more stories from ‘war zone’!