13 years in L.A., and why I left

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In February 2023, I sold my car at a dealership in Los Angeles. The man buying it took one last photo of me with it, and then I got in a Lyft.

I lived in L.A. for 13 years. This first issue is about why I left and the 13 places I’d still send you.

After that, one thing I noticed in Paris, where I went next. Back Seat ends on the song that meant the most to me the year I left.

One issue comes each month. You don’t need a trip booked to read it, and weekend trips count. What you read tells me what to make more of.

What’s a place you loved that isn’t there anymore? Hit reply, or write to me at [email protected].

Ethan

LAX · Los Angeles

I had built a journalism career in the city where I once slept in my car, and I still wanted to leave the United States.

3 of the 13 things I’d do in Los Angeles, from someone who lived there 13 years.

LAX · Los Angeles

The place I loved most in L.A. I went several times a week when I could, and from the top you can see from the Pacific to downtown.

Price · Free, sunrise to sunset

Went · Several times a week, for years

Still good as of · October 2026

LAX · Venice

It’s tacky, and I’d still send you. It’s where I last saw my cousin Yolanda, when she visited in July 2014.

Price · Free

Went · Yes, many times

Still good as of · October 2026

LAX · Downtown

My favorites were the sunflowers. On Sundays I went to the farmers market on 5th Street and went home to cook what I bought.

Price · Flower market entry is $2; the farmers market is free to walk

Went · Most weekends, when I lived downtown

Still good as of · October 2026

CDG · Paris

THE SHORT ANSWER
Many smaller shops in Paris close for their yearly holiday sometime between mid-July and the end of August. The notice on the door says when they’ll be back.

Back in the 12th arrondissement, I noticed shops with their shutters down and signs announcing when they would reopen. The change was easier to see because I knew the neighborhood. I had my usual places for groceries, coffee, and laundry. Along those familiar routes, some doors were closed for more than an afternoon.

The city was still busy in other ways. I came across a market, bought fruit, and sat in Starbucks. But the notices gave the streets a timetable. These businesses were telling customers when to come back.

Paris’s tourist office says many smaller shops close for annual holidays from mid-July through the end of August. The dates vary by business. A closed shop on a neighborhood street and an open store on the Champs-Élysées can both be part of the same summer day.

There is a longer history behind the time off. France’s National Assembly records how the paid-holiday law of 1936 gave qualifying workers 14 days of paid leave. Its implementation that August allowed hundreds of thousands of employees to go on holiday for the first time. That history gives some context to the breaks; it doesn’t establish why any particular owner chose a particular week.

On the streets I walked, the notices were the useful part. They explained that a familiar place was taking a break and would be back. I could read the return date and keep walking.

The observations come from my stay in the 12th. The explanation draws on Paris je t’aime, the city’s tourist office, and the National Assembly’s history of paid holidays. I haven’t interviewed the owners of the shops I photographed.

Maroon Astro is named for the maroon Chevy Astro the five of us rode in to see my grandparents. I rode in the back, shoulder to shoulder with my 2 siblings, with a pillow for the long drive. My mom packed a cooler, because we didn’t stop at restaurants, and my dad hated stopping at all.

Read the rest of the van story on my About page.

Dublin taught me the difference between an expat and an immigrant

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