It is spring, and it will be two years this fall that I moved back with the parents. The itch for my own living space is growing again. I haven't saved quite as much money as I intended, although I have still been contributing to my IRAs.

I have decided what I want, though. I want to buy a condo in downtown L.A.

This isn't as spur-of-the-moment as it might seem. The historic downtown walking tour I went on a couple of weekends ago helped bring the idea back to my mind with renewed force, actually walking around the neighborhoods and seeing all the historic old buildings, but I have considered downtown a possible option when thinking about real estate before. It's centrally located, with great access to freeways. It's got the awesome Central Library. It's got the Music Center, now plus Disney Hall which I haven't managed to get to yet but I want to see. It's got MOCA, though I visit LACMA much more often. It's got public transit trains running through that would get me from Pasadena to Long Beach to Hollywood to Manhattan Beach without having to use my car, if I so preferred. It's got the eastern end of Wilshire Boulevard, which could take me all the way to my old stomping grounds of Westwood (though the 10 would probably usually be faster). For several years now, living in Southern California, I've been hearing murmurs about how downtown might start going through a revival pretty soon. If it's going to happen, I want to be in on it -- and if I don't get in near the bottom, there's no way I'll ever be able to afford it. I might be too late already.

I wouldn't live there forever. In the long run, presuming I eventually have a family, I would want to raise kids in a house with a yard, near good schools, around more greenery and fewer street people. But while I am in this non-dependent phase of life, I wouldn't mind having a loft, with windows letting lots of light into my open space, even if it had to be a small one, as long as it's mine. From that starting point I feel I could go almost anywhere.

Now I just have to figure out how to jump up to that first rung of the ladder.

...

Oh I don't know. Maybe it would still be possible to climb onto that rung a little farther west in L.A. It just feels like I have absolutely no chance in any pretty areas on my current salary with my current savings. But maybe I should actually start doing research before I make any sweeping decisions to limit myself.

(As my boyfriend likes to tell me, I think I'm indecisive, but I'm not sure.)

contents of the purple tricycle are copyright 2004 carrie lynn king unless otherwise noted.