Opinion: That’s So Laguna—Part 2

By Denise Di Novi

I lead a double life, though it’s not as exciting as it sounds. I spend two to three days a week in Los Angeles for work and the rest of the time at my longtime home in the Village. I time my trips with the precision of a fighter pilot to avoid as much of the traffic as I can and make the trip in 64 minutes. If I don’t get back to Laguna by Thursday I get kind of antsy and squirrelly and turn into terrible company. Sometimes it gets so bad that my colleagues in L.A. will ask in a forced-friendly manner, “So, when are you heading home to Laguna?” I am grateful for being doubly blessed geographically but the moment I really feel lucky is when I turn onto Laguna Canyon Road. The number 133 triggers an instant relaxation response in my brain. I’ve started to worry about driving in the Canyon this past year when it seems like every few days there is a horrific traffic collision, so now I often take Newport Center Drive. When I pull onto PCH and glide past Crystal Cove, I think the same thing every time; what could be better than this?

I get asked a lot, what are the difference between the two places? There are hundreds of differences, many of them too obvious to mention. But one thing I have thought about a lot is how much more neighborly Laguna Beach is, and neighborly in its own very unique way. I’m not talking about the run of the mill good neighbor stuff like borrowing a cup of flour or bringing in your mail or watering your plants. These things are important, and sadly I have rarely experienced even these basics in any area of LA in which I’ve lived. But to me, Laguna neighborliness has a style all its own. You want to paint your front door Fuschia because it’s your favorite color? Fine with us, we’ll help and make margaritas. You want to keep your ancient picket fence that’s at a 45 degree angle and hasn’t been painted since your grandpa built it in the 60s? We understand and love it too. You want to have a life-sized rusting metal sculpture of a horse in your front yard? We’d miss it if you ever take it down. And you want to Mosaic your house exterior? Excellent idea!

The houses are so close together, you can often hear your neighbor sneeze, or wake up singing Hamilton or play the Bongos. It makes us all feel less lonely if we live alone and reminds the rest of us we’re all human and in this together. As many of us see each other most days doing morning or sunset walks, the first thing we often remark upon is how beautiful the weather is, how large the waves, how high the tide. It bonds us and levels the playing field. We all put up with many of the same things too, which makes us willing to help each other out. To live here, a lot of us have very small houses, with tiny kitchens, or yards the size of postage stamps, or driveways (if we’re lucky) that barely fit a golf cart. Having a party? Use my oven, park in front of my garage, use my front yard for overflow. Lucky enough to have the biggest house on the street with a giant driveway and tons of parking? Let me know when you need It. Want lemons from my tree, cuttings from my succulents, or blooms from my roses? Go right ahead. You’re my neighbor.

A few of my friends from LA were visiting one weekend. One of them asked me with genuine curiosity why, when you see a passerby in the neighborhood, they smile, say “hello” like they mean it and seem in a good mood. His wife said, “Honey, it’s pretty obvious. When they go to sleep at night they know they’re gonna wake up in Laguna Beach. No wonder they’re smiling.” I think that sums it up pretty well.

Denise is a film and television producer and director at PatMa Productions and Di Novi Pictures and a longtime resident in the Village neighborhood of Laguna Beach.