Yoga & Wellness

Things I Love About SoCal, and Why I Will Always Be A Californian

Living in Rome has been a dream come true, and the Italian lifestyle is a magical one, but I will always be an LA native, and truly appreciate the beauty and culture of where I was born and raised.

Jenny Geyser

17 Sep 2025 • 5 min read

Beautiful Santa Barbara, California

This was the longest I’ve ever been away from home, my first home that is.

I’ve been living in Rome for over a year, and I love it so much. It's home to me now. So I guess I have two homes. I was born in LA (Santa Monica), raised between LA & Santa Barbara, and have always had a deep soul connection to Italy.

My life is now in Rome. My friends, classes, students, neighbors, and my routine.

Even though I love it so much, it was great to be back home, in my first home, Southern California.

Here are some things I love about Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and the SoCal lifestyle that I didn’t know I missed until I came back (isn’t that always how it works? It’s why being present is so important)!

All the amazing plant-based food options. Yes, food in Italy is incredible, and it’s easy to be vegan or vegetarian here, but the variety and availability of plant-based food in LA is incomparable to anywhere else. There are many vegan restaurants and options on menus with creative, fresh, organic dishes. And I have to add Mexican food here, too! Taco Tuesdays are a special thing! Some of my favorites are Gracias Madre, Butcher's Daughter, Crossroads, Cafe Gratitude and Pura Vita (vegan Italian food!).
The most yoga and fitness studios you could imagine, literally on every street. LA also has probably the biggest yoga community in the world, aside from India. There are too many studios and gyms to list, including Equinox, where I used to teach, but basically any type of yoga, Pilates or workout you want, you can find, with some of the best instructors in the industry.
You can go around all day in your yoga pants and workout clothes without anyone thinking anything strange about it, even in neighborhoods like Beverly Hills. It’s normal and everyone does it. When I lived in LA I taught 15+ classes 6 days/week, so being comfortable and dressed to teach was key.
The beach culture. I grew up going to the beach at least a couple times each week. Even in the winter. Some of my favorite times to be by the ocean were always cool, foggy mornings. And there were always days warm enough throughout the year to lay out. I used to swim in the ocean and body surf the waves, since I was a kid. Going boogie boarding, playing beach volleyball, watching the surfers, taking long walks, seeing the sunset, and having beach bonfires in high school, was part of everyday life. The California beaches will always be in my heart.
The chill, relaxed lifestyle of SoCal, where everyone is always running late because of traffic (or so we say lol). Flakiness is the norm (which is not necessarily a good thing, but it does make it easier to change plans when everyone always understands!). Walking around with green smoothies, an iced oat latte, and random coffee friend dates mid-day (because almost no one has a normal work schedule in LA).
The fact that it really is almost always sunny and barely ever rains. Yes there’s May gray and June gloom (for those of you non-Californians that’s a heavy marine layer of fog that sits over the city near the beaches) but it usually burns off by mid-day, and it’s cozy and not bad considering all the days of sunshine.
The canyons, hills and hiking. Another thing I love about LA (Santa Barbara & San Diego, too) is you have the mountains and the ocean right there! You can easily take a beautiful morning hike at Runyon Canyon, Temescal, Los Liones or the many trails in Malibu, and then spend the rest of the day at the beach, of course getting brunch first! Driving in LA is normally not fun because of the traffic, but there are some awesome places I used to love to drive through. Mulholland Drive, Laurel Canyon and Coldwater Canyon are beautiful drives with so much history and bring back so many memories from when I was a kid in LA.
The creative energy. With the film and music industries so present in Los Angeles, you are surrounded by so much talent and creative drive. It's always inspiring and pretty fun to live where so much of it happens. With amazing music venues, theaters, comedy clubs and more, from the Hollywood Bowl, The Viper Room, Whisky A Go Go, The Comedy Store, The Pantages Theater, and SO many others, you will never be bored in LA.
Mexican food - I know I already mentioned this, but it’s such a big part of SoCal life that I had to say it again. Tacos, burritos, guacamole, and margaritas. Nowhere else (aside from Mexico) compares!

So yes, living in Rome has been a dream come true, and the Italian lifestyle is a magical one…but I will always be an LA native, and truly appreciate the beauty and culture of where I was born and raised.

With so much love,

Jenny