Best and Worsts / Valley Reader Write : Tributes Tell Why Valley Is Home

Couched as it was with reminders of the earthquake, the wildfires and the sagging economy, our question to readers was simple: Why do you stay in the San Fernando Valley?

In dozens of poems, essays and even a limerick, written on manual typewriters, computers or scrawled on note cards, you responded, defiantly defending your neighborhood, your strip mall, your Valley.

For some, it is the memories that keep you here: of orange groves, farmlands or the deer that once roamed the Valley floor. For others, it is as simple as the convenience of nearby malls or the endlessly sunny days. Others point to something less tangible, a collective spirit that rises in the face of each new disaster.

But we asked for your words, so we’ll let you explain. Here are some of our favorite remarks, illustrated with photographs by Brian Vander Brug about why there’s no place quite like the Valley to call home.

Consider Both Sides for Real Confusion

To stay or not to stay? That seems to be the question of late. The San Fernando Valley has developed some wrinkles. The granddaddy of all suburbs is showing its age, and people are leaving it for newer pastures.

However, some people still enjoy living here. Many Valleyites can hold our own on either side of this debate. So instead of taking sides, let us consider these following advantages. (And disadvantages?)

Sunny, balmy summers (with temperatures in the 100s on many days).

An earthquake-free zone (at least of tremors above 7.0).

A lower crime rate (But the Valley is actually in the city limits of Los Angeles).

Bargain rents (you can get a two-bedroom/two-bath apartment for only $1,600 a month in the West Valley).

Mass transit near you (in the year 2010).

Nice size homes (at nice, hefty prices).

Better schools. (Better schools?)

TROY KEEFE

Woodland Hills