Why I Heart The 626

By Koji Steven | Wednesday, August 29, 2012 | 5 Comments

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800px San Gabriel Mountains from eastern Pasadena 600x340 Why I Heart The 626 Recently, the Los Angeles Times ran the article, “The Asian American youth culture is coming of age in ‘the 626‘,” highlighting the role of people like Andrew and David Fung, who have brought much deserved attention to the San Gabriel Valley or 626 (which is the area code).

For those of you who don’t know, the San Gabriel Valley (SGV) is located east of Los Angeles city and represents home to many many many Asian/Asian Americans.

I was born and raised in the SGV. And if it’s up to me, I’ll also die here. When I got married, I told my wife that I didn’t want to ever leave.

People ask me why I love the 626 so much. It’s simple. It’s because it’s the only place in America that I have ever felt truly comfortable.

Let me explain.

As a kid growing up, I was always part of the majority. I rarely felt the sting of racism because always at least half of the people looked like me.

And in those rare instances that people tried to be racist, they were the one who were shamed and moved out of the neighborhood. Not me.

And the crazy thing was that the area didn’t become worse with their absence. It actually got better!

Why?

The schools became some of the best in the state.

As an adult, I love the food. I recently traveled to Taiwan for my movie and found the food comparable to the food I ate in the SGV. The biggest difference was that in Taiwan all the food was good. In the SGV, you just have to know the right places to go.

I’m always amazed when I have to leave the SGV and see how many non-Asians there are in other parts of Los Angeles County.

Sometimes it makes me feel like I’m in a bubble.

The ironic thing is that the older I’ve gotten the more I’m okay with bubbles.

Do you love the SGV too? Leave a comment and let me know what you love about it.

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Facebook Comments (Beta)

http://www.facebook.com/people/Ahmed-Sanchez-De-La-Cruz-Kim/58700922 Ahmed Sanchez De La Cruz Kim

The market value of 626 will grow and stay strong for another two generations. I predict.

So will the 909 and 714 places
lavvy

It’s the same with me. I was born and raised here. But as a kid I hated it here. Even though I’m Asian, I always felt alienated from others because of my interests. So when I graduated high school I bolted for NYC to attend college. And boy, was that an eye opening experience. I found myself missing home, and even though I met many people who shared the same interests as I did, all of a sudden I was made aware of my “Asian-ness.” Like you said, we’re the majority in the SGV, no one bats an eyelid at us. And all of a sudden I was a minority in NYC. I felt out of place, and when I finished college I moved right back home.

I’m never going to leave this place. This is HOME to me.
Guest

I understand the sentiment of comfort in a familiar place with familiar people. But you are not going to be equipped to make an impact on the world, or even survive in the world, if you wilt at the first experience of social discomfort. I moved to SGV recently for grad school after having lived in every other time zone in the continental US, and the UK, and China before that. I no longer comfortably identify with being American or Chinese, because I see a world that is continually interconnected in business and politics. If you feel out of place in NYC, where lower Manhattan has 40% Asian by population, then you REALLY need to expose yourself to the world. Also, I didn’t come from a large city in China, I was born and raised till age 7 in a tiny village in central China with no running water, plumbing, and phone service until 2004. Trust me, you have only one life, during which the first people with will walk on Mars, you should probably at least be able to explore outside a single area code.
Firebrand003

I understand the sentiment of comfort in a familiar place with familiar people. But you are not going to be equipped to make an impact on the world, or even survive in the world, if you wilt at the first experience of social discomfort. I moved to SGV recently for grad school after having lived in every other time zone in the continental US, and the UK, and China before that. I no longer comfortably identify with being American or Chinese, because I see a world that is continually interconnected in business and politics. If you feel out of place in NYC, where lower Manhattan has 40% Asian by population, then you REALLY need to expose yourself to the world. Also, I didn’t come from a large city in China, I was born and raised till age 7 in a tiny village in central China with no running water, plumbing, and phone service until 2004. Trust me, you have only one life, during which the first people with will walk on Mars, you should probably at least be able to explore outside a single area code.
lavvy

I did stick it out in NYC and I did live overseas in London for study abroad. I’ve been to China plenty of times for work and for family, although my longest stay was a month and half. I’ve travelled to 24 countries by now. Other tourists ask me for directions in other cities. Just because I find the SGV to be home doesn’t mean I don’t get out. I work in travel, so it comes with the job description.

What I found when living outside the 626 was that I had trouble relating to many of the people I met. Chinese people in China think of me as pure American, and so don’t understand a lot of my thought process and behavior. My non-Chinese friends, while great and shared many of the same interests, inadvertently turned me into the token Asian. It seemed like wherever I was, I was the odd girl out.

This is the reason why I like the SGV, as the people here don’t see themselves as American or Chinese, but Chinese American. We’re a whole different entity, with a distinctly different culture from either Chinese or American. I don’t want to say it’s a blend, as that’s cliche, but it’s just something completely different from what you’d find pretty much anywhere else in the world.

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