What is Real? Really!?!

Some friends of ours just moved a very long way away. They have been making some noises to the effect that the folks in the new place are somehow better, nicer, more real than the folks in the old place (L.A.) It kind of reminds me of a day many years ago when one of our kids was comparing how real the folks were in another urb of Southern California (in this case Palmdale), compared to the "real" of the folks where she'd spent most of her life, West L.A.

Now, it is pretty well known that the average individual in Los Angeles, especially West Los Angeles, didn't start out here. This is likely the most diverse place in the world. Palmdale is now the most deadly suburb in our area (crime). And the place where my friends moved is losing population. And both of these locations would be made up of a substantially more homogeneous population than W.L.A.

But I digress, and for today, I'm not going to give my two cents on what make a person or group "real." I'd love to hear from y'all. Especially those who think they have found a place where reality is abundant. What does that look like?