The San Fernando Valley is the name given to a large chunk of the Los Angeles County area, in Southern California. Specifically, the cities that make up the valley lie northwest of the downtown LA area. We're dealing with places from the west like Agoura Hills and Simi Valley, to Reseda, Northridge, Tarzana, Encino, Van Nuys, Sherman Oaks, and as far east as Burbank and Glendale. There are about 1,500,000 people who live in the valley, which is surrounded by the San Gabriel mountains, the Santa Susana mountains, the Santa Monica mountains, and the Simi Hills. Being that the valley is in fact a valley, and that it is a bit farther away from the coast, it gets somewhat warmer than areas such as Santa Monica or Long Beach. On the other hand, the valley experiences sporadic moments of fog and wind. Sunsets in the valley are like cheese steaks in Philly, or skiing in Colorado, except, unlike those luxuries, the view of one of Los Angeles' many evenings of crepuscular rapture is free of charge.

The valley is instantly distinct from the downtown area by its lack of tall skyscrapers (one can always see the sun during the day in the valley). This is a very suburban area, with a very suburban aesthetic, though it is sprinkled with a few areas of industry and factories, such as Van Nuys and Panorama City. Cutting across the southern end of the west valley like a fiery (and sometimes obnoxious) comet is the most active stretch of Ventura Boulevard, which in recent days has mirrored its downtown big sister, the Sunset Strip. These areas are characterised by trendy dives, strange-looking people, lots of bums, and folks just generally speaking too loud.

Burbank is TV City, the home of NBC and a prestigious television history - which was somewhat soiled by Jay Leno taking command of the Tonight Show - and Van Nuys finds the gargantuan Anheuser-Busch brewery. Anyone who is even marginally familiar with the porn industry will know that the San Fernando Valley is the place where virtually all American porn is produced, filmed and distributed. It may not be too far into the future when the names 'Canoga Park' or 'Van Nuys' will be synonymous with bad acting, bad lighting and dirty, dirty sex. It is not uncommon for a person to peer into a next door neighbour's backyard and get a behind-the-scenes look at an adult movie being filmed, or even a top producer throwing the kind of party mom would never have wanted you to attend.

The valley is strangely ghettoised, both ethnically and financially, and one will find upscale neighbourhoods almost shoulder to shoulder with the poorer areas. Cities like Encino, Sherman Oaks, and Woodland Hills have some of the more upscale homes and businesses in the valley, but are bordered by somewhat shoddier areas such as Van Nuys, Reseda, and Canoga Park. The term 'strangely' ghettoised is used because, although one may find a high Jewish or Armenian population in Encino, or a high black or Hispanic population in Canoga Park, the valley for the most part is, or is on its way to being a nice, fluid, consolidated unit. All kinds of people live and work in all kinds of areas, and there is a lot of give and take between the various communities.

The San Fernando Valley has been mythologised (not on the same level as has the greater LA area, but in much the same way) somewhat in movies and music, but the main influence is more subtle and insidious, like the ever-so-slight changes in modes of speech or styles of clothes. For the most part, there is a lackadaisical air pervading through each day, and though it doesn't necessarily make the residents less productive, it does alleviate a good deal of stress.