I used to live in Redlands, California — near San Bernardino in the Los Angeles suburbs, an area known as the Inland Empire — from 2014 to 2022.
Between the smog from vehicles and warehouses in the L.A. area funneling into the valley and sitting still because of the mountains, and the smoke from fires that cropped up all around and couldn’t properly blow away, the area was a toxic cloud of pollution and foul air.
The longer I stayed in Redlands, the worse my asthma became. I got into a pattern where I would get bronchitis in the spring, be coughing all summer, and eventually get better in the late fall.
I worked closely with doctors in Loma Linda. Eventually, my doctor there had tested me for allergens (all negative), had me on preventative inhalers, reactive inhalers and standby steroids, and finally said, “We’ve maxed out your medications. You’d have to move to get better at this point.”
Around that time, my employer opened the door for employees to consider moving under certain special circumstances. I provided several reasons for wanting to relocate — one of which was my struggle to maintain my breathing health and comfort in the Inland Empire.
To support my case, I used data from AirNow’s AirCompare tool: the graph showing 150 unhealthy days for asthma or other lung disease in 2021 for San Bernardino, California, compared with just four days in Fairfax, Virginia, was hard to argue with.
I was given permission to move for that reason and to be closer to aging parents.
My breathing here in Fairfax County — while it’s considered the worst county in Virginia — has been incredible. The pollen, while visible on the cars in the spring, barely bothers me. I can go outside, walk, and haven’t touched my preventative inhalers once since the move. It’s been 100% worth it.
I’ve had to go back to Redlands to visit headquarters, and stepping out of the airport, I instantly feel the weight of the smog in the air on my lungs — and the relief when I come back home to Virginia.
Pollution is no joke. Take care of yourself.
