Is the great migration out of California about to begin?

A city of dreamers turned into a nightmare

A Love Letter to my Hometown: Los Angeles 💌

While Angelenos might joke about our annoyance of so many people moving here constantly and jamming up the traffic and living costs, I think a part of us was always so proud.

I was always taught to be honored that I live in a city that thousands of people fly to every single day in an attempt to “make it”.

How lucky am I that I was born and raised in the city that people move to in an attempt to become the best version of themselves? Not many people around the world can say that about their hometowns.

I call myself a “405 baby”. If you have ever been in LA, you might recognize that name as one of the major freeways. I grew up driving up and down the 405. From my parents house in LB to my grandparents house in Redondo Beach to my dad’s side of the family in the Valley. My whole life was spent around the west side of Los Angeles.

I moved away briefly for college and the thought of moving away from my family for an indefinite amount of time because it is the only place my career has a chance at thriving terrifies me. No matter who you are, I always have a soft spot for someone who packs up their life and moves to LA alone, far away from their families.

While the out-of-towners brought more traffic and rising costs, I always loved the energy that a new Angeleno breathed into the city. They had an excitement about being here. I remember meeting a guy from the South one night who kept talking about how cool it was that we had so many palm trees. He pointed them out along the street.

I never thought about the palm trees as being something out of the ordinary. But to an out-of-towner, they were a symbol of making it to a dream land. But this week, our dreams turned into nightmares.

But this Tuesday, Mother Nature didn’t care if you lived here for 30 years or if you moved here 30 days ago. We all became one in that moment that the fires sparked up across the city on January 8th, 2025.

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The Fires

(Source: LA Times)

I have watched natural disasters happen across the world, all my life. I remember having a fixation on the tsunami that happened in 2004 that killed 227,898 people. Maybe because I grew up near the water, my biggest fear was always a tsunami. I never thought a fire could affect my neighborhood.

While fires and earthquakes were always a hazard in California, I was lucky enough to never be touched by it’s devastation. I feel a bit of survivor’s guilt typing this message as my family’s home is still standing but I know multiple people whose homes are gone. A home that I went to this past summer for a friend’s birthday is completely gone.

Every fire is devastating, especially when it leads to a loss of life and property. But something about this one felt different. I have lived in Los Angeles for 28 years and I made a video on Tuesday night expressing a feeling of dread. Something about this fire beginning to spark up felt different.

@cocomocoeAll fires are devastating, especially when there is a loss of life. But the one happening in the Pacific Palisades feel scarier than ever. Find your local fire departments on socials to stay informed ❤️

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I hate that I was correct. Watching this video back feels eerie. It was on the eve of one of the worst fires we would see in American history that is still not contained, as I type.

While most people who live in LA get to pack up and leave, I had a fearful realization last night that I have no where to go. My whole family is in the middle of multiple fires. I don’t have a family waiting for me on the other side of a flight out of LAX.

Before I get into why I think we are going to see a great migration out of Los Angeles, I want to talk about a family that recently lost their home to the Altadena fire. I visited their house last summer and I am so mad at myself for being too shy to take more photos with my fancy camera because now their beautiful home is gone.

They lost their youngest son in 2020 and they were finally getting back on their feet. Candy worked at the VA hospital with veterans for 40+ years and was set to finally retire this year. That is until the first week of January when their home burnt down.

You can donate to the Lyle family here: https://gofund.me/0a5c7fba

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The Great Migration Is About to Begin

It is eerie that this fire is happening as I am reading a book about the Donner Party. They were a group of American travelers from Illinois who followed the Oregon trail to California to start their dream life. They took a wrong turn near Lake Havasu and the rough terrain led to them getting stuck in a snow storm for months and the ones left had to turn to cannibalism to survive. Only a few made it to their new life in California.

The true story takes place during the great migration to California before it became a part of the United States. But as I am reading the book, we might witness the first ever great migration out of California, as a result of these fires.

As someone who lives in Los Angeles and works in the entertainment space, I can’t help but see the perfect storm forming that will send people away from the city that was once the entertainment capital of the world.

How will the entertainment and digital space look different in a year from now as people flee Los Angeles?

The rest of this trend report will be availble for paying members of my best-selling Susbtack ⬇️ Thank you for being a coconut and making it this far!