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<\/a><\/p>\nPhoto by izayah ramos<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n The prospect of moving to LA to pursue one\u2019s dreams is embedded in American popular culture. Young hopefuls have been traveling west since the early days of Hollywood\u2019s golden age, when stars like Bette Davis and Clark Gable came in search of fame and fortune.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But the LA dream is fading away for thousands of residents as the city\u2019s high housing costs and pandemic-related restrictions make it a less desirable place to live. Without the need to rent or own within commuting distance of the office, many Angelenos are hitting the freeways and relocating to less expensive metro areas.<\/p>\n According to the latest population figures from the California Department of Finance, Los Angeles County lost 40,036 residents between July 1, 2019 and July 1, 2020 \u2014 the steepest decline of any county in the state.<\/p>\n California experienced its slowest rate of growth since 1900 at 0.05 percent, representing a net gain of 21,200 residents. An estimated 135,600 residents left California entirely, with many of them relocating to lower-priced sunbelt states like Nevada, Arizona and Texas. As of July, the statewide population stood at 39.78 million.<\/p>\n While the volume of outbound movers was on par with 2019\u2019s total, in-migration to California was severely hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic. New visas weren\u2019t granted to immigrants coming to the state for work opportunities, would-be newcomers faced a precarious job market, and 14,000 fewer babies were born amid the global health crisis.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of people who might otherwise have come to California didn\u2019t, because they didn\u2019t go anywhere,\u201d said H.D. Palmer, the deputy director for external affairs at the Department of Finance, in an interview with the <\/span>Los Angeles Times<\/span><\/a>. \u201cThey stayed home. That\u2019s something that\u2019s different than any other year.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n