Here’s how I went from living in one of the most deprived cities in the UK to a brand new life in LA.

A year ago, I was sitting in my childhood bedroom in my mother’s house in Birmingham, England.

My move to LA was only two months away, so I decided to start calling friends and family to finally break the news.

“LA?”

“You?”

“How?”

Everyone was full of questions, intrigue and surprise – and I can see why.

For many, a move like this was not just unprecedented, but rather, unthinkable.

Birmingham is the epitome of working-class Britain. The city is known for its diversity, industrial roots and, unfortunately, crime. To many, moving means going from the inner city to a slightly nicer suburb on the outskirts, like Solihull or Sutton Coldfield. A few venture further afield and make the move to London.   

But Los Angeles?

That’s a whole world away.

Since I’m often asked how I made the move and why I did it, I thought it was about time I collated my thoughts in one place.

So, without further ado – here’s my story as a 20-something girl who moved over 5000 miles away from home.

Why LA?

I always knew that I wanted more out of my life and wouldn’t be content with spending the rest of my days in Birmingham. Nothing against the city – but it just wasn’t personally for me. I noticed that many people there were living very similar lives. They worked dead-end 9-5 jobs, came home and complained. And I don’t blame them, there was indeed much to complain about. The city is suffering from rampant inflation, stagnant wages and low job growth. In fact, the City Council themselves announced bankruptcy last year. The weather is dull, dreary and grey for the majority of the year. And there isn’t much to do –  Birmingham simply doesn’t have the allure of London or Manchester, so there are slim pickings for arts, culture and entertainment.

By the time I’d graduated with my Bachelors degree, I had virtually no friends left in the city. The majority of my schoolfriends or university colleagues had moved to London in pursuit of better opportunities. My own sister moved to a small village about an hour away for a more peaceful life.

But I didn’t want to follow suit.

To me, many of the towns and cities in England (aside from London) are homogenous copies of one other. The same high streets, the same style of houses and the same (mostly miserable) weather. It didn’t appeal to me. Neither did a move to London – sure, there’s a lot going on there, but it’s overpopulated and expensive.

I knew I wanted to live somewhere with a different energy and pace of life, with better weather and more opportunities.

I considered a few places, but nowhere felt quite right:

• Dubai is popular with British expatriates, but it’s unbearably hot for half of the year.

• Europe is nice, but the language barrier would be too cumbersome for me.

• New York City was another option, but I was trying to escape the freezing winters!

Enter: Los Angeles.

Of course, I grew up watching the same films and TV shows as everyone else. But the Hollywood allure didn’t hold much weight for me as a non-performer.

Instead, my decision to move was carefully considered and based on several factors:

• LA’s climate sounded perfect to me. There’s a notable difference between seasons, yet the winters never get too cold whilst the summers remain pleasant rather than unbearable.
• I knew I wanted to work in media, so where better place than the worldwide capital of it?
• There’s so much to do here. Drive an hour and you’re at the beach. Another few hours and you can go skiing in the mountains. Some of the world’s best shopping, cuisine and entertainment is in this city.
• It’s diverse. England suffers from a classist society. But LA has a large population of very successful immigrants, and on a personal note, there are so many Persians, Armenians and Arab-Americans here that I felt comfortable with the city’s cultural landscape.

Of course, I knew the downsides existed, too. I was worried about the homelessness and the general lack of legislation compared to what we have in the United Kingdom.

But I couldn’t let fear hold me back, and found myself thinking: it’s now or never.

If I didn’t make the move at this stage of life with nothing to lose but some money, then when would I?

So, I decided to take the plunge into the unknown.

 How to move

Moving to the US is no easy feat.

You cannot simply pack your bags and ‘decide’ to go – you need to have a compelling reason why.

I knew I wanted to actually live here for some time, so a simple visit wouldn’t suffice, but I didn’t know how I’d find it or if I’d really want to stay here long-term. So, in this case, my options were either work or study. I wouldn’t recommend moving here to pursue a Bachelors at 18 years old, because I think you need more lived experience before committing to such a cross-country move.

Hence, if you truly want to experience LA and see if it is for you, consider the following:

• Pursuing a Masters or PhD here (simplest route)
• Working for a large multinational and transferring to their California office (medium route)
• Getting a job here (hardest route)

I have always been academic, and I knew I wasn’t done with school, so I decided to pursue the first option.

What resulted was me applying and gaining admission to the University of Southern California to pursue a lifelong ambition of mine, studying for my Masters in Journalism, made possible in part by a generous scholarship from the US-UK Fulbright Commission.

…And, as they say, the rest is history.

Looking forwards

I am excited to share more of my journey, as well as my tips, tricks and advice for how you can do the same on this website. I remember feeling completely lost and overwhelmed at the daunting prospect of my move before I came here, so I plan to share what worked for me and what you should know to navigate life here.

Here’s my next post, about how I secured my Fulbright scholarship.

(P.S. One of the best parts about my move was that soon after, I adopted my rescue cat, Madeline! She is a rare French breed called a Chartreux so I always wonder how she ended up on the streets of LA, but she is a big part of my life here so it’s only right to introduce her!)