After 10 years saving to buy a home in LA, I had to face facts: My only option was to leave

Giving up on the California Dream finally freed me to pursue a more meaningful one: homeownership — in another state.

The author, left, with her husband in their packed car on moving day. Photo: Courtesy Stephanie Hallett

By Stephanie Hallett

I spent 10 years living in LA, and I’ll tell you now I did not always love it. It was expensive, it was hot, and it often felt like one big parking lot. But it was also the place where I grew into myself and made wonderful friends and found a loving community.

So we danced an awkward dance for a decade, Los Angeles and me, sometimes totally in sync, winning the top prize, and other times trampling each other’s toes.

Moving to Glendale was the last straw

Over the years, the cost of apartment living pushed me further and further east, away from my beloved Pacific Ocean. I didn’t move often, but when I did it was in pursuit of more space, and more space came at an ever-rising premium.

Eventually, my now-husband and I, searching for enough room to start a family and in proximity to decent schools, moved to a $2,000-a-month apartment in Glendale, a small suburban city to the northeast of LA. We hoped that, by not fully maxing out our budget on rent, we might be able to save enough to eventually buy a tiny…