When did you start calling L.A. home? Transplants and natives share their stories

Los Angeles Times

11-05-2025

Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It's Sunday. I'm your host, Andrew J. Campa. Here's what you need to know:
There's a moment when a Los Angeles resident becomes an L.A. local.
Sure, you may have been born here or moved here or grew up here, but most people have a story about when they became a true Angeleno.
Most people have a feeling when Los Angeles became more than a place to live in, but a home.
My colleagues on the Lifestyles team, led by Kailyn Brown, asked dozens of readers to share the stories about the moment they felt like an Angeleno.
Some L.A. transplants said they felt like a local after experiencing their first wildfire season or when they mastered the freeways.
We also heard from people who were born and raised in L.A. but only began proudly claiming it as their hometown after learning about its rich history or returning after leaving for a while. All of the responses felt like a love letter to the City of Angels.
Here's a snippet from the full article.
Parking, driving and getting around Los Angeles
The day I knew I was an Angeleno was when I drove through a yellow/red light and checked my rearview mirror for cops but instead saw the seven cars behind me also go through the light.
It was like all the lights came on in my little Angeleno head that day.
— Lisa Valdez, originally from Santa Barbara, has lived in L.A. for 20 years
It was when I started to think of travel in the city in terms of time rather than distance. I spent several years exploring and this was a turning point for me.
— Jose Cabanillas, a Navy brat so from 'pretty much everywhere,' has lived in L.A. for 44 years
Living through L.A. milestone events
I felt like a 'true local' for the first time during the [Pacific] Palisades and Eaton fires. Coming from the East Coast, you've obviously heard about fires on the West Coast. But this was my first actual experience living through one — actually packing a fire bag. I was glued to the news, learning all the weather patterns associated with the region, fielding calls from friends and family checking in.
I was past my surreal honeymoon phase. I was here, a resident, living through all the uncertainty and fear. I'd earned my first L.A. stripe (maybe even two).
— Patrick Jergel, originally from New England, has lived in L.A. for 1.5 years
Seeing my hometown with new eyes
I really didn't have an appreciation for the culture or what it meant to be an Angeleno until my senior year of high school. That year, I was given California literature as my English class, and over time my love grew not just for Los Angeles but for California. From history to art, to Steinbeck and Raymond Chandler, I quickly learned how much the city of Los Angeles contributes to the product of being an American.
Toward the end of the course, and just a few weeks away from graduation, I had so many feelings for the city I was born in and the pride I felt being a natural-born Californian. Now, when people ask me where I'm from, I proudly say that I'm from L.A.
— Izaiah Medina, originally from Huntington Park, has lived in L.A. for 18 years
Flying back into the city
When I would travel back from visiting my ancestral home in Tennessee and upon deplaning at LAX, I couldn't wait to smell the salt air. Or when deplaning at Burbank directly onto the tarmac and you feel like you're home as you step off the ramp and walk a few quick steps to the terminal entrance, subsequently awaiting your luggage at the open-air baggage-claim carousel.
It's sooo L.A., to walk by the newsstand kiosk with the statuettes of Oscar for sale. (Hollywood Burbank/Bob Hope Airport is iconic!) It is that familiarity with all things Los Angeles that signals being a local, and in my case, a native Angeleno. The appreciation for the fruteria stands on the corners and the taco trucks that pop up and quickly become permanent fixtures.
When you're looking up from Sunset in Los Feliz to see the Hollywood Sign so close, you can practically touch it, then turning your head ever so slightly to see the stunning masterpiece, the Griffith Observatory, looming on the hill.
— Cindy Roche, originally from L.A.
Those were only a few of several stories. For more, check out the full article.
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Column One is The Times' home for narrative and long-form journalism. Here's a great piece from this past week:
Across the six players on the tennis court at noon on a Friday in Beverly Hills, I clock two Cartier watches and one Rolex. There are tennis skirts paired with chunky cable-knit sweaters and white sneakers and tote bags with collegiate embroidery. From behind sunglasses and baseball caps, members appear to be in their mid-20s to early 30s. But no matter how much the scene may resemble a legacy country club at first glance, this meetup exists almost in opposition to the city's handful of expensive clubs with years-long wait-lists and lengthy membership requirements.
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Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team
Andrew J. Campa, reporterHugo Martín, assistant news editor
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