World-Famous Artist ‘Getting Out of LA 100 Percent,’ Heading East for Greener Pastures

The architect Frank Lloyd Wright is credited with the quote, “Tip the world over on its side and everything loose will land in Los Angeles.” While that observation may have been true during Wright’s lifetime, in the 21st century we are witnessing a very different dynamic. The term “Escape from LA” is no longer just the title of an unnecessary sequel to a great dystopian action movie. Escaping LA, and California in general, is an urgent strategy for many residents of the now-tarnished Golden State. When even flamboyant celebrities are abandoning the entertainment capital of the world for the good life in a red state, it’s a sign the prestige of California is gone. Reality TV star and tattoo artist Katherine von Drachenberg, better known as Kat Von D, recently joined the exodus from LA after buying a house in Indiana. Von D became famous after starring in two TLC reality shows about the counterculture of tattoo art: “Miami Ink,” which premiered in 2005, and her own spinoff, “LA Ink,” which ran from 2007 to 2011. She looks like someone who might fit right into a stereotypical dystopian environment. Her style exemplifies the goth subculture, a look that entertainment site CBR describes as “dark and bold makeup, black clothing and flashy jewelry.”

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📸: Ashley Von Helsing catsuit: @JaneDoeLatex pic.twitter.com/OXSHi2foqr — Kat Von D (@thekatvond) February 8, 2022

But looks can be deceiving. Von D is a wife, mother, entrepreneur, singer and children’s book author who must have wanted a better life for her family. That required leaving California. “We’re planning on getting out of LA 100 percent,” she recently told Fox News. Von D and her husband put their California home up for sale for $11 million, according to the outlet. In December 2020, she revealed they bought a 12,000-square-foot, 35-room mansion in Vevay, Indiana. “We fell in love with the town and the nature,” Von D said. Maybe looks aren’t too deceiving; Von D’s new house is reputed to be haunted, which would fit in with her goth demeanor. Other celebrities who have fled California include actors Mark Wahlberg and James Van Der Beek, comedian Rob Schneider and conservative pundit Ben Shapiro. It’s not only entertainers leaving. After years of Democrat rule, many people and businesses have fled. In March, census data showed Los Angeles County lost 179,757 residents in 2021, the second-biggest population decline in the country. Only Manhattan in New York was worse. In April, the American Legislative Exchange Council ranked California 48th out of 50 states for business environment. Researchers from the Hoover Institution said 352 companies moved headquarters out of California between 2018 and 2021, including major names such as Tesla, Oracle and Charles Schwab, Fresno station KMPH-TV reported last week. California is the largest producer of food in the United States, but the state government’s radical environmental policies and mismanagement have devastated agriculture there. The California power grid is already inadequate for the needs of the citizens and industries. Reckless policies mandating electric vehicles will only make the situation worse. Meanwhile, crime and homelessness continue to skyrocket. Leaving California has become, for many, an act of self-preservation. This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.