--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: L.A. ispolluted. It's overpopulated. But…" description: "\"L.A. ispolluted. It's overpopulated. But it is very much home. It was inevitable for me, the moving back. I was living in San Francisco, and Joan broke..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c55/james-ellroy-2967_alimony_l-a-ispolluted-it-s-overpopulated-but-it_900556.jpg" --- # L.A. ispolluted. It's overpopulated. But it is very much… ![“L.A. ispolluted. It's overpopulated. But it is very much home. It was inevitable for me, the moving back. I was living in San Francisco, and Joan broke it off with me, and I needed a place to live. I'd been divorced. And I needed to write movies and TV shows to earn a living. Alimony. All that. So…” quote by James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c55/james-ellroy-2967_alimony_l-a-ispolluted-it-s-overpopulated-but-it_900556.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c55/james-ellroy-2967_alimony_l-a-ispolluted-it-s-overpopulated-but-it_900556.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c55/james-ellroy-2967_alimony_l-a-ispolluted-it-s-overpopulated-but-it_900556.jpg) > “L.A. ispolluted. It's overpopulated. But it is very much home. It was inevitable for me, the moving back. I was living in San Francisco, and Joan broke it off with me, and I needed a place to live. I'd been divorced. And I needed to write movies and TV shows to earn a living. Alimony. All that. So I figured what the hell, I'll go back to L.A.” [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Returning home despite flaws can provide necessary stability during personal upheaval. **In simple terms:** Home offers stability amid chaos. Key Takeaway Embrace imperfect places for growth. Themes home stability personal change urban life Mood nostalgic determined Type reflective personal When to use this quote - career relocation - relationship breakups - financial necessity Key Concepts migration relationships career pressure Questions to Reflect On - What does “home” mean to you now? - Can you thrive elsewhere? A Different Perspective Idealizing home may ignore its problems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alimony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alimony/) [Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Moving back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moving-back/) [Places to live](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/places-to-live/) [San francisco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/san-francisco/) [Tv shows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tv-shows/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Make no mistake, your relationships are the heaviest components in your life. All those negotiations and arguments and secrets, the compromises. The slower we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-bingham/make-no-mistake-your-relationships-are-the-heaviest-components-in/) [Ryan Bingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-bingham/) > [Make no mistake. Moving is living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-bingham/make-no-mistake-moving-is-living/) [Ryan Bingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-bingham/) > [The novel is final form; it's the ultimate individual final form. Television and motion pictures never get there. You'd be fabulous to think that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/the-novel-is-final-form-it-s-the-ultimate-individual-final-form/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [Until presence becomes your predominant state, you may find yourself moving back and forth for a while between the old consciousness and the new,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/until-presence-becomes-your-predominant-state-you-may-find-yourself/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [The whole movement of happiness, unhappiness, happiness, unhappiness, could be called unhappiness. You're suffering because your state of mind is in flux, moving back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/the-whole-movement-of-happiness-unhappiness-happiness-unhappiness/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [There was a period that black film had no chance of making it in Hollywood. So, people just made the made the statements that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reginald-hudlin/there-was-a-period-that-black-film-had-no-chance-of-making-it-in/) Reginald Hudlin > [After moving back to LA, I definitely would love to go to school and do more music in between acting as well as finally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-lee/after-moving-back-to-la-i-definitely-would-love-to-go-to-school-and/) [Megan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-lee/) > [The whole society has to recognize the importance of the value in embracing what science is going into the 21st Century. Otherwise, we might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/the-whole-society-has-to-recognize-the-importance-of-the-value-in/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Bill Clinton may in fact be moving back into the White House. And coincidentally I'm thinking about moving back into my mother's house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/bill-clinton-may-in-fact-be-moving-back-into-the-white-house-and/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) > [We shouldn't overdramatize the current disagreements with the Russians. They are real, but they're not really all that threatening. 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Moving forward is the thing to do](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mckayla-maroney/looking-back-isn-t-going-to-help-you-moving-forward-is-the-thing-to-do/) [McKayla Maroney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mckayla-maroney/) > [As you know, there are al Qaeda operatives that are taken back into Iran, given training as leaders, and they’re moving back into Iraq.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/as-you-know-there-are-al-qaeda-operatives-that-are-taken-back-into/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) > [We just kept moving back and forth because my mother never had a job. We kept getting kicked out of every house we were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eminem/we-just-kept-moving-back-and-forth-because-my-mother-never-had-a-job/) [Eminem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eminem/) ## More by James Ellroy > [“Fear and I played peek-a-boo - it always seemed to grab my balls and twist just when it felt like something inside me could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/fear-and-i-played-peek-a-boo-it-always-seemed-to-grab-my-balls-and/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [My father actually went to college, and my mother went to nursing school, so, you know. I wouldn't... They were actually too square and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/my-father-actually-went-to-college-and-my-mother-went-to-nursing/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [I've created a narrative of the world. I live in the world - tenuously, most times. I've avoided the digital world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/i-ve-created-a-narrative-of-the-world-i-live-in-the-world-tenuously/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [Some men get the world, some men get ex-hookers and a trip to Arizona. You're in with the former, but my God I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/some-men-get-the-world-some-men-get-ex-hookers-and-a-trip-to-arizona/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [In the time just before the bombing of Pearl Harbor, when Perfidia opens, we were pre-psychologized. There were no concepts of identity, no politics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/in-the-time-just-before-the-bombing-of-pearl-harbor-when-perfidia/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [“It all came down to money - the great equalizer and common denominator.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/it-all-came-down-to-money-the-great-equalizer-and-common-denominator/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [I think the great unspoken theme in noir fiction is male self-pity. It pervades noir movies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/i-think-the-great-unspoken-theme-in-noir-fiction-is-male-self-pity-it/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [“Don't make a career out of underestimating me." — Claire de Haven”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/don-t-make-a-career-out-of-underestimating-me-claire-de-haven/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [“I didn't care who we were. I required no consummation. I knew that whoever we were and whatever we had would never stop.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/i-didn-t-care-who-we-were-i-required-no-consummation-i-knew-that/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [Where’s your sketch pad?” I asked. … “I gave that up,” Kay said. “I wasn’t very good, so I changed my major.” “To what?”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/where-s-your-sketch-pad-i-asked-i-gave-that-up-kay-said-i-wasn-t-very/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [I am a master of fiction. I am also the greatest crime novelist who ever lived. I am to the crime novel in specific…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/i-am-a-master-of-fiction-i-am-also-the-greatest-crime-novelist-who/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [ I don't want to recover from writing this book \[The Onion\]. I feel very poised. I feel like I'm with my mother for the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/i-don-t-want-to-recover-from-writing-this-book-the-onion-i-feel-very/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [Rock and rollers can get you the youth buzz, and younger people are fanatical readers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/rock-and-rollers-can-get-you-the-youth-buzz-and-younger-people-are/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [I don't know anybody in the underworld. I make this stuff up. I don't know any criminals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/i-don-t-know-anybody-in-the-underworld-i-make-this-stuff-up-i-don-t/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [“He took three shots a night-no more, no less. He switched from whisky to straight gin. The bum compensated for the scant volume. Three…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/he-took-three-shots-a-night-no-more-no-less-he-switched-from-whisky/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) [Explore all 143 James Ellroy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) ## More Alimony quotes > [Alimony - the ransom that the happy pay to the devil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/alimony-the-ransom-that-the-happy-pay-to-the-devil/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [We're all divorced from reality; the only question is whether you're paying alimony or receiving it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-alejandro-king-aka-the-covert-comic/we-re-all-divorced-from-reality-the-only-question-is-whether-you-re/) [John Alejandro King Aka The Covert Comic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-alejandro-king-aka-the-covert-comic/) > [Most men don't realize their wife's worth till a judge decides the alimony amount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/most-men-don-t-realize-their-wife-s-worth-till-a-judge-decides-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [People go to restaurants for so many different reasons. To court a girl, to make some deal. Maybe to talk to some lawyer about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gay-talese/people-go-to-restaurants-for-so-many-different-reasons-to-court-a/) [Gay Talese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gay-talese/) > [Let me be serious: divorce is a sacred institution between a man and a woman who hate each other. God wanted Adam to pay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-black/let-me-be-serious-divorce-is-a-sacred-institution-between-a-man-and-a/) [Lewis Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-black/) > [Bigamy is one way of avoiding the painful publicity of divorce and the expense of alimony.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-herford/bigamy-is-one-way-of-avoiding-the-painful-publicity-of-divorce-and/) [Oliver Herford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-herford/) > [“We have FCC, abandoned alimony payments, assault and battery, Homeland Security escalation, and that's before we invite the IRS to take a walk on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-goldstein/we-have-fcc-abandoned-alimony-payments-assault-and-battery-homeland/) [Ken Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-goldstein/) > [I'm paying the third highest alimony and child support in the world. And the only two ahead of me are sheiks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burt-reynolds/i-m-paying-the-third-highest-alimony-and-child-support-in-the-world/) [Burt Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burt-reynolds/) > [My compulsion to always be working has become less strong and my current business is purely down to this enormous alimony. If I wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cleese/my-compulsion-to-always-be-working-has-become-less-strong-and-my/) [John Cleese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cleese/) > [My mother didn't feel sorry for herself, she was left with no child support, no alimony at a very young age, with a child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellyanne-conway/my-mother-didn-t-feel-sorry-for-herself-she-was-left-with-no-child/) [Kellyanne Conway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellyanne-conway/) > [“On alimony: "Why should it be your ex's responsibility to give you a lifestyle that you yourself cannot afford?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-johnson/on-alimony-why-should-it-be-your-ex-s-responsibility-to-give-you-a/) [emma johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-johnson/) > [I know a lot of writers who would much rather be writing the Great American Novel, but they've got bills to pay and alimony,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-stoltz/i-know-a-lot-of-writers-who-would-much-rather-be-writing-the-great/) [Eric Stoltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-stoltz/) > [Alimony is like buying oats for a dead horse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-baer/alimony-is-like-buying-oats-for-a-dead-horse/) [Arthur Baer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-baer/) > [There are so many varieties of films. You've got the jet-lagged films, where you fly to Bulgaria or wherever and get off the plane,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-henriksen/there-are-so-many-varieties-of-films-you-ve-got-the-jet-lagged-films/) [Lance Henriksen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-henriksen/) > [The novel is final form; it's the ultimate individual final form. Television and motion pictures never get there. You'd be fabulous to think that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/the-novel-is-final-form-it-s-the-ultimate-individual-final-form/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) [Browse all 48 Alimony quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alimony/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "L.A. ispolluted. It's overpopulated. But it is very much home. It was inevitable for me, the moving back. I was living in San Francisco, and Joan broke it off with me, and I needed a place to live. I'd been divorced. 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