‘We’re broken.’ In the suburbs north of Los Angeles, voters feel fed up and afraid. A generation of young adults grew up in the post-war era — their parents told them that the system was safe. But in the years since, they’ve seen how quickly it collapses. And many believe the next generation will be the first born after the last one. It’s a fear that’s been reflected in the numbers. The number of people who say they want to join the exodus has jumped by more than a tenth since the 2007 election. And the number of people who want to stay has slid by nearly a quarter. The Los Angeles Times spoke to people who live and breathe the issue and analyzed the data. (Read our cover story on the issue here.)
The numbers show the fear:
• In the Los Angeles metropolitan area as a whole, only about 6 percent of the adults surveyed in May say they would consider leaving the country in six months if Donald Trump is elected president. The same percentage, at 3.1 percent, says they would consider leaving the country in 12 months. But, the question is more complex: How much would these people consider leaving their current job? A quarter of those polled, or 27 percent, say they would consider leaving a job in their field if they were no longer there. Only 7 percent of adults in Southern California would think about leaving a job in the entertainment industry. More than a quarter, or 28 percent, would choose a job in manufacturing over a career in the arts.
Some in the suburbs are more interested in being here now:
• A quarter of adults surveyed in Los Angeles’ suburban communities of Glendale and Eagle Rock say they would consider emigrating in six months if Trump becomes president. More than half, or 56 percent, of Glendale residents say they’d consider leaving their job, with 27 percent saying they would consider leaving in six months. The second-most popular area for emigration is East L.A., with 25 percent saying they’d consider leaving in six months. In Eagle Rock, 20 percent say they’d consider doing the same. The biggest difference between areas by far is West Los Angeles, which has 14 percent of the residents saying they’d consider leaving in six months.
“He has a record that is a good start at what he’s done,” said one man in Gl