Again, you can choose what you believe and which outlets you trust. I’m just here for the gossip. Of course, many of us have wondered why Prince Harry and the Duchess of Sussex moved to Montecito rather than buy a home in LA. It felt like creating a permanent base in LA would be better for them long-term, given their next phase and their post-royal goals. But staying in Tyler Perry’s mansion, they got a taste of what it would be like for them to live under that kind of paparazzi spotlight. And Harry wasn’t here for it:
Not his cup of tea. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle just could not make things work in Los Angeles — their relocation to the Montecito community of Santa Barbara, California, was inevitable.
“Meghan visited Montecito in her teens and fell in love with the picturesque scenery and stunning architecture,” a source exclusively tells Us Weekly. “Moving there was always an option, but to begin with, she and Harry wanted to give Los Angeles a shot. Unfortunately, Harry absolutely hated it — the timing was so wrong amid the [coronavirus] pandemic and they lacked privacy.”
Although Harry, 35, and Meghan, 39, are further removed from the area they originally intended to occupy, their career plans are still on track. “An added bonus is that Montecito is only just over an hour’s drive from L.A., which is where a majority of their work is based, yet far enough away to escape the crowds, paparazzi and tourism in Hollywood,” the insider reveals.
The couple, who are parents of 15-month-old son Archie, knew they were making the right call. “Harry and Meghan looked at a handful of houses in the Santa Barbara area but fell in love with their ‘dream home’ [in Montecito] the moment they laid eyes on it,” the source says.
Having read Finding Freedom, I actually buy that Harry was the one who hated LA and wanted to move somewhere outside of a “hub” of activity/paparazzi. Harry was the one driving their move to Windsor, to Frogmore Cottage. He is the one who clearly wants to get Meghan and Archie away from everything. I kind of wonder if Meghan had her way, if they would have made a permanent home in London (rather than Windsor), and then made a permanent home in LA. Again, the narrative that Meghan is controlling Harry or that she’s the one making the big decisions for them is beyond false. Harry is driving so much of this, and he clearly wants this idealized family life away from the hustle and bustle of a city.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Avalon Red, Backgrid.
Harry hated LA….what….a….shocker!
no, really LA is not a place everyone wants to be no matter what the people who live there think. The air is bad. the poverty is horrible. The lack of rain makes everything look dirty. normal things are WaaY expensive because they’re luxuries there. The people there are severely misinformed and think it’s the 💩…when it’s actually 💩Y ….i hate going there, but have to for work…..oh and the litter! it’s disgusting!! and in and out burger suuuuuuuucks it’s the cheapest quality ingredients, but since the people there are used to poor quality they don’t know any better….dairy like product and green potatoes anyone? so gross
I lived in LA / West Hollywood for 14 years and I think I left at the right time. While there are many aspects I enjoyed (like the weather, farmers markets, the entertainment scene), it was hard to maintain a decent quality of life. It’s SO EXPENSIVE!!! I was living in a studio apartment the whole time!! And when I decided I wanted to buy a house, I couldn’t even afford a shack in the worst neighborhood. (I’m now back on the east coast and was able to buy a home within a year of returning).
And there was a severe shortage of affordable housing. In my neighborhood they were building TONS of new apartment complexes on top of each other. The infrastructure was a mess. Pot holes every where, pipes bursting and flooding neighborhoods, etc. And the shit I saw on the street! 😳😳 It was getting scary and I never felt safe walking around at night.
Anyhoo, I had fun when I was younger but I eventually felt too old for all that shit and just wanted my own home in a quiet, boring neighborhood.
I fetishized it as a kid because i grew up in Minnesota and every tv show and movie was filmed there and it was always warm and sunny unlike Minnesota most months of the year.
Thankfully there are other warm weather cities with palm trees to live that arent so expensive and polluted. I remember reading emma stone in an interview say she left for new york because in her experience all people talk about is the entertainment industry, which would explain why some there do act like the sun rises and sets on Hollywood
I feel like people’s true vision of LA is, in reality, surrounding towns that are much nicer. I’ve never been to LA but have heard from people that it’s dirty, dangerous, a lot of poverty, a lot of run-down areas, etc. It doesn’t sound very glamorous.
Right wing talking points. It’s an interesting city that sprawls everywhere and has beautiful buildings, houses, multicultural neighborhoods, beaches, mountains and yes, shockingly there is poverty and homelessness like every other city in America. Also no snow or ice or crippling humidity.
This is true. I live in one of those surrounding towns/suburbs in the foothills of the San Gabriel mountains, and I love it here.
But downtown? No, never lived there and never wanted to. And the immediate surrounding towns connected to it aren’t that great.
That said, H&M were living in Beverly Hills. That’s not really downtown. At all.
That’s ridiculous. I grew up in LA, in the Silverlake hills and I loved it. It’s many villages within a large sprawling some parts ugly some parts beautiful town that has the best multicultural neighborhoods and food anywhere in the world. It’s sunny most of the year and doesn’t have snow and sleet and ice and terrible humidity. Air has gotten a lot cleaner since I grew up. I understand why they moved, much quieter and Montecito will not allow paparazzi to hound them. I live in Santa Barbara and they will be happy here!
Same. Anne Call.
I grew up in West L.A. and it was a good experience. Like every major metropolis area, there are positives and negatives. (I say that also having lived in the Bay Area and NYC). It also isn’t just about the entertainment industry there, which i was on the periphery of growing up thanks to my father’s job.
L.A. is a massive sprawling area so when I read people trashing it, I wonder what part(s) they’re talking about cause just to say “L.A.” is pretty much meaningless.
I remember back in the day before the internet we’d have to call 4-1-1 to get phone numbers. The first question asked was “what city please?” because L.A. is so, so massive: 43 miles x 35 miles, roughly.
It’s the 2nd largest city in the country and is a huge sprawl. I live visiting and exploring it, but I don’t have to worry about being followed by paparazzi.They’ve left the UK since November and maybe just want to settle in a place that suits there needs. Once the pandemic lifts, will not be surprised if the also buy an apartment in NYC. We need to stop second guessing their lives.
And prices in NY will probably be lower because people are leaving the city so they may get another good reduction if they do buy here.
When I was a kid, the air quality was SO bad. I remember many a smog alert when we weren’t allowed to go out on the playground and play. Strict smog emissions have made the air quality MUCH better.
What is so bad about living among low income/homeless folks? These are people that Harry and Meghan care about working with and I would think this would not have been a reason they wanted to move. I think that “poverty” as a reason to not live somewhere is pushing these already marginalized folks further to the margins.
obvious reasons.
Seeing as how most of the homeless in Los Angeles are retired or injured Veterans and the displaced working-class (thanks Gentrification!) I think they warrant some respect instead of such disdain.
Assuming all homeless/low-income are criminals or junkies just adds to the problem and the erosion of their humanity.
I live in the Bay Area and you definitely live with homeless people in your neighborhood, among million dollar houses. You can’t get away from it. It is a result of ridiculous housing costs, NIMBYism, gentrification, and so many policy failures, at both the city, state, and national level. Also, cities like LA and SanFrancisco have such a concentration of homelessness because these cities have programs to serve their needs, and frankly, it’s common for other states and counties to encourage their homeless population to go to these places, usually with a one way bus ticket. We seem to all hate homelessness, but seem to hate more every proposal to tackle it. Not that this has anything to do with this article or why they bought a house where they did.
Nope the complete opposite rich people voiding these areas prevents gentrification
My husband was born and raised in East LA. I lived out there for a while (first in Koreatown right by the Wiltern) and then later in Downey. I miss the weather and being able to jaunt down to Disneyland on a whim. I think I would miss it a lot more if I’d made more money at the time. I could barely afford a studio apartment that was very much roach-infested. Ahhhhhh to be 22 again… 🙂
I live in L.A. I have lived all around the world. I–and four million others–are not “severely misinformed” for choosing to live here. Los Angeles is too big to have such generalizations made about it, anyway. Next time you’re here for work, hire a tour guide or get an informed local to show you what he or she loves about this area. There is much to love.
Have you BEEN to Los Angeles? L.A. is HUGE. L.A. is much more than the tourist areas and the celeb-adjacent areas. We are not some Brazilian favela. I’ve lived here my entire life and have traveled as well. L.A. is not a dirty city. Yes, we have air quality issues and our traffic is bad too. But we are not crippled in poverty. If you are speaking about certain lower-income areas, sure, every city has them. Even a small podunk little town like Amarillo, TX.
Our housing prices are ridiculous because of ALL THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE MOVED HERE IN THE PAST 15 YEARS (and are STILL moving in) are driving our rental prices UP. Other than that, the only people that should be complaining are the working class that are being pushed out because of gentrification. If you have a problem with the working class, check your privilege.
I live in London and my best friend (a life time Londoner) moved to LA 4 years ago to work for a high profile PR firm. She hated it from the start and kept complaining about the uniformity of the McMansions, landscape and lack of culture & history. I refused to believe her as I grew up devouring American television and thought L.A. was this golden sunshine paradise. She sent me a ticket to visit her early last year and I must say I get her point of view now. There really isn’t much to LA social life if you strip away the glamourous parties and mutlitude of shopping options. Most streets look the same, almost everyone in her social circle lives in a Spanish style villa complex and there are hardly any book stores or independent shops. Not to mention the oppressive weather and the fast food chains in every ‘gas station’. You can’t walk anywhere and most households have at least 2 cars, it was quite the culture shock. She did love New York, Portland & Seattle though, 3 places she would travel for work occasionally. My friend eventually applied for a transfer and moved to Cologne last December at a reduced salary, and she is the happier for it. So yeah, I don’t get the hype about LA anymore.
When people talk about “uniformity” when talking about L.A. it tells me they didn’t see much of L.A., as the most distinctive thing about it is how it’s basically made up of dozens of little neighborhoods/small towns that all sort of grew up and out and mashed into each other.
It is definitely not everyone’s cup of tea, though. It is legitimately a challenge to live here without a car, and if you’re coming from a smaller east coast town, or even a big, sprawling city like London with decent mass transit, you will be unlikely to enjoy all the time spent in cars unless you are a car fan already. Cost of living is also high, but I find that many people who complain about cost of living are also gravitating toward the trendy neighborhoods which are, shocker, the most expensive.
Like with any city with a major industry employer, you will get a large number of people in one industry (I think it’s 30% entertainment related jobs out here?) but when I lived in NYC you could say the same thing about finance. I find people who complain about L.A being all one kind of person/place are like the people who complain about New York being all the same and never meeting native New Yorkers, and then finding out they never leave Manhattan or trendy areas of Brooklyn, and have never been above 125th Street. The majority of day-to-day and multi-generational living in those cities is done outside of the trendy spots.
Nah.
Santa Monica = / = the valley = /= east L.A. =/= Long Beach = / = Pomona =/= west L.A = / = Whittier = / = Cerritos = / = Palmdale = / = Watts.
Gogo girl, I have to wonder about your friend’s Los Angeles social circle if everything is homogeneous cause those cities listed above? Are all L.A. County and do not look the same nor have the same vibe (there are more areas, obviously… I just went for the obvious). L.A is not just 90210 or Hollywood or Burbank.
I agree L.A, isn’t a walking city because of its sprawling nature but it never has been and has never been advertised that way. That is why increasing mass transit options like commuter trains and light rail lines has been important to the households who don’t have even one car let alone two as well as trying to give options to people who travel far for work, like Inland Empire to downtown, to reduce traffic / air pollution.
@leuce7 This. Thank you!
You said what I wanted to say in response to this thread in a much less snarkier way.
Thank you both @leuce7 @bonobochick. You’ve saved me the time to write out a reply I was in no mood to really write.
If ANYONE ever says LA is a uniformed city, I always immediately think “oh, you didn’t go outside of whatever area you were in, did you? I wonder if you had a car.”
People coming from other places mistakenly think you can walk here, and you just can’t. LA County isn’t small, and each city and suburb and section within the County has its own unique thing about it.
Are you seriously using “oppressive weather” to describe L.A.?
WHERE did your friend live? The Antelope Valley? Did you visit during the summer?
I agree it seems that the only people who love LA are the ones who grew up there which is understandable, but from an outside looking in it’s not good at all, the culture and the values are much different than other areas and cities, which can be both good and bad…
They were never going to live in LA. They had to move out of Canada sooner than planned because of the pandemic, and living in LA was always going to be a temporary measure.
🤷🏽♀️ Montecito sounds like the best of both worlds to me. I’ve been reading that a lot of the celebrities are making an exodus from LA and only visiting to work. Whether it’s Santa Barbara, Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico, upstate New York, etc…, celebrities who are at a stage in their career where they don’t need to be in the center of LA to “hustle”, they are taking their families and packing up and leaving for a quieter life.
For those who have jobs or companies based in LA (like Ellen with her show), then Santa Barbara is the best option. And I’m guessing for Harry and Meghan, they chose it to stay near Doria and Meghan’s friends. And it seems like a handful of Harry’s friends (like Nacho) as well.
Most of those celebrities have homes in LA and second homes in places like Montecito and Wyoming and Utah. In La, you can live on a sprawling estate and be 20 minutes from beach, 5-10 minutes from Bev Hills, Brentwood, Pacific Palisades, most of the studios and LA. It’s very unique because it’s so big-lots of villages within an enormous city.
I imagine they were never going to stay in LA, despite what a source tells US weekly. If they bought their house in late June, that means they were looking before that, and they only moved to LA in mid-to-late March, so I doubt Harry spent two or three months in LA in the middle of a pandemic and said “nope! not for me!”
Their house has lots of land and privacy, which I imagine were must-haves on their list, plus it has plenty of room for house guests, entertaining, etc. Plus, those views! lol. I love their views.
Exactly.
Records show they had arranged their Montecito house purchase as far back as May.
This story makes it seem like their move was a whim, based on Harry’s moods.🙄🙄
Us Weekly is a joke. They had a story for Meghan’s birthday that said she enjoyed a quiet day in Tyler Perry’s mansion lol
They were never going to permanently live in LA. They just needed a place to stay temporarily and Tyler provided that.
Us Weekly is nothing but made-up BS passing for fan fiction.
@BayTampaBay, I think it should be called US weaklings!
I follow a famous (in design circles anyway) interior designer on Instagram and the day the story broke about them moving to LA he put up a pic welcoming them to CA. Somewhere in his comments or replies it was mentioned they were looking for a place in Montecito. So yeah, it was probably the plan all along.
This is really not the point but…..how many times have these people moved in the last 2-3 years? They went from the palace, to….Frogmore?, to Vancouver Island, to LA, to Montecito- is that all? They never stay in one place long enough to get adjusted- hope this one sticks!
Well, I don’t think they ever lived in KP after they were married. they had that house in the cotswolds where they were going to live for a few years, but after pictures of it leaked, they moved to Frogmore, then Vancouver Island but that was always temporary, then LA and Montecito. So in 2 years they have lived in 5 houses, which IS a lot of moving but their circumstances have been very unusual.
Absolutely! They were in the middle of fleeing the BP and all of the other vile and vicious RR and Cambri-s#it to run for their lives. The fact that the Sussex exit happened so quickly, they were not able to set up a home in a quickly manner. Also, given the hatred and the years of vicious attacks on H&M, they needed some time to catch their breath. It was a tremendous overtaking in regards to their split from The Firm. Vancouver gave them the chance to sit back and breath a sigh of relief as they planned their next step. I believe that they were given the option to stay at Me. Perry’s place and they took him up on it. Now they have a magnificent home, with plenty of space to roam and for Archie to start running around soon!! As soon as they start walking, you never have any peace after that!
US Weekly is just fan fic 😂😂 but still least it’s good!
Well their initial moves were due to the unforseen circumstances they found themselves in,and lets not forget they are still a fairly new couple and family trying to get settled amongst the madness that surrounds them.
No kidding. It all sounds exhausting and stressful, even under normal circumstances. Hopefully they’ll finally be able to settle in now.
Keep in mind @SKE that of those places only one was supposed to be permanent and that was Frogmore. Harry‘s place in KP was only a two bedroom cottage. Vancouver was a vacation rental so I don’t know why you are including that in the mix. Tyler Perrys place was alway temporary since it was his home and it wasn’t listed for sale. And even the Cotswald place was a rental. So I think it’s a tumbler tale about them always moving. But they are home now so everyone should be happy.
The rich are different though. They do a lot of traveling and staying at other people’s houses and even members of the BRF travel between 2 or 3 different homes each year, not including the many vacations they take and time spent visiting other people’s houses. It would SUCK for normal people to move as much as they did, but that’s because we do our own packing, and moving, and unpacking, and decorating, and cleaning the house we’re leaving, and cleaning the house we’re moving into. And we usually have to do a big move all in one weekend because we’re working around our work/school/childcare schedules, and we end up living out of boxes for a couple of months and eating takeout for the first couple of weeks as we attempt to settle into the new house while still having to go to work and school and take care of our kids. They don’t do that. They have people who do these things for them. And they’re used to staying in hotels or loaner homes or with friends for extended periods of time. Travel isn’t difficult or tiring for them and being away from home isn’t unusual.
Does it affect you? Why the fuck are you so bothered?
They can move to Seattle, Denver or Portland to get whatever peace of mind he’s chasing. LA was too much for him. Harry driving the boat on.
I believe that Meghan is a city girl through and through! I completely believe she would want to stay in London and LA.
Is this part of both Harry and Will wanting to play “normal”? I do get the sense that Harry wants an idealized version of a family away from the spotlight. How different is that from “Middle Class Bill”?
Either way, I think protecting Archie from the invasive paparazzi is smart, and Oprah as a neighbor, sign me up!
I think Meghan probably did want to stay in London proper but I also think having kids changes things. If she wanted Archie to grow up with a big yard, or to be able to play outside while maintaining his privacy, then she would know that leaving a city like London was the best bet. Also, I imagine even if she wanted to stay in London, she didn’t want to live at KP with the Cambridges, which was what was offered.
I think Harry and William’s push for normalcy is a bit different because Harry doesn’t make any pretenses about himself. He knows he’s “different,” he knows there will always be interest in “the second son of Diana” as he referred to himself, etc. I don’t get the same vibe of middle class cosplay that I get from the Cambridges.
plus, when Harry decided he wanted to raise his child as non-royal, he took definitive steps to ensure that happened.
Agree, Montecito definitely seemed like a smart move as far as staying away from paparazzi goes. But yeah, not exactly living the simple family life in a ginormous Tuscan mcmansion with sprawling lawns. This is the part that has confused me the most about this move.
This simple family life is your fantasy not theirs @ Cookie. I’ve only heard them say they wanted to raise their son outside of the royal bubble so he can have a private life. I never heard them say they wanted to live in a barn. They have a nice home in a nice area. It’s not even the largest or most expensive in Montecito. And hello, his grandmother sits on a literal throne.
@MSIAM Not quite. They bought an extravagant home in a super rich enclave. Yes, there are bigger and more expensive homes out there, but I hardly think Oprah or Ellen levels of outrageous wealth should be the bar we use.
@Ennie, I don’t disagree. I think the ostentatious wealth of the royal family is oscene in this day and age. Don’t take my comments here as some sort of justification for the property portfolio of the royal family. What I side eye is the carbon footprint of a massive house with expansive lawn in one of the most drought prone areas of the country. Security is a consideration, but there are plenty of higher profile people who live in much more modest houses on smaller estates.
Security, security, security!
Cookie, don’t single them out. If you are going to complain, do so with everyone else. He has been an activist, but lots have been, too and haven’t changed radically their lifestyles. I don’t have the time to google, but even peasants like us could do some changes, I could try to save rain water for my few trees, or turn off the lights.
He /they will probably take some steps towards it, who knows, they just moved there. My sis lives in a few acres (5?) , I can’t remember, in Northern CA, and they make it work with the laws they’ve had, had an extra home for only two people, they complied with the laws. What more can you ask of them?
@Cookie why are you complaining about their home bought by their own money. The estate you mentioned above belong to the Crown/taxpayer money
I think you’ll find @cookie that both those houses are larger, it’s just the grounds might be smaller. But you’re being disingenuous because Charles has his country estate /mansion and Willnot has 26 room ‘apartment’ in KP. Even Edward has a 50 room 50 acre pile. So come off that snarky high horse.
Just because they want a normal family life doesn’t mean they want to be poor cookie. Believe it or not people in ‘outrageous’ houses are people and live normal family lives too 💀. Purposely being disingenuous about what they said isn’t going to add money in your pocket. Indeed they are not gonna live in small 4 bedroom house, because the more land = the more privacy and after the target put on their back by the British tabloids for that measly 4 bedroom servants quarters in england that they too bitched about, they deserve it. Your jealousy is palpable.
I think Harry is accustomed to rambling estates in the country with plenty of property and privacy, so living in an urban area like LA must have made him grit his teeth. So Montecito must have suited him to a T and as long as Meghan is on board with that, everyone is happy.
Even by royal standards though the place is huge. It’s bigger than Clarence House, twice as big as Anmer Hall and palatial compared to Nottingham Cottage. If they’re using the whole house then the carbon footrpint must be massive (not to mention the water usage).
Citing three places out of the many extravagant properties owned by the RF is hardly a good example of “royal standards”. You’re acting like they’ve bought the equivalent of Buckingham Palace. And “simple family life” is always going to look different for people in higher tax brackets, so I’m not sure why you seem to be expecting a little white house w/ picket fence setup for them.
of course they need big lawns in the middle of other big homes to be protected fro prying eyes. even other rich people who need privacy do this. See Brad Pitt ands buying homes and creating complexes to hide from papz.
@Cookie, there are thousands of people out there purchasing large palatial homes, but you want to poo on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex? He is a blood prince and he happens to be the father of an heir so his utmost importance is the safety and security is his family! They purchased the home on their own and no one has the right to judge them for what they are doing. If you want to talk about the carbon foot print, look no further than all of this enormous castles that TQ has to her disposal all year round. How hard it must be to heat Balmoral!
I can’t imagine the number of house staff and office staff on call for every “royal office”, even for those who don’t work at all. Waste of resources.
@Beach Dreams, I chose the house where his dad lives, where his brother lives and where he lived before marrying Meghan. Not exactly pulled out of thin air. And anyway, I think the royal family sits on an obscene amount of property, so criticizing Harry hardly means I’m justifying their living standards. It’s not like his only two options were a 16 bathroom estate or some craftsman cottage. All I’m saying is that I’m surprised by his choice given the impression he has given about a preference for a down-to-earth lifestyle.
you know that the PoW will change circumstances soon-ish? that William will change his, too?
there is a reason whether we like it or not that the other Queen’s children live in such grandiose style, their circumstances are only going to change for the “worse”. (hopefully Andrew will)
They are not moving up in the ladder, and will eventually fade as the FFK takes responsibility, that is why Andres, Edward and Anne are all set up in luxury and great manors, stately homes grade II or maybe grade I.
Think of Harry now as such. He is out, his circumstances won’t change, but he will stay out of the full time royal service, he is entitled to his part, he is not a “poor relative”.
again, what are the expectations of the safety detail for such high profile individuals? What are the aspects they need to take into consideration? I have no idea, but considering the harassment, number of haters, their bad intentions and actions (sharing things that may endanger them or force them to move), they need not a “humble house” next to the projects. Thisis not an ideal situation, so they have to be protected, and as high profile people, they need to be among others in more or less similar circumstances. Others are not as harassed, so they went out to be in the middle of a community which doesn’t allow so much risky things for them.
@cookie Anmer hall has 20 bedrooms dear and god knows how many bathrooms. And unlike the Cambridges and the Cornwalls, the Sussex’s do not have a gazillion live in staff to increase their water, electricity energy output which you so dearly want to whine about and certainly DO NOT have another 10 bedroom residence, holiday home and private helicopter to upkeep. Your statement is a disingenuous whiny yawn
Lol at this fan fiction. They didn’t know they had moved but suddenly know the motivations for moving. Harry would hardly have experienced LA given Covid to have decided it wasn’t for him. they’ve probably not even been out much. But interesting Harry even has a choice seeing as the press claim he’s a kidnap victim.
Doubt they were ever looking to stay in LA and Would guess being there was a pit stop whilst house hunting after leaving Canada. Meghan’s Toronto neighbourhood is also said to be quite quiet so maybe that’s their thing.
IKR? We don’t know their reasoning for choosing Montecito until/if they tell us. I’m surprised though that the narrative isn’t saying Meg dragged Harry there something something Oprah.
Agree. US weekly is not reliable source; it’s tabloid. Six weeks they didn’t know a a damn thing and suddenly they’re the oracle.
Montecito seems like a better place to raise Archie and allows them the privacy and security they need. Also, U.S. Weekly has no direct source to the Sussexes and is making up fan fiction. They have no clue how Harry or Meghan feel about anything.
I’m a little surprised they didn’t choose New York/Hamptons, although with Covid…
But why is LA important to their work? I get wanting to be near Doria.
@Mrs. Robinson, absolutely they wanted to be near Doria! She appears to me to be such a poised and elegant woman with beauty and dignity as she carries herself well! I would be goo on the ground meeting TQ or any member of any Royal Family! Though, not Doria!! She seems relaxed and carefree to whoever she may meet, famous or not. She is well grounded which is where I think Meghan was able to grow from her strength!
If I had to guess, I’d say they chose LA because that’s where Meghan grew up. Also, if they are planning documentaries, she knows a lot of people in the industry and it’s much easier to meet up. As I said, just a guess.
Can you imagine if they had settled in the East coast? they dumped Doria too!, they have cut everyone!!!!!! screams from the loons.
I’m not clear on what New York/Hamptons would offer that L.A. metro/Silicon Valley/SF wouldn’t and more so. She’s an L.A. native, but she’s also living in the region with the highest density of film makers, tech innovators, and progressive investors,.
They had no choice but to make those moves in the past and those were all temporary homes. This is their first property purchase of such magnitude so it sounds like they’re going to nest there for a while. It doesn’t mean that they won’t purchase an additional place in the future as well. And I’m sure the drone intrusion and security issues were major sources of Harry’s dislike of LA. And as another commenter mentioned, LA was just a pitstop for them until they decided where to settle.
Harry had spend decades feeling hounded by the press. He was so grateful to be away from BRF so he could finally focus on manscaping. He had spoken publicly about his mistrust of the paparazzi & royal reporters. The mistreatment of his wife & the misogynoir directed towards her reminded him of his mother’s tragic death.
He gently combed his ginger beard as he watched his beloved wife do yoga with their treasured baby son. Harry was so grateful that Meghan for choose him over Hollywood. He glanced at the ocean from the spacious balcony. He could smell the delicious scent of the sourdough organic bread Doria Ragland was making with Oprah.
He realised he wanted to ask a confidante to share his innermost thoughts with US Weekly.
… … …
Or like US Weekly just made some stuff based on comments he made in the past. When he wants to share his opinion there are journalists that will do flattering portraits of him. I just don’t see why he send anonymous tips to US Weekly.
TDLR US Weekly hire me! I can write convincing fan fiction about Harry, Meghan & Archie!
This was brilliant. USWeekly would do better to hire you!
🤣 that post was riddled with typos that I’m only now noticing. Hopefully they pay well me enough so I can make references to Meghan’s problematic love of a common breakfast food aka avocado toast.
Some of the media’s commentary would be entertaining if the Sussexes were fictional characters instead of real people. Most of it is depressing cuz there’s so… much… toxic misogynoir.
Anyhow I’ll be sure to send you a signed copy of my upcoming book- The Love of a Ginger Man parenthesis the Union between Regal Manscaping and a biracial womxn with an actual work ethic.
I hope you like run on sentences! I’m incorporating as many as possible because that seems to de rigueur for tabloid press doing substandard fan fiction.
😁😁😀😀
Crying with laughter here!
You had me at “gently combed his ginger beard.” This is priceless!🤣
You are going to get me in trouble at work writing stuff like that. Oh, the cackling in my office just now.
I don’t necessarily doubt that Harry would dislike LA, but I don’t think this is true just because, umm, COVID. I haven’t even experienced my own town since March, lol. This is not the time to get a true sense of what an area is like, with businesses closed and everyone (hopefully) trying to stay home as much as possible. There are areas near me that I love walking around with cute shops and restaurants, and I haven’t seen them in forever. I love where I live, but I haven’t seen much of it in quite some time!
I do think Meghan would’ve been way happier in London, but I guess if the only option was living next to William and Kate – it was a no go. I’m always surprised there aren’t more options – townhouse-wise – for the royals in London. It’s like they can only live at Kensington Palace or maybe an apartment at St James.
I do remember reading that Prince Charles had a very large plot of land in the countryside for Harry – similar to what The Queen gave Princess Anne. It was intended for harry’s family, but it may have been too far out.
I’ve heard that too – about Charles having a large plot of land set aside for the boys, near Highgrove, which according my google search just now, is in Tetbury. Also according to said google search, its near the Cotswolds? Part of the Cotswolds? A UK celebitchy may need to chime in here, lol. But point being, if H&M were happy in the cotswolds, it makes sense that they would have accepted a country home near Highgrove* and then a house in London, similar to W&K’s set up. But, again, if they didn’t want to be at Kensington Palace…..
*Highgrove is part of the Duchy of Cornwall, so I guess would go to William, which may have been another mark against that land…..
Of course I could be completely misremembering and the land was nowhere near Highgrove, lol.
I think LA is great to visit but not to live-but that’s mainly because of the traffic. I can’t handle how long it takes to get anywhere.
I grew up there and people tend to live and work in same area, so you’re not driving across town everyday. LA is like a hundred villages within a city and you end up staying in your part of town mainly. I lived in Silverlake so I hung out mainly in Los Feliz, Hollywood, Glendale and Pasadena with occasional forays to the west side.
Privately I have always thought L.A. would benefit if it redesigned the layout of the streets and added something like the old red cars it had back in the 40s (but adding modern conveniences, like the damn thing running on solar an maybe a few places where it converts into a monorail that goes THROUGH skyscrapers.) Recentralizing the city around the Downtown district (rough nexus where the Staples Center, the train station with Amtrak is, and the old La Placita Church is, the original pueblo) would work nicely and dammit it is time to build UP, not OUT. NYC maxed out its land a long time ago and when it did, well, the skyscraper was born. Ditto Chicago.
Time to go through growing pains, City of Angels. New York City has been sitting where it is since the 1640s and was out of land by 1880-that is why it has that really huge rail system that will take you from midtown Manhattan to Pennsylvania if you use the SEPTA transfer. It didn’t hurt to change. Hell, it got the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building out of it. Building UP will make prices go DOWN since the added housing stock will make the tinier buildings lose exclusivity.
Ten days ago, these gossips had no idea that Harry and Meghan has left Tyler Perry’s house and had settled down in Montecito. Now we’re supposed to believe they know why they moved, including Harry’s inner thought? OK.😂😂
Exactly. I guess they chatted with the psychic William likes to consult (boy that Tatler article is the gift that keeps on giving) to get the inside scoop.
Fire that psychic since she didn’t predict about the move to Montecito!
He probably would’ve hated it less if BM weren’t sending drones over the property they were staying at daily 🤷🏽♀️
Seems like they found a reasonable compromise. They’re certainly not the first couple who have different preferences about where to live. They just have more money to do something about it. I imagine covid made the difference clear earlier, since constant travel isn’t an option right now.
except you don’t know that, because us weekly is not a reliable source. it’s crappy tabloid
H&M had no intentions on living in LA. They had been looking at homes in SB way before they left Canada. The purchase was in the works for sometime regardless what people think.
Harry was never going to like LA. You don’t move to LA to avoid paps. You don’t move to LA for privacy. Doesn’t matter if you’re family is from there, LA is pap, Drone City. They use drones for traffic tickets, for gods sake. Montecito is gorgeous and peaceful, it’s a good spot.
Plenty of celebs live in LA and manage to avoid the paps just fine. Harry and Meghan were also doing fine until their move from Canada to LA became public and the British press continued their deranged stalking of the couple.
These people didn’t even know they moved 6 weeks ago. Weren’t they criticized for being too Hollywood and living in Tyler Perry’s house. That was always a temporary location and there were crazies on Twitter looking up the address and threatening to send hate mail and powder to the address (Yes that happened). I get really tired of all these articles always wondering about Harry’s emotions, like that’s the only thing that matters. It’s always he’s lonely, hates this or that, or something negative. That said, they probably were looking at different properties and their first and second concern were price and privacy. A property of that size in LA would be $20mil+ and it wouldn’t afford the same amount of privacy. No matter where they were, they’d be stalked by paparazzi, so this location makes that less likely. Also, they could be working from anywhere. It’s not like they need to go to the office every day in these Covid times, and they’re only 90 mins from LA. The Sussexes are experiencing the 2020 craziness in their own unique way, same as the rest of us.
Same Harry. Visiting LA is great and I get to either stay with my friends in the H-Hills or by the beach so I’m hardly down in the smog when I’m there, but I’m still itching to drive back home after a day or two. Whereas when I visit SB/Montecito area or North County SD, I’m always clinging to a lamp post and crying “how dare you take me away from my new home, I’m never leaving this place!”
I’m originally from NYC and I remember at 20 visiting Hollywood and Rodeo Drive for the first time and being so disappointed. Just about the complete opposite to a few years later when I got to visit SB for the first time,
North County SD here-and it is a great place to live.
I wonder why dont move to NYC that is a more private city for celebrities and to make their permanent base, like Amal and George. Just curious.
Disgustingly cold winters?
the move is probably family related, more so with a baby and a pandemic
Privacy, weather, proximity to her mom/friends? I love NYC and the Hamptons are great to stay at in the summer, but for regular live, Santa Barbara beats them hands down.
Second that. I lived on the east coast for 8 years and it was fun and interesting but after we had our first kid back there it was I need to get back to California stat. The weather was too much for us. I’m now happily ensconced in Santa Barbara after growing up in LA (yay Silverlake) and many years in the Bay Area raising our kids.
Montecito is super rich celebrity central. It is truly a perfect place as far as beauty. Whales can be seen Jumping from shore. If I had money, I would be there. I have loved it for years. And it’s sort of LA north. You can get back when you need too.
I lived in the OC, which is south of LA. We would take trips to LA and it was always fun but never a place I would ever ever live. It took a good 6 months before I had said the OC wasnt a good fit either. LA is dirty and crime ridden and just….difficult. Too difficult to be worth it honestly.
I bet Meghan was like, “Okay Babe, you don’t really like LA, how about this place, here, here, or here.” Santa Barbara was probably an after thought or happy accident to be honest. It probably checked all of the boxes but wasn’t what they set out for originally. I would have thought Calabasas, Brentwood, Pacific Palisades, or even Newport Beach before Santa Barbara. However it happened, I think its such a great choice. They’ll be happy.
You do know that Brentwood and Pacific Palisades are in Los Angeles, right? I grew up in Silverlake/Los Feliz and surprise surprise it wasn’t dirty or crime ridden but full of interesting people, food and architecture. Calabasas is full of tacky reality stars and ugly tract houses and extreme heat. Montecito is lovely and Santa Barbara has a university and a film festival and beautiful old neighborhoods. It’s a good fit for them.
US writes fan fiction about these two. They like the BM knows nothing and makes stuff up, slap Meghan and Harry’s name on it and it sells.
It seems to me that Harry has been “waiting to exhale”—to quote the title of a book—and he’s maybe found that space. He seems like he’d want something where he’s not watched or under contact scrutiny. Not Grizzly Adams up in Alaska or out in the Alaskan bush. Not even Botswana but something with a good mix of seclusion, privacy yet quick access when he wants it. Basically, life on his terms. I think they may have preferred Canada. Great Britain wouldn’t have given him the “space” he needs and the nature of LA just doesn’t allow it. So, Montecito it is. For now.
I think it’s a great decision for them all and I don’t begrudge them a dime of what they spent. He deserves as much as anyone, even more, in that despicable family.
I call BS on the hating LA aspect. It is possible to actually live in Los Angeles and have privacy, etc but the places like that are HELLA expensive. Way more than what they paid for in Santa Barbara. They can still live a CA/beachy/mountain hikes lifestyle there. So yeah moving to Montecito for $10 mil and getting some land and privacy, smart move imo.
I think it’s funny they’re saying Meghan went to Montecito once, when she was a teen. It’s less than 100 miles from LA, she’s probably been more than one time 😄. I mean, I’ve been twice, I had a friend who lived in Santa Barbara for a few years. It’s such a beautiful place.
I grew up in L.A. While it was wonderful in the 70’s and 80’s, it got too crowded, too noisy, and too dangerous (unless you could afford to live it the higher rent areas.) My family left in 98. Don’t miss anything except the beach.
Grew up in LA, and I have lived in SB / Montecito for 16 years now. Whenever I would go back to LA, i would be taken aback by how rude and materialistic people are. Granted, Montecito is like that at times (I’ve met some profoundly terrible people!), but overall I feel like there’s more of a community feel up in SB. There are many ways to contribute to and feel connected to the community as a whole up here.
Secure living arrangements is necessary for this family-remember at Cotswold the press invaded their home and took pictures of the rooms in the house-remember some lady when up to Frogmore Cottage looking in the window and thought it was not safe if she could do that so easily. Some security factors was part of their decision to move Santa Barbara. Don’t forget some photog took pictures of Archie with his granny Doria recently at Tyler Perry’s home-invading their space if the issue- there some crazies out there and crazy tabloid photogs.
There are some really interesting architectural neighborhoods scattered around Southern California. I have been watching Restored with Brett Watermann and some of those places are so lustworthy: parts of Riverside or Redlands, California. I bet there are quite a few wonderful old neighborhoods in greater Los Angeles.