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Despite California experiencing a slight decline in population over the past several years, a large portion of the nation said they would like to call Los Angeles home.

A new nationwide survey by HomeBay, a website that offers analysis and tips about real estate, found that 1 in 5 people surveyed would like to live in L.A., assuming money wasn’t an issue.

The revelation comes as part of a larger sweeping survey of people who recently moved. More than 1,000 people were surveyed about their recent moves as Home Bay looked to find out how, why and where people were moving.

While the most popular state to move to among those surveyed was Florida, if money weren’t an object, people surveyed would like to live in California (27%), especially L.A. (19%).

Despite the desire to live in the Golden State or the City of Angels, it’s actually Austin, Texas, Raleigh, North Carolina and Orlando, Florida where people surveyed have decided to move.

California lost 343,230 residents in 2022, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. The main reason for the exodus is blamed on cost of living. Of all survey respondents, about half said they moved to improve their quality of life or find a cheaper place to live. Safe neighborhoods, good school districts and affordability are all factors that were considered as part of “quality of life.”

While many people left California in the last year, it still remains the No. 1 state that people wish they could call home, and while we don’t want to connect too many dots, perhaps that’s partly so many people had some regrets about their move. The survey found that 75% of respondents had some regrets about moving — including 44% who admitted to having cried over the move.

Home Bay’s data comes from an online survey of 1,000 people from Dec. 29, 2022. Respondents were asked to answer up to 21 questions related to their recent moving experience with additional insight provided by the U.S. Census Bureau Migration Data.

To read the complete survey results, including whether people are moving to cities or suburbs, and whether or not they’re hiring movers to make the move less stressful, click here.