# LA to Arizona: why one family chose small-town life

> After 20 years in Burbank, Jen Podany moved her family to Snowflake, Arizona, seeking the childhood and community she felt LA could not offer.
- Title: LA to Arizona: why one family chose small-town life | Shortify
- Summary: After 20 years in Burbank, Jen Podany moved her family to Snowflake, Arizona, seeking the childhood and community she felt LA could not offer. Jen Podany…
- Keywords: jen podany, snowflake arizona, burbank california, relocation, small-town living, parenting, homeschooling, business, technology, Arizona, one, family
- Source: Business Insider — https://businessinsider.com/left-los-angeles-arizona-kids-eighties-childhood-2026-10
- Author: Lauren Crosby Medlicott
- Published: 2026-10-17T17:56:01.23+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: jen podany, snowflake arizona, burbank california, relocation, small-town living, parenting, homeschooling, business, technology
## Twenty years in LA, then a weekend escape
Jen Podany and her family of five lived in Burbank in a duplex with two bedrooms and one bathroom.They ran two separate businesses from the other apartment.
## Why Burbank felt too tight
The duplex sat near a busy street.Podany had to hold her children's hands outside because of traffic.Planes flew constantly into Burbank Airport.As the kids and businesses grew, the family felt increasingly confined in the space.
## Snowflake felt like home
Podany fell in love with Snowflake, a town of six thousand in the middle of nowhere.She said their souls calmed each time they arrived and ached to stay each time they left.
## The house and the move
They bought a four-bedroom house surrounded by land, chickens, cows, and a turkey for about five hundred thousand dollars.
## Calmer routines, same structure
In Snowflake, the family's routines stayed the same.They start each morning at a coffee shop, work, homeschool, eat meals, and sleep just as they did in LA.
## What changed for Podany
Podany said her nervous system regulated after the move.In LA she felt bombarded and reacting to everything.In Snowflake she feels in the driver's seat with a clear head.

> In LA, I felt like the world was constantly coming at me, like I was being bombarded and reacting to everything around me. Here, I feel like I'm in the driver's seat, with a clear head.
## An eighties childhood for her kids
The children have freedom to play outside without worrying about cars and crime.Other kids live just a bike ride away.

> It's like going back to being a kid in the '80s, and I love that for them.
## Community they never found in LA
Even after twenty years in LA, the family never experienced friendship and community as they have in just over a year in Snowflake.Everyone is on mountain time, slowing down.

> We can't leave the house without seeing someone who wants to stop and talk.
## The decision feels right
When Podany and her husband occasionally return to LA for work, they take a deep breath coming back home to Snowflake.
## Key takeaway

Jen Podany relocated her family of five from Burbank to Snowflake, Arizona, after years of weekend visits, buying a four-bedroom house for about five hundred thousand dollars to give her children a slower, safer upbringing.