Why Alex Warren Made Me Want to Move to LA

We all have that one moment in time when inspiration feels like a calling.

If you’re like me though, this happens quite often and sometimes you have no clue as to why.

My most recent “calling” came after my wife and I went to an Alex Warren concert in Fort Worth this past weekend.

To give you some background, this year has been a “year of experiences” for us, and when we found out that our favorite artist would be in town, there was no hesitation. It was also our first concert together, which made it that much better.

I had first heard one of his songs back in 2022, “Chasing Shadows,” and over the years he quietly became one of my most listened to artists, alongside Benson Boone and a handful of others.

My wife, on the other hand, had been much more attuned to his story and had been following him and his wife since their early TikTok days (no surprise there).

When she told me about his past, it actually made me enjoy his music even more. Here’s someone who has been through loss, poverty, growth, creative exploration, love, and success, all while still seeming to stay grounded in who he is.

And honestly, don’t even get me started on his relationship with his wife. It’s the kind of love you dream about more than you actually see in real life. That was actually one of the first things I related to him on, aside from being around the same age.

My wife and I have been together for almost six years and married for three. She is the best thing that’s ever happened to me on this earth, and I truly love her with all my heart. So seeing another couple with that same kind of love, support, and sacrifice is honestly refreshing.

So we go to the concert.

And it was an absolute blast.

It was fun, witty, personal, and sounded great (aside from the opening act). He’s the kind of person who feels like he could be your friend, and probably could have gone into stand-up comedy if music didn’t work out.

At some point during the night, I found myself thinking: is there something in the water in LA?

I mean, great weather, solid sports teams, beach and hill running trails… I’m already a Dodgers fan, so what’s the hold up?

And that’s where the feeling started creeping in.

That familiar pull.

The one that sounds like:
“Maybe I should move somewhere new.”
“Maybe I should start something completely different.”
“Maybe I should reinvent something.”

But when I actually sat with that feeling, I realized something.

This wasn’t about LA.

It wasn’t about becoming a musician, or an influencer, or chasing some new identity.

It was something else.

And I’ve felt it before.

Earlier this year, when I got back into running, I had the exact same feeling, this idea that maybe I should move to Colorado and “fully become a runner” again.

Running has always been part of my life. I grew up doing it, and at one point even got close to competing in college. But that wasn’t really God's the path for me, and honestly, I’m thankful for that, because it led me to my wife, which I wouldn’t trade for anything.

But when I started running again this year, I noticed something interesting.

It used to be toxic for me. Injuries, inconsistency, frustration, plateaued performance.

Later I realized a lot of that came down to not being consistent and not following proper training structure, like the 80/20 rule.

But in that renewed “runner’s high,” I started imagining Colorado as this place where everything would click into place. Like a new environment would somehow complete the experience.

And that’s when I noticed the pattern.

Colorado or LA.
Runner or influencer.
New identity, new place, new version of me.

But it was never really about escaping my life or replacing it.

It was about something I think I lost track of at some point: creative expression.

We all fall into routines. Daily, weekly, yearly patterns filled with things we have to do.

But somewhere in there, I think we forget to ask a simple question:

Do we ever still let the “kid” version of ourselves play?

To color, draw, build something, write, make a video, design, or even explore just because it’s interesting?

Why did we stop doing that?

And is that why we start craving vacations, new places, or “escapes” that give us a glimpse of that feeling again?

To be honest, I don’t really have a perfect answer.

I’m just a master’s student working at a tech company as a product designer, who loves his wife and dog, but I do love to wonder why we are the way we are.

And I think that might be the point.

So next time you find yourself obsessing over a band, a movie, a character, or a book, maybe pause for a second and ask what’s actually underneath that feeling.

Because it might not be about becoming something new.

It might just be about remembering a part of yourself you haven’t given room to play in a while.