He was drawn to the growing cultural life of Los Angeles, especially during World War II, when so many writers, musicians, composers and conductors settled in the area: these included Otto Klemperer, Thomas Mann, Franz Werfel, George Balanchine and Arthur Rubinstein.
Od takrat pa do smrti njegove žene leta 1939, je Stravinski živel dvojno življenje, med družino v južni Franciji, in Vero v Parizu.