Oprah Winfrey announced that she is packing up HARPO studios and leaving Chicago after nearly 30 years and relocating to West Hollywood, California to continue running her OWN network, reports E!. 

In her wake, Winfrey will be leaving behind 200 employees who will remain on the payroll through December. A lucky few will be relocating with their boss to join the 140 employees on staff at OWN's new Los Angeles headquarters.

Winfrey told The Hollywood Reporter:

[Chicago has] been everything for me. I've spent more hours in this building than I have any other building on Earth. We were here when there was nothing but hoes and rats on the street, and now it's one of the hottest neighborhoods.

The time had come to downsize this part of the business and to move forward. It will be sad to say goodbye, but I look ahead with such a knowing that what the future holds is even more than I can see.

With new digs near Hollywood, Winfrey plans to remain a formidable media and movie presence, capitalizing on the success of the films Selma and Lee Daniels' The Butler.