THE RUMOR: Jennifer Aniston is quitting L.A. and moving to Chicago.

HOW IT STARTED: Aniston and boyfriend Vince Vaughn were spotted in Chicago apartment (condo) hunting.

HOW IT SPREAD: Aniston has had a rough ride in Hollywood with the breakup of her marriage to Brad Pitt. She has become a prime target for paparazzi, some of whom have crossed the line and arguably violated her right of privacy by shooting pictures of her in the sanctity of her Hollywood Hills home.

THE TMZ LOWDOWN: Aniston is fed up with Hollywood for several reasons. First, the specter of Brad and Angelina looms ever large in her life, as long as she's in Hollywood. Sources say Aniston is uncomfortable in Malibu because Brad and Angelina have a significant presence there. We're told her breakup with Brad has caused her great pain and even humiliation. Hollywood is the symbolic reminder.

But there's an even more telling sign that Aniston is bailing from Tinseltown. For a number of months, she's been actively looking for homes all over L.A. Unimpeachable sources tell TMZ that her search has abruptly come to a grinding halt. In addition, she was in the process of remodeling her Hollywood Hills home, but the work recently stopped.

Aniston and Pitt recently sold their Beverly Hills mansion. So aside from her Hollywood Hills home, her only real estate connection to So. Cal. is a Malibu home, which she rents.

Sources connected to Aniston say she is aggressively looking for a place in Chicago and is "fed up" with the Hollywood scene. It makes sense that she'll keep her Hollywood Hills home so she has a place to stay when she's in town, but that's it.

TMZ-TRUTH-O-METER: So, is Aniston quitting L.A. for Chicago?

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