In 1921, Ann Tizia Leitich decided to emigrate to the United States. As 25 years old young woman at the time, she found post-World War I Europe oppressive, felt uncomfortable in Austrian society, and increasingly longed for a freer life in a country untouched by war, such as the U.S. She started her career as an author and journalist initially in Chicago and later in New York. From 1923, she was the America correspondent of the Viennese newspaper Neue Freie Presse and reported in German in her essays, feuilletons and reviews on the American scene and culture for her European audience. Her articles informed Austrians about American culture, enriched by her personal experiences in her new homeland. The topic of feminism and women was frequently covered - and gave Tizian a special and important role as émigré woman artist in the context of exile writing as well as transcultural exchange. Soon, she was also writing for other German-language newspapers such Popular in Germany, as well as Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, Der Tag and the Berliner Lokalanzeiger. Her focus shifted around this time to the changing role of women in society. Her articles described life in the U.S. in a detailed and entertaining manner. American women, who were much more emancipated than their European counterparts at the time, were given special attention.

At the same time, she studied art history in Des Moines, Iowa, and wrote several novels - fictional and autobiographical. Her semi-autobiographical novel Ursula entdeckt Amerika, publisehd in 1928, describes the gradual inner transformation of a European woman who emigrates alone to the United States (Leitich 1928). Some of Leitich's newspaper articles are featured in the 1926 published book Amerika, du hast es besser (Leitich, 1926).

During the 1920s she probably lived at the Hotel Woodward. It was at this period, that the German-émigré photographer Arnold Genthe, produced a portrait of her. This must have been created in his New York studio in 1930 before Leitich's return to Austria.

After temporary stays elsewhere in Europe, Leitich returned to Vienna in the early 1930s, where she went on to produce four more books with American themes, among them in 1932 New York; a combination of three essays by Leitich and photobook. Some of Ruth Jacobi's New York street scenes were published in the book. Furthermore she published books on the cultural history of Vienna and also wrote numerous biographical novels.