It seems like every day or so I read that “everyone” is leaving California for other locations within the United States.
This is something that seems to excite Fox News’ talking heads a lot, inferring that the exodus is politics-driven, a statement against liberalism, minorities, taxes, etc.
One statistic that I saw indicated that 500,000 residents of California have fled the state in the past couple of years. That seems like a lot of people (Wyoming only has 580,000 residents), however it is only 1.25 percent of California’s total population. So, it is a gross exaggeration to say that Californians are exiting the state en masse.
Californian cities are getting crowded, that’s for sure, and that drives up the cost of housing, creates more traffic and smog, and results in more homelessness and crime. Nobody wants that, even Democrats. However, most Californians stay put for the good paying jobs, the wonderful weather, good schools, and lots of things to do: quality of life is good, even for the poor folks who have to live on the street.
Charlie and I lived in California for almost all our lives and enjoyed our time there.
We live in Mesquite, Nevada now, relocating out of California when it made more sense economically to do so. I’m retired, and my P.E.R.S. pension nets me about $500 per month more because Nevada doesn’t have a state income tax. Five hundred bucks isn’t movie star money, but it buys a lot of groceries. We also live in an H.O.A. which costs us $151 per month, which is in stark contrast to the $650 that we were paying in Bear Creek (Murrieta, California). That’s another $500 per month savings. We also live in a one-story 2,500 s.f. home that would cost us $1 million in California: we’re in it for about $450,000 here in Sun City Mesquite.
Those are the kind of numbers that convince retirees to exit California, even though they might love the place. There are a lot of California ex-pats in Nevada, all of them (like us!) missing that Golden State weather, particularly from June through September when the overnight low here in Mesquite is about 80 degrees and one could fry an egg on the sidewalk at noon.
We solve that specific problem by heading to the Oregon coast in our motorhome during the period. We can afford to do that because of all the money that we saved by relocating to Nevada.
Lots of people are leaving urban areas and relocating to southern states like Texas, Georgia, and Florida. Personally, I like Texas and could probably live there: Austin might be nice. But, as a California native, used to outstanding weather year-round, it would be very difficult to live in Georgia or Florida what with the oppressive humidity, airborne insects, and the threat of hurricanes and tropical storms. Texas has its dust storms and tornadoes.
And then there is the political atmosphere.
I’m sure that most folks living in the South are good people at heart but, sonofagun, they keep electing wingnuts who want to impose their own religious beliefs, racist attitudes, and anti-democratic concepts on the rest of the country… which is not that conservative. The average Southerner is probably a decent, kind, witty and considerate person, exuding that stuff called “southern charm”. But that bonhomie seems to evaporate when the individual steps into a voting booth.
I would have a problem living in a community where the police feel that they are entitled to dispense on-the-spot justice to alleged law breakers and minority citizens whose only “crime” is that they are a minority. This kind of thing goes on, week after week, down South and makes me wonder why it is tolerated in these family-friendly communities populated by “good folk”. The Civil War ended in 1865 and Jim Crow was outlawed almost 60 years ago, for God sakes: why can’t Southerners just let it go?
They have let it go, in a way, since intercollegiate sports became integrated nationally. College football, and basketball to a lesser degree, are sources of community pride and identity in the South. Most of the outstanding football and basketball athletes attending Southern universities are African-Americans who are revered on Game Day. However, outside of the stadium or arena, these “heroes” become targets of racist law enforcement practices. “Thank you for your service, Son, but I’m ticketing you for Driving While Black.”
As a non-religious fellow, I would probably feel unwelcome in the southern Bible Belt, where preachers rail against abortion, homosexuality, women in power, public education, Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Democrats, pointy-headed intellectuals and atheists.
As an occasional drinker, I would not appreciate the “wet” vs. “dry” counties, another legacy of Southern Baptist political power.
Here in sinful Nevada, mind-altering things like alcoholic drinks and marijuana are readily available. As a matter of fact, in Mesquite we have a huge “discount” liquor store and the largest marijuana dispensary that I’ve ever seen. These facilities are well-known to supposed teetotaling Mormons from Utah, who drive the 45-miles south from St. George each weekend to jam these businesses and cart off large quantities of hooch and ganja. (I can’t blame them, though: if I had to “live” Mormon, I would sneak a drink or two when my three wives weren’t looking.)
Hypocrisy is distasteful to me and probably the main reason that I gave up religion after being “born again” in 1963. Too many people who shout the loudest Hallelujahs revert to their sinful ways once they exit the church on Sunday… and then, blame the Devil for corrupting themselves.
Everyone fleeing urban areas to resettle in the South will soon come to realize that this bastion of so-called “family values” and population of “God-fearing” people experiences just as much hateful behavior, infidelity, incest, rape, unscrupulous business practices, and general criminal behavior as the city or region that they are leaving.
Human beings are human beings, no matter where they reside, and the vast majority are good people.
I am pretty sure that most of the relocation being done in America is economics-driven. Our economy is in a down-cycle, companies are laying folks off, and inflation is more and more dictating what people can afford or must give up. Cost of living decreases as soon as one crosses the California state line, so it’s natural that lots of struggling families are going to head east.
After the recession that we are currently experiencing, I expect that people will resume migrating to California for the jobs, the good wages, the good schools, the good weather, and the myriad things to do.
It’s not an accident why one of every eight Americans lives in the Golden State.