Why do people stay in California?

[vash]

Sorry.

[Vipergrün]

Originally Posted by JavaBrewer

Hummm, what part of Goleta? I grew up off of Patterson, La Ramada Dr. I had friends North and South, few in SB proper. Small world.

Small world indeed. I was off of cathedral oaks and los carneros, went to Dos Pueblos.

I had a good buddy, Dan Bergstrom, who lived on La Ramada.

[glewis80SC]

Born and raised in Southern California I grew up in Alhambra a small town just east of Los Angeles, I will leave soon. The only reason to stay would be the weather but that's not enough, for me its all the reasons others have stated especially the soaring cost of living and political climate. I will miss the year round track events but I'll get over it.

[craigster59]

Originally Posted by tdw28210

@craigster59 - where are you going to?

What I posted was published by Ben Shapiro today. He's just one of many leaving California. Not sure if he's going to Texas, following Joe Rogan, Adam Corolla and many other ex-Californians.

Myself, when I retire in a few years will most likely be going to Arizona. I'm a life long Californian who just can't take the BS anymore.

Lots of celebs moving too. A friend just got back from Montana, he was moving the Art Dept props and set dressing from the show Yellowstone in Utah where it was originally filmed to Montana where it will be based now. Don't know if it's one of the producers or Kevin Costner himself who purchased a ranch that they will film at and use as a tax write off.

Rob Lowe just sold his Montecito house that he had custom built for $45.5 million, I'm sure he's heading for greener pastures. There's a mass exodus leaving this state, someone's going to have to pick up the tax burden and it ain't going to be me.

[cantdrv55]

Yeah, it’s not perfect but I love it here. My mother chose to move here to the SF Bay Area from the PI in the ‘70s and I’m so glad she did. Jobs are plentiful, the weather is ideal for me and the state is downright beautiful. I’m writing this while spending the weekend in Tahoe.

[Tobra]

My family lives here. I like my grandkids living 5 minutes away. Tomorrow I will do rounds and make it to a double header of basketball with my grandson playing point guard

Have peaches on the tree in the backyard right now, which is nice

It saddens me to see what has been wrought here

[vash]

Growing up Chinese in (west) Texas wasn’t easy.

CA. The diversity was a fresh change for me. My wife grew up here and she has never seen what I’ve seen. I’m cool with that.

[Por_sha911]

I have the same questions about NYC:
https://www.foxnews.com/us/nyc-shootings-murders-spike

The number of September shooting incidents in the city increased 127% year-over-year from 67 shootings in 2019 to 152 shootings in 2020; September murders spiked 40 percent from 246 people killed in 2019 to 344 people killed in 2020, according to New York Police Department data released Friday.

Year-to-date, there has been a 91% spike in citywide shooting incidents, a 42% increase in burglaries and a 33% decrease in hate crimes. Rape and robberies decreased in September.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and the city council agreed to cut $1 billion from the NYPD budget in July and transfer those funds to other community initiatives with a focus on youth safety.

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by Bob Kontak

2.4 million dollars in human population.

I miss Goode Company really bad.

Life is cheap?

[Noah930]

Originally Posted by vash

I won’t retire here. I’ll take the money I gathered and saved while suffering out a reasonable lifestyle in CA and run.

I hope my plans plays out.

That's my plan, as well. I want to move to HI, where P-O-P is. But Mrs. Noah says it's too far from her family. So we'll planning on moving back to Cape Cod. MA may not be much different politically, but the Cape is beautiful, beachy, and much quieter than LA. I can sell my current house, pay off the remainder of my mortgage, and buy a much nicer house for the cash I have left over. No mortgage goes a long way in retirement goals. I'm out.

As always, good luck to you, too, Vash.

[Noah930]

Originally Posted by craigster59

There's a mass exodus leaving this state, someone's going to have to pick up the tax burden and it ain't going to be me.

Not that this will apply to any of us, but our state is trying to pass a wealth tax. And if you leave, it will be retroactive for 10 years. How can Kalifornia make non-residents pay taxes? I'm not trying to PARF up the discussion, but I'm just not sure how they will exert jurisdiction on people who are really gone. Maybe levy the taxes against any remaining property (i.e. 2nd/3rd/4th house)?

[Noah930]

Originally Posted by 9dreizig

Where ya heading ?

Cape Cod. Home of Mrs. Noah. I'd be willing to go to the Berkshires, too (Lime Rock).

I jokingly looked at that job at Rennline, up in Northern Vermont. Holy smokes, you're almost a suburb of Montreal! Even too cold and far north for Mrs. Noah.

[fintstone]

I grew up in an eastern state but lived/worked all over the nation and overseas. I always loved the idea of living in CA, My wife, kids and I had to move there for about out a year in my early 30s for work, but we knew it was temporary, were broke, and put down no roots. Still, we enjoyed seeing some of the sights. Went back on a business trip or two in my early 40s to LA and hated it...smog and bumper to bumper traffic...and scammers/homeless bums everywhere. Later, went back to take my car for an engine rebuild/install and things seemed better. Clear skies and tooling down the PCH in a hot rod 70s targa made it seem like the place I dreamed of. By my late 50s, I was better off financially and when I went there for business, I stayed in nicer hotels and had more time to visit nicer areas. Went to the beach, etc. Loved it. Almost like on TV. Took my wife out to pick up another 911 Targa and we stayed a day or two at the nicer hotel...took her down the coastline. Time of our lives. Started considering jobs there. Looked at the cost. I was relatively wealthy in comparison by now...where I lived, but would be quite worse off in CA., would have to buy a tiny house, give up the big yard and 3-car garage, etc. My standard of living would be about what it was 30 years ago. Add in the traffic, politics, high taxes, crime, etc...and I think I will have to just visit. Kids are gone now and I have not been back for over 10 years, but would love to vacation there. When the fires and riots end...I think I will take the wife out for a few weeks...but can't imagine moving there unless there are massive changes. While I will never move anywhere very cold again after being stationed in Minot ND in the military...much of the south/southwest seems much better...even Florida.

Sadly, a lot of the nicer of those places (where i live/have lived) are quickly becoming "little LA" or "little NYC" due to others fleeing and bringing the same ideas that ruined those places with them. How people can move to a place because it seems "wonderful" and then campaign tirelessly for the rest of their life to make it the same as where they left is beyond me. If you move to a place where taxes are low...and then demand increased services, pretty soon, taxes go up. Same if you demand endless social programs. If you fight against having tough law-and-order, pretty soon, crime goes up. Ask for lots of affordable, but high-density housing and you get crowded streets. Protect the bears, deer, or fish or...and the people that lived there and depended on them for food/income suddenly are hungry and angry...and there are bear attacks on humans living in subdivisions. Suddenly, Mayberry is LA...without the beaches or high salaries. Remember that when you retire to a lower-cost area, you don't bring new jobs, just demands and more traffic...and more money than the locals whom you outbid for housing...driving prices up for them/everyone. Especially if it is largely a tourist area and the jobs are mostly service jobs. While the prices and tax increases may still seem low to you, they are often devastating to the locals.

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by Noah930

Cape Cod. Home of Mrs. Noah. I'd be willing to go to the Berkshires, too (Lime Rock).

I lived in West Stockbridge for 7 years

[Noah930]

Originally Posted by glewis80SC

The only reason to stay would be the weather but that's not enough,

Yes, the weather can be great. But sometimes it's hard to enjoy it when everywhere you go is ridiculously crowded. Go to the beach on a weekend, can't find parking. Want to go hiking at Runyon Canyon or Fryman Canyon? Can't find parking. Want to go to 3rd Street Promenade or thge Redondo Beach Pier or Farmer's Market or Old Town Pasadena? Yep, it's a pain to find parking. After awhile, it's not worth the hassle.

[Noah930]

Originally Posted by red-beard

I lived in West Stockbridge for 7 years

Out of curiosity, how was it? It's got that Norman Rockwell/James Taylor look to it.

[ckissick]

My family has been here (San Francisco) since before the '06 earthquake. I'm not going anywhere. My (very fit) 90-year-old mother still lives in SF and still loves walking around the city every day. I live in Half Moon Bay, a 5-minute walk to the beach. I watch the sunset (or the fog getting dark) almost every day. I go walking in the nearby redwood forests often. I love the Sierra, for backpacking, skiing, mountaineering, and rock climbing. We often go to Tahoe, the wine country, Carmel, etc.

I have a thriving civil engineering business, with most customers wealthy Silicon Valley people. There's rarely a true recession here. We're a Republican family, but almost all my friends are liberal wackos. We just tease each other. It's no big deal. I have money and freedom. (Well, when there's no plague going on.) The Dems have not impacted my personal life in any measurable way.

We sometimes talk of retiring to some place like Oregon. My daughter goes to school there, in Bend. Recently, while visiting her, we heard some people talking in a store about how much they hate Californians. How we ruin everything everywhere we go. Screw that. If we do retire to a less expensive area, it will be to the Gold Country. Murphys is nice. I can't abandon my state.

[fintstone]

Isn't that it though? If wealthy enough, CA can be pretty pleasant. From an outsider's perspective, it seems that it is set up for the poor (why it attracts so many) and the wealthy. Everyone else seems to struggle the way it is now.

[Noah930]

^^^ I guess that's part of the difference, ckissick. Full congrats on loving where you're living, and the hard work and sacrifice that went into making it work out. (And congrats to syncroid, too. Long live RMG!)

But I don't have a business. I don't have that dream home. A 5-minute walk, and I can get to a Rite Aid and Starbucks in a strip mall. I don't have that 2nd house in Santa Barbara. Other than friends/family (which admittedly is a big deal) I don't have anything material that I can't walk away from. I don't feel like I've "gotten mine" yet, and I'm supposed to be one of those villified "rich guys." I also have a lot of "liberal wacko" friends--most of them are--but they aren't the type to handle any sort of political teasing.

[Rick Lee]

There are a ton of places in the world, where, if you have enough money, it's pretty great and you're immune from the BS that drives others away.