Don’t tell them your from California

Don’t tell them your from Cailfornia……………

Through the years, that’s a common statement from people who have relocated from California to others states.

Most recently my niece who relocated to Denver more than 25 years ago, warned me “they don’t like people from California, without giving me a reason why. A friend who currently lives in Austin Texas, says they resent Californians.

In some places, I get it. You sell your average ordinary home here in California and discover you have actually afford a home with more than 1100 square feet with a two car garage and a backyard large enough for a swing set with two actual swings. Yes, I’ll take two houses please and yes SUPERSIZE that order!

A few years back, my older brother in Kansas City, demanded that I stop talking to a young lady at a hotel about California. Before he arrived and embarrassed the hell out of me. The young lady and I was talking about the country as a whole. She received her masters and lived in the Kansas City Area all her life and wanted to live somewhere else, she said she always dreamed of living to California. Before we knew it, my storm trooper of a BIG BROTHER who had just entered the hotel ,told us both to stop talking! I’ve learned through the decades, never to argue with him, especially when he is stupid!

My brother and I stepped outside the hotel and he told me, I was making the girl “feel bad” and that why one should never talk about California in Missouri! I shook my head and just listened to him until he left. I went to apologize to the young lady, but her shift had ended.

I never fully understood, why I shouldn’t talk about California? What would happen if they knew my secret? Would I be attacked by the townsfolk? Would I be escorted to the states border by the authorities?

I have visited 36 of our 50 states, in a car that had California plates and the worst thing that happened was in Kansas, when a man said, charge him double for Gas, some 30 years ago.

I’m guilty of wearing my San Francisco Giants, Jacket and Jersey as well as my former Oakland Raiders( yes I said, OAKLAND) Jacket all of the world. I have never worn a tee shirt that say’s California, I don’t own one. I do promote Sacramento, cause the few people who know about the city which happens to be the State Capitol of California, think its a suburb of Los Angeles or San Francisco. (yo, Its Sactown).

Based on images, a lot of people in the states think Californians are a little off. Having just a salad, In Atlanta, was very controversial. After telling the waitress, I wanted a salad with dressing on the side, everyone in this crowded downtown restaurant, stopped eating. “All you want is a salad?” yes…… I’m a BIG man, in a place where green leafy things is smashed between mayo and meat. It was unheard of, then my friend announced that I was from California, and everyone in the restaurant returned to their meal, ahhh-now it makes sense.

Whenever, I have traveled with a group to other states. We have never announced we were from California, although I have been told I have a Californian accent.

There are some on the right, who seem to believe everyone is leaving the state and they seem happy about it. When I was young, people from other states would smile and say, you know California is gonna fall in the ocean.

Now the cry is everyone is leaving California ,especially for Texas.

So what is it about, California?

Depending on where you live ,California is viewed as a liberal state. Every election cycle, you will see political ads from other states that refers the Democratic Candidate as “A California Liberal’ like “Nancy Pelosi”. Poor Nancy, if should would have only come from Tennessee, who knows?

For some, California is ultra liberal state filled with free spirited people who turn their backs on god and religious and conservative values. It was the birth place of those free spirited hippies and the Black Panthers. San Francisco, was the first city in the Nation that performed Gay Marriages, Cesar Chavez organized farm workers from his base in California.

California is a liberal, if liberal means open to different religions and ideologies, then yes California different. The state demanded automakers make cleaner cars and that industry be good neighbors. to clean the air and not pollute the water. It is the state that embraced clean energy, solar and wind power. Solar panels is required on new construction. including homes. The state and individual utility companies offer rebates and low cost solar options for low income home owners. A friend outside of Austin said, it would cost nearly forty thousand dollars for add solar to his home in Texas. There are also additional rebates for those who buy electric cars. California will require all new light-duty autonomous vehicles (AV) sold in the state  to emit zero emissions starting in 2030. 

Many of the California’s environmental requirements ,often viewed as hostile to industry has been adopted by other states. The states commitment to higher education as a resulted lower cost for college. Outside of books, it cost me less than a hundred dollars to attend junior college.

There is a high price to pay to live in the Golden State

People moved to California to start fresh, for its gold and silver. Moved for its climate, moved to be successful. People continue to move here from other parts of country. There are many youngsters who moved here for a dream that couldn’t be realized where they lived. So they moved to Northern California, hoping to become the next Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg who relocated from the East Coast to Northern California where he and Elan Musk became billionaires. In 2020, California had the highest number of millionaire households in the U.S., with 1.14 million households having one million or more. The US Cities with the highest concentration of millionaires worth 30 million or more is New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington D.C.

If you have an idea for a business and you need funding, (Venture Capital) a lion’s share of the investments are in New York, Massachusetts, and California. Globally, these six cities attract more than half of all global venture capital investment . Beijing, Boston, New York, San Francisco, San Jose and Shanghai.

If business had a choice, they would relocate to states where its cheaper to do business. There are states all over the country willing to pay huge dollars in cash and subsidies for companies to relocate to their states. The problem is, the top talent they require to run those corporations, prefer less than a dozen cities in the US, three of those cities are in California.

Los Angeles, San Jose and San Francisco. Washington DC, New York City, Boston, are expensive, while Austin is less expensive than any of those cities, it is the most expensive large city in Texas.

Is everyone leaving California?

Thirty Nine and a half million people currently call California home. That’s larger than the populations of Canada and Australia.

California’s population fell by more than 182,000 (0.46%) people in 2020, marking the first year-over-year loss ever recorded for the nation’s most populous state. Resulting in a loss in a Congressional seat for the first time in the state’s history.

In the last 30 years, the state has seen more people leave than move in from other states. However, that had been offset by international immigration and births so that California continued to grow.

Last year, California had a negative international migration., which state officials say was a direct impact from the Trump administration’s decision to stop issuing new visas for much of that year. Coronavirus restrictions around the world also caused about a 29% decline in international students coming to California, or about 53,000 people. Add a declining birthrate, reductions in international immigration and an increase in deaths because of the coronavirus, led to the state’s first ever year-over-year population loss.

In addition, about 51,000 people died from the coronavirus in California last year. That’s a 19% increase above the state’s average death rate for the past three years.

According to data from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey in 2019, 653,000 Californians moved to other states and 480,000 moved to Cali from other states.

What states are Californians moving to

The top five states where Californians moved to (2020)

Texas (82,235)

Arizona (59,713)

Nevada (47.322)

Washington (46,791)

Oregon (37,927)

Moving to California? These are the top five states

New York (37,567)

Texas (37,063)

Washington (31,882)

Arizona (28.226)

Nevada (26.433)

Despite the images of the homeless, complaints about regulations and the high cost of living California has consistently sat in the top 10 of the most happiest states. Below Hawaii, Utah, Minnesota, New Jersey, Maryland and above North Dakota, Iowa, Idaho, and Connecticut. (Texas rank 38, Arizona rank 27, Nevada rank 23, Washington rank 13, Oregon rank 33, (source: WalletHub.com )

California is far from perfect. While most of the world see its glamorous. California is actually several states. Residents who live in the rural areas north west side of the state feel they are being ignored and would like to form their own state. The issues of water has from time to time threatened to divide state and will continue to be and issue due to the continued needs of the states largest industry, agriculture and the population growth of Southern California which is largely desert and the growth of Nevada and Arizona.

As for politics, The coastal populations centers from of the San Francisco Bay Area south to Los Angeles, the people tend to be more liberal. Orange County to the Mexican Boarder and the interior areas of the state tends to be more conservative.

The wealth gap in California is huge. Most of the people who are leaving, simply want to fulfill their dream of owning a home. Despite a higher taxation rate for those earning $700,000 or more the states continues to attract people who can easily afford 3 million dollars for a home. There is a demand for homes costing more than 10 million dollars. The state is attractive for wealthy foreigners, who purchase expensive homes for their children to attend college here.

I considered moving out of State, to Texas, Oklahoma, and Georgia. After 90 minutes of driving outside of Austin, Edmond, and Atlanta. I chose to stay in Sactown.

90 minutes to the east, I have Lake Tahoe and the Sierra Mountains, 90 minutes north east Napa and the wine country, 90 minutes west San Francisco and the mighty Pacific and 90 minutes south is the valley, where California feeds the world.

Unlike other states, California is very unique. Last spring, I discovered Mendocino and North Sonoma County that resembles New England. Parts of Fresno and Kern country resemble Texas and Oklahoma. The foothills east of Sacramento are small towns with populations of 40 people to a couple of thousand, who would look out of place on the coast. How many states can you ski and sunbathe on the same day?

I’m still not clear, why I shouldn’t mention I’m from California………. Perhaps I should…..

“I’m from California “

CityFella