CA Exodus

[Fedup]

After living in the East Coast for 3 years, I moved back to California and never looked back. I'm glad for those 3 years because digging your car under 10 feet of snow after work was no fun. I've bought 4 houses in California so the housing cost never intimidated me. I'm sure I could help my kids buy their starter home, except they are not sure where they would stay yet.


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[Rosie]

Mindful of the 1980's, when business sent me to CA, some of the best memories were of places north of Oakland/San Franci sco... in particular, Auburn, Grass Valley and smaller towns like Susanville.

When DH & I retired we briefly considered leaving the SF Bay area for WA or OR, but we found exactly what we were looking for here in CA. Our dream home is a short drive to Auburn, where I often go hiking. We're very close to great bicycling and kayaking too. Home prices are considerably less than the Bay Area. By Bay Area standards, congestion is practically nonexistent. We love it here.

Bear in mind, California is a very large state. It's not just the Bay Area & LA. Here, I have a real yard, & I had to bundle up during the winter.

 

[W2R]

I'm kinda like W2R. Most of the time, I don't much want to leave my neighborhood. Also like W2R, I have my Dream House, and there isn't any place else I really want to be.

I can definitely understand that! (typed while sitting in my favorite easy chair, right here in the den of my Dream House, which is located in my dream neighborhood). With any luck, I'll never move again.

I think that many or most of the retirees on the forum are exactly where we want to be and wouldn't move for the world. I think that is wonderful.

 

[Clone]

I think it is a bit immature to think that folks who live somewhere else have somehow made a mistake. Yet, it is very popular to declare many places as not fit to live.

I may not understand the motivation of some folks, but I must balance that with the fact that I really do not care if they understand my motivations as well.

 

[photoguy]

I think the author of the article linked in the OP needs to take a lesson from Louis CK:

 

[RobbieB]

There is no "California Exodus";

https://www.google.com/publicdata/e...met_y=population&idim=state:06000&hl=en&dl=en

The state continues to grow.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

California is a big place. There are many counties with no crowds and not a lot of traffic. We've been happy in the Bay Area and have real yard with trees as do most people we know, at least the ones in single family homes. The lack of housing density contributes to the housing shortage, but between the lower housing density and good public transportation the traffic seems less to me than the busy parts of So Cal.

There is traffic where we live during commute hours but like Robbie posted not so much between 10 am and 2 pm, and I'd add or after 7 pm most week nights and not so much on the weekends except some areas. SF itself seems to have traffic 24 X 7 these days but it also does have a good public transportation system so we usually take the train when we go there. Many SF households (~30%) do not even own cars. We took the freeway to UC Botanical Garden in Berkeley in the East Bay today (Sunday) and there was not a lot of traffic. The botanical garden has a small Redwood grove with a stream and picnic tables and we had it almost to ourselves today, so maybe some places are crowded but we have learned to avoid them.

 

[Rambler]

Hmmm...I've not been around the forum for a long time, decided to take a peek, and found this thread.

As chance would have it, we are planning a house hunting trip about 10 days from now, to try to find a suitable location in a state that doesn't confiscate so much of my retirement income. In other words, we are looking at leaving California and its confiscatory tax rates. It isn't the rent, for us, that's the problem...it's that the state has such ridiculously high taxes on my income, that when my deferred income from my working days kicks in at the end of 2019, I could literally buy a very nice home in a very nice neighborhood for the income tax I will have to pay on the deferred income over the 10 year payout period. So, we are considering a move to a no or low income tax state. We may keep our California dream home as a vacation home for a few years, but only stay here occasionally, or maybe just sell it and stay in the Motorhome if we come to visit. We love it here, and will miss it if we do decide to leave, but we're simply fed up with the amount we must pay in taxes for the privilege of living here.

 

[MichaelB]

Hey Rambler, nice to see you back.

We left NY because of the taxes. We still miss it, had a very enjoyable lifestyle there, and did not mind the taxes when I was working. After quitting, however, I quickly saw that as an unneeded expense really related to work, so we moved to Florida.

 

[REWahoo]

Hey Rambler, nice to see you back.

Yes, it most certainly is! Why don't you sit and stay a while...

 

[Another Reader]

An article published in several smaller Bay Area newspapers about gentrification in Oakland and the role of one real estate agent in the process. This guy markets the heck out of West Oakland (zip code 94607). Money makes change happen.

Oakland's 'Fast Agent' sales tactics lauded, vilified - San Jose Mercury News

 

[photoguy]

There is no "California Exodus";

https://www.google.com/publicdata/e...met_y=population&idim=state:06000&hl=en&dl=en

The state continues to grow.

I think when people talk about the california exodus they mean domestic migration. Overall the state is growing but that is due to foreign immigration.

How a great American migration to California reversed itself

 

[MichaelB]

Some hard data from the State of California website (my bold) E-6. Population Estimates, Current - California Department of Finance

California’s population grew just under one percent between July 1, 2014 and July 1, 2015 to total 39.1 million persons. This represents an increase of 346,000 residents during the last fiscal year. The current percentage increase of 0.9 continues the moderate growth that California has experienced for the past several years.
Natural increase (births minus deaths) remains the primary source of the state’s growth. The natural increase of 262,000 is comprised of approximately 507,000 births minus 245,000 deaths. Births and deaths increased from the previous fiscal year. Net migration added 84,000 residents. Net migration includes all legal and unauthorized foreign immigrants, residents who left the state to live abroad, and the balance of hundreds of thousands of people moving to and from California from within the United States. The state gained about 145,000 net foreign immigrants last year.
Since the national census on April 1, 2010, the state has grown by 1,817,000 persons.

 

[Music Lover]

She complained that she can't afford to live where she thinks she deserves to live, so her solution is to vote for someone who she thinks will "fix" the problem...the problem being that she's a writer who teaches yoga that can't afford an expensive neighborhood.

 

[Walt34]

Thanks all for an interesting discussion.