California Has A Nearly Perfect Geography... So Why Are People Fleeing The State?

Watch the podcast: @GeographyPod

It's often said that California has the perfect climate and that you're "2 hours away from everything." While this might not entirely be true, what is true is that the state's geography is nearly perfect in almost every way. It's almost astounding how well everything lines up for the state. And its this exact geography that propelled California to being one of the most powerful regions of the world. But if California is nearly perfect... why have people been fleeing the state in recent years?

Editing by Kat Olsen

[DanH-uf]

They are leaving because of high living costs, bad politics, crime, unaffordable housing, etc.

[eusa]

Extremely high cost of living. Same reason people are fleeing other states like NJ and NY.

[RichardLeonardon]

High taxes, high crime, high cost of living, plenty of homelessness, very high housing costs. People should enjoy living there.

[nancywatkins]

Ask the people leaving. They will tell us the exact reasons they are leaving.

[tylerkriesel]

Unless you’ve been living under a rock the last 10 years, it’s pretty obvious why people are leaving.

[oakparksacramento]

Before even watching I’ll tell you it’s because it’s unreasonably priced. California is by far the most naturally beautiful state and the weather is great so it should cost a LITTLE more than everywhere else BUT NOT TWICE AS MUCH. Sacramento is the “inexpensive” part of California. For what I pay to live in the hood here I lived in the suburbs in Vegas and Dallas. I’d be crazy to buy here knowing what I know.

A good portion of Californians don’t have the financial freedom to go enjoy the natural beauty or get away from work and home very often. It’s sad. And people with power make it impossible to build the amount of homes needed to change things because it would drive down their own property value.

[thhitman]

It's about politics.... Literally nothing to do with geography 🤡

[garylagstrom]

Gotta be rich to live in the Golden State!

[hunterjackman]

Native San Diegan here - it’s just too expensive really lol. I moved down South to SC.

[mobility]

This is just an inkling of what I paid in CA. The property taxes on my 1700 sq ft home and it's 2½ acres in Sonoma county went up to $16000 a year. My PG&E electric bill averaged $400-500 a month. There are SO MANY MORE reasons, but now living in Prescott AZ, property tax is $1800 on my 1800 sq ft new home and my electric bill is $75 a month. I left not because of geography or microclimates

[AndyWilliams]

For me it was 100% the money. As a Gen X'er who grew up in San Jose and entered the workforce in the 90s, my goal was always to own a house, but sadly the steady increase in housing prices outstripped my ability to save up for a down payment. About 20 years ago, the houses in the neighborhood where I grew up were nearing the better part of a million dollars, and I knew that there would be no way that I could afford a house without moving to Tracy or Stockton. I ended up moving to Oregon and buying a nice house for less than a quarter of what it would cost in San Jose.

[martypoll]

I moved to California in 1976 when I was 20 years old and retired to Thailand in 2017. I lived in the San Francisco East Bay. I loved my life and career in CA but I had had enough once I had found someplace new and enticing. One geographic feature contributing to my decision to leave was the Bay Area fog. It was not an issue when I was young and at work but became unpleasant and tiresome retired at home. The warm tropical climate in Thailand immediately attracted me.

Looking back at CA 7 years later I have to admit that the cost of living, if I returned, would be a barrier but more importantly, I think the CA politics and government and political divisions in the whole of the US is a bigger deterrent to my return. I think I will stay where I am. I have a beautiful new home, enjoy the lower cost of living, have access to great healthcare, and can enjoy a safe and peaceful retirement.

[Wesley-rnoc]

California was in a drought for most of my adult life and I moved to Vegas in 2022 right before there was a bunch of rain in CA. Every time I go back to visit, from Sacramento to San Diego, it's so much more green and beautiful, it's really good for your soul. My bank account is doing much better out here in the desert though.

[eazydee]

As a California resident, back in the mid-20th century, the default mode of city planning changed from walkable dense neighborhoods and grid-planned streetcar suburbs to car-centric suburbia. Public transportation was almost completely gutted out and the freeways began to be built. Housing was cheap and plenty from the 1950s-1990s due to endless suburban growth, but the suburban sprawl was soon constrained by the mountains that surround California’s largest cities. Still, people kept moving and the amount of housing built could not keep up with demand. Traffic on freeways became even more clogged (it’s always been this way since the beginning of the freeways themselves), and nowadays it’s quite popular to expand whatever current public transportation system exists in order to decongest the freeways. Also, last year to alleviate the housing crisis, single-family zoning was eliminated in an effort to provide more housing.

[katamattyon]

People are leaving because of how the politicians run the state

[thepoleontheroad]

Short answer: appalling poverty and homelessness, drug epidemic and wealth inequality. Overall, the place is unliveable unless you're rich.

[ChadSimplicio]

Alot of other comments have already stated what i wanted to say myself. Think the buffoons in Sacramento will order 4 million new apartments & condos to house more working class residents? WRONG! The people in rich areas will object. The farmers in the Central, Sacramento, & Imperial Valleys will object. Long-time residents will object due to many things, including traffic congestion.

As for people that left, it's more than the high cost of living. Many companies like Tesla & SpaceX moved to Texas and took many of its employees with them. Those that moved to Idaho, Texas, & Florida did so for political & cultural reasons. Geoff, the politicians & their rich donors want to turn California into their own version...of Monaco or Dubai.

[kimberlyperrotis]

I think it’s mostly the high cost of housing. Most young couples and families, even with good dual incomes, could not possibly save enough for a down payment on a $1.5 million home, the starter price in my California county, Marin. Then the mortgage payments, taxes and insurance would be very high. Plus, the cost of everything else here in California, like fuel, transportation and food, is very high in this state. I know I want to move since the “homeless” made a huge encampment a block from my house, but when I sell my current home, I probably couldn’t get anything equivalent in other respects. Only the wealthiest can afford to raise a family here, especially if the mother wants to spend the pre-school years at home with their young children, I know I would. Many of us Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964), boomers have an advantage, if we have inherited the assets of our parents, or received financial assistance from them while they were alive. But, we Boomers are in our 60s or older now, much too late to start families. I know my ex and I could never afford to have children, although we are both degreed professionals. We just couldn’t afford for me to not work full-time and our tiny cottage would have been too small.

[Rob_Bernabe]

Horrible government policies, high taxes, lack of school choice, extremely unfriendly business climate are all more significant than the cost of living - since much of the cost of living has to do with bad policy (save housing prices).
California has no excuse - could be so much better.
This state is a sadly in serious decline.

[brandons]

I grew up in California but moved away 20 years ago. Amazing state but it goes to show that terrible politicians can blow even the greatest of hands 🤦🏻‍♂️ Honestly, I sometimes wonder if they fail on purpose 🤔