California is great, and it’s a popular place for people to move. Whether it’s for the jobs, weather, nature, or lifestyle, many people are making their way to the West Coast.
Just like people move here, people also move away. Some big names like Elon Musk have moved, but there’s also regular people who have decided they’re better off somewhere else.
Every decision in life is a mix of pros and cons. Some decisions are easier than others, and people have left California for valid reasons. Whether you’re looking to move out of California or come for the first time, let’s take a look at excuses and evaluate whether or not life would be better outside of the Golden State.
Cost of Living
It comes as a surprise to no one that California is expensive. In fact, it has the second highest cost of living in the United States. Pretty much everything has an inflated cost in the state when you compare to the national average: food, transportation, rent, and taxes. Day to day life has an expense, and the bigger cities have even higher costs of living.
California often adjusts wages for its cost of living. In 2021, the minimum wage will be $14, almost double the federal minimum of $7.25. Of course, most people aspire to live above the minimum wage, and other jobs are also adjusted for the cost of life in California.
Ultimately, this will always be a valid reason to leave but it should not be a surprise. California has always been expensive, and this is fully transparent before anyone relocates to California. For the natives, they will certainly see how different their lives will be when they move. Not necessarily a bad thing, but the cost of living in California should never be considered a shock to anyone.
Housing Costs
If your dream is owning a house, it’s not impossible in California. It is really expensive, way more expensive than the bulk of the country. The median house costs $600,000 and the average 2 bedroom apartments rents for $1,900/month. This is very expensive, making the California dream more unobtainable than ever.
Of course, a lot of this depends on where you live. Also, real estate can be a huge investment but a costly one to buy into. Assuming you want to buy a home in a city you desire, you might find better options outside of California.
Much like any other price-related issues, you should not come as a surprise. However, many people start out renting then they want to buy real estate. When the reality of California real estate prices become personal, people start to look elsewhere. It’s hard to justify paying $400,000 for a one bedroom condo when you can get four beds and land in states like Arizona. At that point, moving is a personal choice. It’s hard to replicate the weather and experiences you find in California elsewhere, but you quickly realize they come at a premium. You need to be certain the desire to own real estate is greater than you love for the California life.
Overcrowding
This can be one of the most frustrating issues in all of California. The number of people. Ironically, an article about people leaving California needs to address the fact that many cities are overrun by people. This makes finding housing, especially affordable housing, more challenging than most outsiders would anticipate.
Homelessness is a real issue in the state, which accounts for 22% of America’s homeless population and this continues to ride. Between 2018 and 2019, homelessness rose by 16%. Housing contrition has slowed, and an alarming number of people are finding themselves without shelter. You can expect to see homeless people when you leave the house or on any trip to a store. While it’s not my position to assign blame, people can feel the impact on their safety and peace of mind.
As this trend has increased over the past few years, it can be discouraging for newer residents. It’s also a concern that has become increasingly prominent in the major cities and is not trending favorably. Overpopulations can cause a number of problems, and as people plan for their longterm goals, the unpredictability of housing may make housing outside of California look like a better choice.
Politics
As a whole, California has a reputation for being a blue state. It’s true, but there are still many conservatives in the state. In fact, there are more registered republicans in California than there are people in the entire state of Louisiana. This means many people are going to feel unrepresented by the state’s government and frustrated by their laws.
Like most states, the bulk of the population surrounds the major cities in California. However, California is a huge state with a lot of land. The voice of the voters don’t always support the needs of farmers and rural populations.
While the political landscape in California shouldn’t be a shocker, it doesn’t always impact people until their career paths change. Small businesses are subject to strict regulations and this has only been tightened this year. As the pandemic spread, small businesses were forced to close down or limit business. The financial strain has closed some businesses and forced some owners to consider relocation. These struggles would have been unpredictable in 2019, which makes the 2020 regulations more challenging for people who were unprepared.
Employment Changes
Many people aspire to move to California for its career prospects. Silicon Valley is known for its tech scene the LA is the entertainment hub of the nation. There’s a lot of opportunities here and it’s easy to understand why people would fantasize about the opportunities here.
The COVID happened, and the employment landscape changed. Unemployment claims spiked, and many people are dealing with joblessness. However, this is not exclusive to California. What does impact the state is the changes to the office.
Many companies are embracing a remote work environment. This allows people relocate and receive the same paycheck adjusted for California life. Anyone entertaining the idea of leaving California may see this as their best opportunity to leave. Worst case scenario? You can return with the same pay rate. Plus, remote work will allow people to work at tech companies without needed to relocate to California. This cloud decrease the number of people moving to California while people continue to leave.
California: Leave or Stay
Ultimately, the choice to leave California is a personal one. Many of the reasons people leave are entirely predictable. Other reasons are a result of modern changes that highlight issues that have always been looming under the surface.
For years, growth was just slowing. People were leaving, but we still had more people coming into the state. Now, we officially have more people leaving than coming into the state. Some of this can be attributed to the pandemic, but the migration out of the state was already happening prior to COVID.
Anyone who had concerns about California life will likely begin to research the topic. As people leave the state, this could be catalyst for change. If you’re unhappy with the changes, you might want to spend some time living outside of the state. It seems like you’ll have plenty of company and save a lot of money.