California population declines for second year in a row

[Blansky]

Originally Posted by brandrea

Damn you Blansky ….

Up here, I’ll be tobogganing down to the river to go ice fishing.

Thoughts and prayers.

I can fit 4 in my helicopter if you want to join me. I gotta warn you it's sunny 77 ........er.....25C with a very high chance of beers.

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by Blansky

Thoughts and prayers.



I can fit 4 in my helicopter if you want to join me. I gotta warn you it's sunny 77 ........er.....25C with a very high chance of beers.

Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk

[SDGT3]

https://ktla.com/news/california/7-c...ft-california/

[Blansky]

Originally Posted by SDGT3

https://ktla.com/news/california/7-c...ft-california/

This is news??? Lots of Hollywood celebs don't live in LA. Always been that way.

You're trying waaaaay too hard.

BREAKING NEWS......."Hollywood" isn't really in Hollywood.

[warrior]

Great post with some balance and nuance. Seems like a lot of people are addicted to their opinion news casts. Political/Yahoo fanaticism run amok. As some have stated, every state has their weaknesses and problems. But, that's not really sexy, one sided fanatical enough for some to digest.

Originally Posted by TheVTCGuy

To those of you completely bashing my home state….

I love California, I was born here and except for attending a boarding military school in Michigan as a teenager and living in Mexico for a year (also as a teenager) I have lived here all my life. Wherever you live, be it Fairbanks, or Tahiti, if you are happy there then more power to you. Let’s look at some of the issue people have brought up (bashed) California about.

1. High Taxes and cost of living. Yep, can’t argue that. My 685 square foot condo is near the beach, the money that costs could pretty much buy a mansion in a midwest state. My friends sold their modest home in a modest part of San Diego, and bought a 3,000 square foot, four-bedroom home with one acre of land in Texas. I admit, I understand the allure. Everything here is very expensive; no argument.

2. Crime California ranks 19th,

https://worldpopulationreview.com/st...-rate-by-state

If this is an issue for you, and your priority is to live in a state that has a lower rating, I can not question your motives, more power to you. To those of you that are portraying my state as a crime-controlled dystopian community like in the movie escape from New York, you are WRONG. I am not bragging about 19th, I wish we were 50th, but I hardly carry out my day concerned I will be the victim of a violent crime. I take practical precautions, like every other state we have good and bad areas, but be basically vigilant and crime does not enter in to your life.

3. Homeless Yes, California ranks highest in homelessness, it is exceptionally bad in LA

https://worldpopulationreview.com/st...ation-by-state

Two points: A. We have the most homeless population, around 161,000, however we also have the most PEOPLE in the country, by around seven million more then the second-most populous state. B. Homeless tend to migrate to our state because of the mild weather. I see it, and there are parts of LA that are absolutely disgusting, but show me any major city in the US that does not have a homeless problem.

4. Politics - I won’t (can’t) get in to it here, but I will say this. We (California) have always been progressive. One example is the clean-air standards. Our requirements for vehicles were much more strict then the rest of the country back in the 80s, eventually, EVERY state adopted those standards. New, gasoline-only cars can not be sold in our state starting in 2035. New York has adopted the same standard. 12 COUNTRIES, Germany, Norway, etc. have adopted similar standards of switching to EVs. Personally, I value this attitude and am proud of our efforts towards the environment.

Again, if you live in a cabin in remote Alaska, are happy, I commend you and more power to you. If you live in downtown NY and enjoy life, good on you again. Wherever someone chooses to live taking in ALL the aspects, weather, cost of living, crime, pollution, education etc. I respect their decision and wish them well. For those of you that have trashed my home state, calling it crime-ridden, crowded, basically one step away from hell, I ask you: If it is such a terrible state why is it the most populous? We have problems, but over all I think it is an excellent place to live. I am surprised the population declined the last two years but am not sad. As a matter of fact, I wouldn’t mind locking the door and not letting anyone else in (but that’s me).

This thread was not started as a California-bashing symposium, but to discuss the allure of being able to buy more with the dollar, more space etc. Those of you that have claimed it is crime ridden and flooded with homeless and one step out of purgatory, take a look at your own state before you throw insults.

[SDGT3]

Originally Posted by Blansky

This is news??? Lots of Hollywood celebs don't live in LA. Always been that way.

You're trying waaaaay too hard.

BREAKING NEWS......."Hollywood" isn't really in Hollywood.

my fault for not typing subtitles. I presumed you would have read the article and garnered that these were people not affected by money decisions but rather left because of the state of the state/lifestyle.

A different angle and data point is a recent National Association of Home Builders listing the regulatory compliance cost associated with building a new home in the US is appx. 25% of purchase price. The most extreme percentage in the US is in San Diego County where the cost is 55% of purchase price.

[warrior]

50 Best Places to live in the US, according to Niche. 2021. Criteria and Guess which STATE has the most???? COUNT 'em up. Maybe Niche doesn't watch/ listen to politically motivated opinion news for fanatics and yahoos.

https://www.travelandleisure.com/tri...live-in-the-us

[HHIslander]

Originally Posted by warrior

Best places to live in the US, according to Niche. 2021. Criteria and Guess which state has the most? COUNT 'em up. Maybe Niche doesn't watch/ listen to politically motivated opinion news for fanatics

https://www.travelandleisure.com/tri...live-in-the-us

California has 8, Texas has 7 in that list. California has population of 40m, Texas has 30m.

Not sure I’d be doing any bragging here.

[warrior]

Yeah...and you're missing the point. I'm not from CA. I'm not into yahooism and telling people which state is better within the context of this thread. You're hair splitting.

Originally Posted by HHIslander

California has 8, Texas has 7 in that list. California has population of 40m, Texas has 30m.

Not sure I’d be doing any bragging here.

[HHIslander]

Originally Posted by warrior

Yeah...and you're missing the point.

Which is?

[HHIslander]

Originally Posted by warrior

Yeah...and you're missing the point. I'm not from CA. I'm not into yahooism and telling people which state is better within the context of this thread. You're hair splitting.

Then why did you make that post? You’re literally trying to argue CA is best, are you not?

[warrior]

The point is that California is a big state ( bigger than TX in population but not by a large amount 40/30 based on what you say) and there's nuance and balance to be gleaned. Not from ridiculous and overbroad hate filled posts against different states. As I said, every state has strengths and weaknesses. Read what I said earlier in response to the OP's post.

Originally Posted by HHIslander

Which is?

[warrior]

Absolutely not. I'm not from CA, NOR do I prefer living there.

Originally Posted by HHIslander

Then why did you make that post? You’re literally trying to argue CA is best, are you not?

[Blansky]

Originally Posted by SDGT3

my fault for not typing subtitles. I presumed you would have read the article and garnered that these were people not affected by money decisions but rather left because of the state of the state/lifestyle.

.

Lots of celebs choose to live elsewhere for a multitude of reasons. They are constantly harassed by paparazzi where ever they go, and once they have kids they actually fear for their safety. Many have stalkers and mentally ill people looking for them. There’s a lot of really sick people out there. There are actually companies they have to hire that track stalkers and monitor them.

Even idiots and fans in restaurants will bother them as well in stores and on the street.

They can move elsewhere and most people will respect their privacy and leave them and their kids alone to allow them to bring their kids up as normal as possible. There are lots of horror stories of actors kids turning out real badly by living in the celeb culture of LA.

Lots of actors live in NY as well since there is also work there.

There is nothing new here, unless you're constantly seeking attention like Kardashians, actors have been living outside the bubble for decades.

[Chester01]

Folks also don't seem to take a wider view here. There is a reason states are popular and when states are popular that brings more folks in, drives costs up, and then there becomes a now boom town as folks move on. Folks like to get into well CA is in decline and everyone is moving to fill in the blank....texas, nc, etc. Well those places will get populated and drive up costs, looking at Austin, San Antonio w/ taxes not far off from mine here in the garden state. Then TN became popular and well lookie at the prices of things in Nashville. The in-laws moved to East TN years ago and yep they have a nice big house, but are 40 minutes away from everything. We visited them and my son was sick, it was like 40 minute trip to CVS and trying to get any kind of organic produce was an adventure and took another 50 minute car ride.

Folks also may want to see things from the political lens, but much of CA issues are related to the fact its populated and the issues there are issues everywhere, its just CA is a big state and gets outsized attention for everything on the news.

[TheVTCGuy]

I was very surprised by this article, it states New Jersey has the highest property taxes, California is not even in the top ten.

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-sta...property-taxes

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by TheVTCGuy

I was very surprised by this article, it states New Jersey has the highest property taxes, California is not even in the top ten.

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-sta...property-taxes

Th8s ha are looking up for you folks who live in CA

[singe89]

Politics aside CA does have very high taxes and cost of living but it also can provide some of the best quality of life (in some areas) when it comes to weather, outdoor activities, quality restaurants, entrainment, shopping, sports, etc.

As the 3rd largest state in land size and largest in population at almost 40m it’s also very diverse in people and especially geography (ocean, mountains, forests, deserts, wine vineyards, etc.) it’s by far the most unique state.

Not everything you see on the news or social media about homeless, crime, rundown cities, political oppression/lack of freedom or even things like traffic are the same throughout the state. I’ve looked at moving many times but don’t see a better quality of life for my family that beats out south coastal OC at this point.

I’m not a fan of LA (other than sports and food) but this can shed some light on population density and the issues they are having. LA has some very bad parts but I’ve recently been to Chicago, Dallas, Austin, Denver, Nashville and Charolette and they have similar issues with homeless.



As for south coastal OC I see FAR less homeless and really don’t have the other issues you see either. It’s also nice that there is a 12* summer to winter avg temp swing, no humidity and no bugs.



This was a weekend last January. Bike ride down the hill to the beach, back to the house for a BBQ and FBS Bowl games then off to my Mammoth place the next morning for 10+ feet of fresh powder.



I’ve been doing research on leaving CA for 2 or so years now and I’ve traveled to almost every state, major cities and surrounding areas and haven’t found of place with overall better quality of life for my family (even if it is MUCH cheaper). Always looking though if you have any suggestions.

Other pics of costal SoCal and Mammoth.

[AzPaul]

This thread is one for the books.

My state is great!

Nuh-uh, your state is awful!

Nuh-uh, my state is great!

Nuh-uh, your state is awful!

Hopefully we'll get 7 or 8 more pages.

[warrior]

So, what do you think is the cause of that during these times? Inquiring minds want to know....

Originally Posted by AzPaul

This thread is one for the books.

My state is great!

Nuh-uh, your state is awful!

Nuh-uh, my state is great!

Nuh-uh, your state is awful!

Hopefully we'll get 7 or 8 more pages.

[enjoythemusic]

[Chester01]

Originally Posted by TheVTCGuy

I was very surprised by this article, it states New Jersey has the highest property taxes, California is not even in the top ten.

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-sta...property-taxes

I know, but the data is misleading. For example, a few years ago, I was paying like 9k property tax at the time here in NJ (cheap by NJ standards) then I looked in San Antonio at half dozen homes (was considering a move) and the taxes were like 7K for a nicer home than mine in NJ, but not a more expensive home. Now look at the data, and they are like well the property tax is like 4,700 on average.

[GB-man]

I live in an area most here would rather drop dead than visit and I could not be happier. I laugh at the notion that people can't be happy in California. I do however feel for the people in the influx spots being inundated by transplants.

[pickettt]

Originally Posted by GB-man

I do however feel for the people in the influx spots being inundated by transplants.

Gentrification is only a bad thing when it’s happening to your locale, I guess.

[singe89]

Originally Posted by TheVTCGuy

I was very surprised by this article, it states New Jersey has the highest property taxes, California is not even in the top ten.

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-sta...property-taxes

One of the only low cost things about CA is prop 13 for property tax. State wide is usually around 1.1% property tax on purchase price (plus mello roos) but then prop 13 kicks in and can only increase by 2% per year. Even now after 8 years my primary house is up 150%+ in value with appreciation and additions but paying a effective rate of around 0.5%. Was looking at similar value properties in TX and would be paying $60-70k a year more in property tax and increasing as value increases. CA you can pay up to 13.3% income tax vs TX 0% so TX is great in working years but CA might be better suited for me if I look at early retirement years.

[enjoythemusic]

Originally Posted by GB-man

I live in an area most here would rather drop dead than visit and I could not be happier.

That's truly awesome!

Reminds me of.... Had a truly brilliant physicist friend in Boston who lived in a very sketchy part of Jamaica Plain. MIT and Princeton tried to hire him as a Professor yet he didn't want any of it and was happy in his low-cost living environment spinning vinyl LPs and 78s. He was happy with the life he had created for himself and didn't want any part of wealth (though he was quite well off) and had little regard for academia.

In hindsight, he was A LOT smarter than i ever imagined.

Don't worry, be happy

[warrior]

It’s Jamaica Plain btw. Funny because one of my law school professors lived there, too.

Originally Posted by enjoythemusic

That's truly awesome!

Reminds me of.... Had a truly brilliant physicist friend in Boston who lived in a very sketchy part of Jamaica Planes. MIT and Princeton tried to hire him as a Professor yet he didn't want any of it and was happy in his low-cost living environment spinning vinyl LPs and 78s. He was happy with the life he had created for himself and didn't want any part of wealth (though he was quite well off) and had little regard for academia.

In hindsight, he was A LOT smarter than i ever imagined.

Don't worry, be happy

[Blansky]

Originally Posted by warrior

So, what do you think is the cause of that during these times? Inquiring minds want to know....

These are merely thinly disguised political threads that have been going on for a while, probably parroted from people listing to their favorite media.

Red media trying to turn blue California to red which is fine as long and people understand that's the games they play. Most don't realize they're being played by the conflict entrepreneurs harping about things.

I've lived in California since Reagan under both Dem and Republican presidents and under both party governors and I really can't think of a time it felt any different from one era to the next.

Live where you want. I do.

[enjoythemusic]

Originally Posted by warrior

It’s Jamaica Plain btw. Funny because one of my law school professors lived there, too.

Thx and corrected the spelling.

Yeah, my longtime friend was amazingly brilliant, about 10 years ago Princeton offered him $250k/yr, free housing, etc and he still declined their offer. All his friends agreed he would have made a truly EPIC professor as his presence and public speaking voice and... he is missed dearly. :(

Funny thing is, some of the best lessons in life learned (personally) were when i was homeless. Sad to see so many humans chase after the almighty illusion of currencies. And for some, they never have enough(!?!).

Food For Thought: There are billions in currencies created for war, but not to feed the poor.

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by singe89

Politics aside CA does have very high taxes and cost of living but it also can provide some of the best quality of life (in some areas) when it comes to weather, outdoor activities, quality restaurants, entrainment, shopping, sports, etc.

As the 3rd largest state in land size and largest in population at almost 40m it’s also very diverse in people and especially geography (ocean, mountains, forests, deserts, wine vineyards, etc.) it’s by far the most unique state.

Not everything you see on the news or social media about homeless, crime, rundown cities, political oppression/lack of freedom or even things like traffic are the same throughout the state. I’ve looked at moving many times but don’t see a better quality of life for my family that beats out south coastal OC at this point.

California clearly sucks Jim. I don’t know why anyone would want to live there