Why I’ll Be Leaving California

 

I grew up in California, left for nearly a decade before moving back a few years ago. I can tell you from experience: there’s plenty to dislike about California. However, it’s the smarmy, self-righteous, holier-than-thou attitude that will finally motivate me to leave California.

In the above article, Joe Ferullo asks that those who left California for Texas return. He states that Texas laws on voting security, firearms, abortion, minimum wage, and critical race theory violate the mission statements of the tech companies that have vacated the sunshine state. Of course, Hewlett-Packard must defend late-term abortions. How could they make laptops otherwise?

When I finally leave California, it won’t be that my wife and I pay six figures in state income tax. It won’t be that despite (or because of) paying all that money to the government, we still can’t afford to buy a house. It won’t be that, as doctors, we make less in California than we would make elsewhere in the country.

It’ll be due to our smug neighbors tell us we are lucky to pay insane rent for a house with a leaking roof and a rodent infestation (we actually got a good deal considering the alternatives). It’ll be to escape the “tenant advocates” who don’t understand why draconian rent control and tenant protections drive up rents. It’ll be the NIMBY homeowners who refuse to allow new construction, perpetuating discrimination and a housing shortage while proudly displaying a “Black Lives Matter” sign in their all-white neighborhood.

It won’t be the human feces on my front doorstep. It won’t be the aggressive homeless who assault my wife and expose themselves to my daughter. It won’t be piles of syringes next to the drooling addict passed out at my office door.

It’ll be the self-righteous public health officers that insist they care about the homeless, the drug addicts, and the mentally impaired while refusing to actually provide any meaningful treatment or housing. It’ll be the shrill leftists insisting we confiscate private property and redistribute even more to the poor.

I won’t leave because private school is the only option for my kid. I’ll be leaving because of the sanctimonious school board that is more interested in renaming schools than re-opening them. I’ll move because our Governor lies to us about the differences in public and private school rates of in-person teaching.

I’m no economist, but I’ve read enough Hayek, Friedman, and Sowell to understand why the cost of living is so damn high in California. That won’t be why I leave, though. I’ll leave because the Marxists smugly tell me about class struggle and greed.

I’ll leave because they openly state that they will eat me first.

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  1. The Cynthonian Inactive
    The Cynthonian
    @TheCynthonian

    Come to Arizona!  We need more docs, and the state is not run by crazy people (a few jurisdictions, yes).  

    • #1
  2. navyjag Coolidge
    navyjag
    @navyjag

    You must live in San Fran Dr. C.  Understand completely.  I was lucky that that U.S. Navy sent me here 48 years ago so we could buy a reasonably priced home. And private schools (we are both lawyers) were affordable. Forget public schools.  No crap on my doorstep yet but a homeless guy camped at a hospital entrance across the street. So the question is whether great weather (60 degrees today) worth an extra $100K a year?  I say no; wife is contemplating.  You headed to Las Vegas or Texas? Many of my clients going that way. 

    • #2
  3. Dr. Craniotomy Coolidge
    Dr. Craniotomy
    @Craniotomy

    navyjag (View Comment):

    So the question is whether great weather (60 degrees today) worth an extra $100K a year? 

    It’s just $100k a year in state income tax. The salary outside CA is also about $100-200k higher. Plus the cost of living tops it off. I never made this a financial decision but man it hurts to think how comfortable I could be elsewhere. 

    • #3
  4. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    The Cynthonian (View Comment):

    Come to Arizona! We need more docs, and the state is not run by crazy people (a few jurisdictions, yes).

    Arizona is at least purple now, if not blue, thanks I think largely to earlier “flight” from the People’s Republic of California by people who wanted to create the very same thing where they fled TO.

    I left Arizona almost exactly a year ago.  I was in Phoenix, and maybe there are certain places still in the state that wouldn’t be so bad (other than the risk of perhaps encountering Gary) but on the whole I’m happier being out of the whole state.

    I also got really tired of the heat.  Even if you go there later in the fall when it’s subsided, it’ll be waiting for you next year.

    Oh, and of course, Hewlett-Packard doesn’t make laptops in Texas.  They’re made in China.

    • #4
  5. Samuel Block Support
    Samuel Block
    @SamuelBlock

    I almost moved there. (Don’t say CoViD was good for nothing!) My love for my country has made it harder and harder to root for California. It’s an ugly admission, I know. But sometimes an example has to be made. 

    I suppose I’m a bad person.

    • #5
  6. Hartmann von Aue Member
    Hartmann von Aue
    @HartmannvonAue

    The midwest needs doctors, too. Make Wisconsin (or Minnesota) red! Texas is of course also nice, but eggs in a single basket and all that. 

    • #6
  7. Annefy Member
    Annefy
    @Annefy

    After awhile, living in California does feel like a hostage situation. Such a great state. Took a lot of work to ruin it. Lucky us – we’ve had many devoted to the cause. 

    I left twice and returned both times, so for many years I considered myself a born-again Californian. 

    We’ll be gone soon. Half my brothers and sisters have already bugged out, as have three of my four children. And, alas, all of our grandchildren. 

    I won’t even look over my shoulder when the U Haul pulls out of the driveway 

    • #7
  8. Gary Robbins Member
    Gary Robbins
    @GaryRobbins

    kedavis (View Comment):

    The Cynthonian (View Comment):

    Come to Arizona! We need more docs, and the state is not run by crazy people (a few jurisdictions, yes).

    Arizona is at least purple now, if not blue, thanks I think largely to earlier “flight” from the People’s Republic of California by people who wanted to create the very same thing where they fled TO.

    I left Arizona almost exactly a year ago. I was in Phoenix, and maybe there are certain places still in the state that wouldn’t be so bad (other than the risk of perhaps encountering Gary) but on the whole I’m happier being out of the whole state.

    I also got really tired of the heat. Even if you go there later in the fall when it’s subsided, it’ll be waiting for you next year.

    Oh, and of course, Hewlett-Packard doesn’t make laptops in Texas. They’re made in China.

    I’d like to suggest that cheap shots at another member of the Ricochet community in a wholly unconnected post about a completely different issue cheapens our discourse and hurts our community.  If you want to disagree with me in a post that I have written or is germane to an issue that I have raised, that’s fine.  But I have never opined about the virtues of living in or leaving the State of California, so a cheap shot in a wholly unrelated post is not okay and frankly, you should be ashamed of yourself for harming the community and our community standards.  

    • #8
  9. BillJackson Inactive
    BillJackson
    @BillJackson

    Good luck and godspeed. Moving doesn’t change everything, but speaking from experience, it changes almost everything. 

    And I, too, live in a smug, expensive part of the world that knows — just knows — that all the problems in the world are just the fault of non-progressives. Leaving them behind will make such a difference for you. I hope it happens quickly for you.

     

    • #9
  10. Mountie Coolidge
    Mountie
    @Mountie

    Dr. Craniotomy: I’ll leave because they openly state that they will eat me first. 

    Bingo.

     

    • #10
  11. Buckpasser Member
    Buckpasser
    @Buckpasser

    My wife and I moved to California after college in Arizona in 1978.  At that time it seemed like an ideal place.  We were able to buy houses and raised two kids without having to have my wife work.  The steady deterioration of California took awhile to notice.  Last year COVID restrictions and increasing crime, we were in Carlsbad not San Francisco, became too much.  With the kids on their own and married we left for Florida and won’t be coming back.

    • #11
  12. DonG (2+2=5. Say it!) Coolidge
    DonG (2+2=5. Say it!)
    @DonG

    My wife and I left Calif. 30 years ago.  The taxes were too high and water management didn’t seem sustainable. We were in Pasadena, so the weather is not much different than Texas.  Not all of Calif. has San Diego weather.

    • #12
  13. Seawriter Contributor
    Seawriter
    @Seawriter

    Texas is hot this time of year, but the rest of the climate (personal, political, economic) is quite nice. 

    • #13
  14. Stad Coolidge
    Stad
    @Stad

    Samuel Block (View Comment):
    I almost moved there.

    I did too – in 1982.  I interviewed at the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant.  I fell in love with San Luis Obispo – until I saw the price of houses.  Even rent was too expensive to allow me to save up for a house.  Reluctantly, I said, “Thanks, but no thanks.”  Looking back, I think I dodged a bullet . . .

    • #14
  15. Front Seat Cat Member
    Front Seat Cat
    @FrontSeatCat

    Florida needs good doctors too. Everyone is moving here from CA and other states under siege and there aren’t enough to handle the influx.  Better hurry up – there’s a housing shortage now too, and rentals.  It’s sick and tragic that a beautiful state like CA is being ruined by its idiot leadership – the same with the other blue states. 

    • #15
  16. The Cynthonian Inactive
    The Cynthonian
    @TheCynthonian

    kedavis (View Comment):

    The Cynthonian (View Comment):

    Come to Arizona! We need more docs, and the state is not run by crazy people (a few jurisdictions, yes).

    Arizona is at least purple now, if not blue, thanks I think largely to earlier “flight” from the People’s Republic of California by people who wanted to create the very same thing where they fled TO.

    I left Arizona almost exactly a year ago. I was in Phoenix, and maybe there are certain places still in the state that wouldn’t be so bad (other than the risk of perhaps encountering Gary) but on the whole I’m happier being out of the whole state.

    I also got really tired of the heat. Even if you go there later in the fall when it’s subsided, it’ll be waiting for you next year.

    Oh, and of course, Hewlett-Packard doesn’t make laptops in Texas. They’re made in China.

    You lived in the wrong part of the state.  I’m in very red Yavapai County, where we have four seasons.   We are currently enjoying a lovely rainy monsoon season, unlike the last two years, which were poor monsoon seasons.

    • #16
  17. Gary Robbins Member
    Gary Robbins
    @GaryRobbins

    The Cynthonian (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    The Cynthonian (View Comment):

    Come to Arizona! We need more docs, and the state is not run by crazy people (a few jurisdictions, yes).

    Arizona is at least purple now, if not blue, thanks I think largely to earlier “flight” from the People’s Republic of California by people who wanted to create the very same thing where they fled TO.

    I left Arizona almost exactly a year ago. I was in Phoenix, and maybe there are certain places still in the state that wouldn’t be so bad (other than the risk of perhaps encountering Gary) but on the whole I’m happier being out of the whole state.

    I also got really tired of the heat. Even if you go there later in the fall when it’s subsided, it’ll be waiting for you next year.

    Oh, and of course, Hewlett-Packard doesn’t make laptops in Texas. They’re made in China.

    You lived in the wrong part of the state. I’m in very red Yavapai County, where we have four seasons. We are currently enjoying a lovely rainy monsoon season, unlike the last two years, which were poor monsoon seasons.

    Yavapai County is very, very beautiful.  It is also very, very conservative.  I prefer lots of snow, but that is just me.  

    • #17
  18. Annefy Member
    Annefy
    @Annefy

    DonG (2+2=5. Say it!) (View Comment):

    My wife and I left Calif. 30 years ago. The taxes were too high and water management didn’t seem sustainable. We were in Pasadena, so the weather is not much different than Texas. Not all of Calif. has San Diego weather.

    My daughter just relocated to TX. People here constantly warn her about the weather there. Her reply is that she grew up  in Monrovia in a 100 year old house with no AC and doesn’t scare easy. 

    • #18
  19. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Seawriter (View Comment):

    Texas is hot this time of year, but the rest of the climate (personal, political, economic) is quite nice.

    Hotter than Phoenix?

    • #19
  20. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    DonG (2+2=5. Say it!) (View Comment):

    My wife and I left Calif. 30 years ago. The taxes were too high and water management didn’t seem sustainable. We were in Pasadena, so the weather is not much different than Texas. Not all of Calif. has San Diego weather.

    It seems like they haven’t built/started a water management project for about 50 years.

    • #20
  21. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    The Cynthonian (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    The Cynthonian (View Comment):

    Come to Arizona! We need more docs, and the state is not run by crazy people (a few jurisdictions, yes).

    Arizona is at least purple now, if not blue, thanks I think largely to earlier “flight” from the People’s Republic of California by people who wanted to create the very same thing where they fled TO.

    I left Arizona almost exactly a year ago. I was in Phoenix, and maybe there are certain places still in the state that wouldn’t be so bad (other than the risk of perhaps encountering Gary) but on the whole I’m happier being out of the whole state.

    I also got really tired of the heat. Even if you go there later in the fall when it’s subsided, it’ll be waiting for you next year.

    Oh, and of course, Hewlett-Packard doesn’t make laptops in Texas. They’re made in China.

    You lived in the wrong part of the state. I’m in very red Yavapai County, where we have four seasons. We are currently enjoying a lovely rainy monsoon season, unlike the last two years, which were poor monsoon seasons.

    I left Oregon because of too much cold, snow, and rain.  I wasn’t going to move TO Yavapai County after that.  At least not directly.  I lived a couple years in Black Canyon City, which had other problems that pushed me back to Phoenix before leaving Arizona entirely.

    • #21
  22. DonG (2+2=5. Say it!) Coolidge
    DonG (2+2=5. Say it!)
    @DonG

    Annefy (View Comment):

    DonG (2+2=5. Say it!) (View Comment):

    My wife and I left Calif. 30 years ago. The taxes were too high and water management didn’t seem sustainable. We were in Pasadena, so the weather is not much different than Texas. Not all of Calif. has San Diego weather.

    My daughter just relocated to TX. People here constantly warn her about the weather there. Her reply is that she grew up in Monrovia in a 100 year old house with no AC and doesn’t scare easy.

    Cold kills people–literally.  

    • #22
  23. Seawriter Contributor
    Seawriter
    @Seawriter

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Seawriter (View Comment):

    Texas is hot this time of year, but the rest of the climate (personal, political, economic) is quite nice.

    Hotter than Phoenix?

    Depends on where in Texas.

    • #23
  24. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    DonG (2+2=5. Say it!) (View Comment):

    Annefy (View Comment):

    DonG (2+2=5. Say it!) (View Comment):

    My wife and I left Calif. 30 years ago. The taxes were too high and water management didn’t seem sustainable. We were in Pasadena, so the weather is not much different than Texas. Not all of Calif. has San Diego weather.

    My daughter just relocated to TX. People here constantly warn her about the weather there. Her reply is that she grew up in Monrovia in a 100 year old house with no AC and doesn’t scare easy.

    Cold kills people–literally.

    Yes, far more than heat does.  Which is why, when it happened in the long-distant past before SUVs and power plants, “global warming” was a GOOD thing.

    • #24
  25. Rodin Member
    Rodin
    @Rodin

    Left California in December last year. My wife lived there all of her life expect for 3 years in New Mexico just after we were married. I lived in California for 34 years having kept my promise to Mrs Rodin that she didn’t have to live in New Mexico forever. California is physically beautiful and amazing. But buggered beyond belief in the past 34 years. So we relocated very happily to East Tennessee. Can highly recommend it for liberty and sanity.

    • #25
  26. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Rodin (View Comment):

    Left California in December last year. My wife lived there all of her life expect for 3 years in New Mexico just after we were married. I lived in California for 34 years having kept my promise to Mrs Rodin that she didn’t have to live in New Mexico forever. California is physically beautiful and amazing. But buggered beyond belief in the past 34 years. So we relocated very happily to East Tennessee. Can highly recommend it for liberty and sanity.

    Just need to go back and build the wall around California to keep the Calif Variant from escaping.

    • #26
  27. navyjag Coolidge
    navyjag
    @navyjag

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Rodin (View Comment):

    Left California in December last year. My wife lived there all of her life expect for 3 years in New Mexico just after we were married. I lived in California for 34 years having kept my promise to Mrs Rodin that she didn’t have to live in New Mexico forever. California is physically beautiful and amazing. But buggered beyond belief in the past 34 years. So we relocated very happily to East Tennessee. Can highly recommend it for liberty and sanity.

    Just need to go back and build the wall around California to keep the Calif Variant from escaping.

    Just don’t finish it before I can make my escape. 

    • #27
  28. Chuck Coolidge
    Chuck
    @Chuckles

    Samuel Block (View Comment):

     

    I suppose I’m a bad person.

    Nobody’s perfect.

    • #28
  29. Seawriter Contributor
    Seawriter
    @Seawriter

    navyjag (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Rodin (View Comment):

    Left California in December last year. My wife lived there all of her life expect for 3 years in New Mexico just after we were married. I lived in California for 34 years having kept my promise to Mrs Rodin that she didn’t have to live in New Mexico forever. California is physically beautiful and amazing. But buggered beyond belief in the past 34 years. So we relocated very happily to East Tennessee. Can highly recommend it for liberty and sanity.

    Just need to go back and build the wall around California to keep the Calif Variant from escaping.

    Just don’t finish it before I can make my escape.

    Time and tide . . .

    • #29
  30. Annefy Member
    Annefy
    @Annefy

    navyjag (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Rodin (View Comment):

    Left California in December last year. My wife lived there all of her life expect for 3 years in New Mexico just after we were married. I lived in California for 34 years having kept my promise to Mrs Rodin that she didn’t have to live in New Mexico forever. California is physically beautiful and amazing. But buggered beyond belief in the past 34 years. So we relocated very happily to East Tennessee. Can highly recommend it for liberty and sanity.

    Just need to go back and build the wall around California to keep the Calif Variant from escaping.

    Just don’t finish it before I can make my escape.

    I met Ted Cruz once and said “I hope to get to Texas before I need a passport”

    • #30
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