The Great California Exodus - Hundreds Of Thousands Flee The State (school, tax)

[Bayarea4]

Originally Posted by Ultrarunner

On the other hand... much of the Bay Area was cheering as the last of the bases closed.

Except for the Coast Guard... many in the Bay Area are glad to see the military gone and with that the millions of millions that went into the local economy...

Do you have any source for that statement? I don't know a single person in the Bay Area who was glad the bases left, myself included. During Fleet week we used to see sailors in uniform all over the City, and I miss that. "Cheering as the last of the bases closed" sounds like a Rush Limbaugh talking point or one of those sweeping (and unsubstantiated) generalizations they love to make on Fox News.

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by Bayarea4

Do you have any source for that statement? I don't know a single person in the Bay Area who was glad the bases left, myself included. During Fleet week we used to see sailors in uniform all over the City, and I miss that. "Cheering as the last of the bases closed" sounds like a Rush Limbaugh talking point or one of those sweeping (and unsubstantiated) generalizations they love to make on Fox News.

I would have to look for the op ed pages of the Examiner for print.

Here is an Oakland Army Base link and towards the end it mentions the growing anti-military sentiment of both residents and politicians.

http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2010/...klandarmybase/

I attended city council meetings in Berkeley and Oakland and the support for base closing was at least 4 to one... I believe Berkeley even passed a resolution.

I have friends in Bremerton Washington at the time and they never witnessed a single protest against the military and they were born in Bremerton.

Many Bay Area cities declared Nuclear Free zones and the debate was endless regarding the military.. not that they could be forced to obey... just about why they could skirt the will of local governments.

Two Navy friends.. actually spouses of Nurses I worked with were able to get assistance selling their homes due to the base closings... One commented he had lived all over the country and the Bay Area was the only place he felt unwelcome when in uniform at times.

Berkeley hasn't changed much... the council wanted to ban/prevent military recruiters in the city limits...

Fleet week is a totally different thing... and one I enjoy. Even that is not without controversy.

The only branch to receive wide Bay Area public support is the Coast Guard.

[Bayarea4]

Thanks for the info and the link. I have not seen or heard of any "cheering," but I have been aware that there is a "Nuclear Free Zone" movement and that some peace groups, environmentalists and the like may have been there waving signs because they're against military bases. However, every mature thinking adult that I've talked to around here realizes that the departure of a major employer such as the military is not going to be a good thing for the region's economy even as benefits the environment.

I posted because I don't like the implication that the Bay Area as a whole rose up and cheered when the military left. It's just not so. Even the article you linked to characterizes the idea that liberal anti-military sentiment in the Bay Area is responsible for the bases leaving as a "theory" put forth by "informants" that the author doesn't name.

We love Fleet Week, too. I am sorry if your friend felt unwelcome at times because he was in uniform. My husband served in the Army and I was briefly a reservist stationed at the Presidio. We have never personally witnessed any disrespectful behavior toward the military here in San Francisco.

[tijlover]

California, not all parts, still have that climatic attraction which will always be a great asset to luring people to move there. And there's still the opportunity to attract, if nothing else, lots of retirees, who'd head there to retire as opposed to Florida or AZ or NV.

But for that to happen, you'd first have to force the Nimby's out of that state with red hot pokers, particularly those in Southern California.

Build a wall of affordable condo/apt. towers, starting in Malibu, all the way down to La Jolla, and there you go!

And then it will look like Palm Beach/Fort Lauderdale to Miami!

[Bayarea4]

You've made a valid point, tijlover. For California to become the magnet for retirees that Florida is, the real estate prices here would need to come down. Desirable oceanfront areas such as La Jolla, Carmel and Mendocino would have to turn into miniature Palm Beaches and Fort Lauderdales chock-a-block with high rise condos. Not gonna happen. Californians are protective of their coastal areas and want to save them from overdevelopment. It's a big country, and there are too many other cheap places to retire to where the taxes are lower and there's no snow to shovel in the winter.

DH and I thought about leaving when we both retired. We live in a tiny 2 bedroom 1 bath house, and it can get a little too . . . cozy . . . at times with both of us home all day. We could sell our house and buy a McMansion in Nevada, Texas or Florida, but we'd rather stay here and enjoy the mild weather and all the other advantages that San Francisco has to offer such as access to world-class health care and public transportation, two important considerations when you are getting older. Besides, judging from what I've read in threads here on C-D, I'd rather not move to a place where not only might we feel out of place, but the natives might resent us just because of where we're from. But that's for the Retirement forum.

I have to honestly say I don't blame young families for leaving, though. It's really hard to make a go of it even on two salaries, California schools aren't what they used to be, and commuting is brutal if you live in the suburbs.

[Think4Yourself]

Is this right wing lie still making rounds? The population keeps going up ergo not that many people are leaving. What's more it is almost exclusively retirees and poor people who are leaving and it is mainly because they've been priced out by the number of wealthy people moving in. They can't afford to buy the houses which better heeled people are bidding up. It's that simple.

There is no shame that they are poor and cannot afford it but don't tell me it isn't their fault for not finishing high school or not completing college. They can't afford it because they are unsuccessful and so move to where they can afford to live even if it is a crappy desert. The only other people leaving are retirees who are looking to cash out the appreciation their houses have made in the hopes they can die some where cheap. Neither poor people nor pensioners are economically dynamic and in fact both people are more than made up for by the wealthy people who move into state. Not to mention all the wealth created by new business enterprises.

This is the hard truth which Repubicans are desperate to avoid. Here's the start up map:



That's why California is #1 and will continue to be #1 no matter how many minimum wage jobs move to Texas. We're creating real jobs. Notice how the red states are all dismal failures on this count?

[SunnyTXsmile]

Originally Posted by Gentoo

In California we love recycling, even if it's topics on city-data

lol Right?

And here goes this topic again. Wonder how many pages this one will get to? Any bets?

[Curmudgeon]

Meanwhile those who are unable to think for themselves and can only spew partisan blather and hateful ugliness will continue to flounder with their eyes wide shut! And they deserve to.

[BigDGeek]

A Texan weighing in...

First off, let me say that I have visited southern California and overall, liked it. I wouldn't live in the LA area ever, but I found things to like about it. I also visited San Diego and loved it; if I ever win the lottery, that's where I'll go.

However...

I'm in a state that is one of the biggest recipients, if not the biggest recipient, of California's "economic/cultural refugees". Almost without exception we seem to get one kind of Californian wanting to move here...the one who endlessly bashes the political and economic situation in the state, and who thinks that you can buy a mansion here for what it would cost for a dumpy 1200 sq ft ranch in some far-flung hot and dusty LA suburb.

Not so much.

We're on the receiving end here and I obviously have no control or say over who moves here, but if all you want to do is move here then complain about the lack of beaches, mountains, In N Outs, Trader Joes, etc., please stay in CA. (We do have In N Out and TJ's now, but not very many locations.) And please don't try to make us into California II. Don't come here then instantly start bashing us for our culture, our food, or our geography. We don't want to hear it.

I hope things improve out there. I hear the economic situation there is not pleasant. It's not all sugar and spice here either.

[BlackShoe]

Originally Posted by mydogstinks

If ever there was a hostile environment for the middle class and small business, it is California.

Eventually all that will be left is the incredibly wealthy and those that prey off them.

Originally Posted by expatCA

What makes you think the wealthy are staying?

They may own homes, but they have a different State of residence, so no income tax. It is the middle class that is footing the bill and will do so in the future. Now if it is leaving and the wealthy are leaving, who pays?

Here is still another report that reinforces these opinions.
www.ocregister.com/opinion/california-377207-population-migration.html