Why do people still want to live in California? (Los Angeles: health insurance, safety)

[GBPACKERS1200]

Originally Posted by Racer46

Yes, that is how it works. Start where you can afford and over the years you ca move up. No one deserves to be able to live in the best places just because they want to. Work intelligently for it.

In the places of California that pay well (i.e. Bay Area) people are not asking to live in the “best” areas. They can’t even afford to buy into C-rated areas. Dual income professional families making $200K+ household income have to buy in sketchy neighborhoods like Hayward, San Leandro, East Oakland etc or commute from even worse neighborhoods out in Antioch, Brentwood, and Pittsburg. They are making major trade offs in QOL while in most any metro area outside CA, that same family could afford A-rated areas.

[DabOnEm]

Originally Posted by roadwarrior101

Honestly, I can see why someone who's an ultra right wing conservative would dislike California. These people are not a fan of big government or crowded spaces. They tend to gravitate towards places with lots of land, where they can cling to god and guns, without much opposition. There are open spaces in rural CA, but many people there are going to still complain because their votes are overruled by the coastal cities.

I think much of this is further propagated by Fox News, Trump, etc. that cherry pick bad elements of CA, such as our current wildfire storms, the homeless encampments in the major cities or the state welfare situation. Honestly, a lot of these people would wish CA just falls into the Pacific Ocean (as I've heard by others before) and it frustrates them to no end that CA has had such a successful economic story and provides such influence in the Tech and Entertainment industries. This doesn't fit their model of a failed state. So, it pumps up their egos to come onto this board (and other sources) with cherry picked information to try to raise a point.

"Cling to god and guns". Much of this is propagated by MSNBC, the Atlantic, CNN, etc., that cherry pick elements of conservatives. I don't think people in other states are frustrated at all at California's successful economy for the rich. What they really don't like is the culture which a lot comes from CA and flooded through the social media apps created here. To many a lot of what they see is pure degeneracy, and honestly much of it is.

It's things like that which cause more division. What if they just don't like income taxes or don't like the amount of taxes California takes from your investment earnings versus other states? To me, California was ran much better when it was more mixed politically. Far less homeless, a much stronger middle class, less blackouts, etc. The state is eating itself, and really only beneficial to the rich or very poor now. Hearing this first hand from colleagues/friends in California who make up the middle class but can only afford to rent apartments unless they want to live in San Bernardino or some rundown neighborhood intown.

[Fontucky]

Originally Posted by apple92680

More so back in the 1970s and 1980s, yes. I teach an evening PoliSci class at community college.

Continuous waves of very conservative Californians have made it less so since the late 1990s.

There are now a lot of Redoubt people in Idaho, along with Birthers, Militia types, Doomsday preppers and people who push the QAnon garbage.

Fun fact #238: The infamous Mark Fuhrman, of OJ trial fame, retired to Sandpoint after leaving the LAPD.

[Finper]

Originally Posted by mlb

Hey Packer fan.... we just bought here in California almost 2 years ago. We owned our house in another state outright. Mostly by one of us working full time for almost 30 years - and it wasn’t my husband.

You need double incomes pretty much anywhere to afford a home these days - not just California. We had it easier because NO KIDS. We have owned 3 homes in our lives.... our first down payment was $15K. We built up from there. And our salaries were pathetic. But we figured it out. Most young families do that too. Or they don’t. It’s all about priorities.

We are semi-rural. I travel as much here to shop as I did in Utah - or would in Wisconsin where I am originally from. It’s not that difficult. We’re not in the boonies.

And yes, we have middle class families all around us. With children. Next door neighbor is a high school math teacher and basketball coach. He just bought his house 6 months ago.

So don’t say this life is not for everyone.... because I look around and can prove you wrong. You can have Arizona or Texas .... or Utah and Wisconsin for that matter.

I will say, however, GO PACK GO! Some things are hard to leave behind

You just confirmed everything gbpackers wrote. A middle class person can only buy in a rural area in NCa

[apple92680]

Originally Posted by Fontucky

Fun fact #238: The infamous Mark Fuhrman, of OJ trial fame, retired to Sandpoint after leaving the LAPD.

I heard he lives in Florida lately? If true, that's fascinating.

[apple92680]

Originally Posted by Finper

You just confirmed everything gbpackers wrote. A middle class person can only buy in a rural area in NCa

You're still commenting here? "Beautiful free Arizona" must be pretty boring, eh?

[Veritas Vincit]

Originally Posted by mlb

https://www.eastidahonews.com/2020/0...f-north-idaho/

It’s been a known thing for DECADES.

That's a small % of the population in areas that have seen rapid growth. No doubt those areas have a conservative profile overall, but the city of Coeur d'Alene for instance was pretty close in 2016 between Clinton and Trump with some areas going for Hillary.



I think the fearmongering that all the places beyond CA and parts of the Northeast are dominated by racists, bible-thumping reactionaries etc. is just another way people are manipulated to put up with what's going wrong in CA.



A relative of mine in L.A. who currently rents in a less than great area and can't afford a house in any good areas in L.A. - in spite of being in a two income middle class couple - has expressed interest in AZ and TX, but has also expressed repeatedly that they're afraid they'd be at risk of racist attacks because they have a Spanish last name. Of course in reality a Spanish last name is extremely common in AZ and TX and nothing anyone bats an eyelash at...but they've spent their entire life in L.A. and believe that 'out there' is full of violent militia members eager to get their hands on anyone who isn't WASP.

[Fontucky]

Originally Posted by DabOnEm

To many a lot of what they see is pure degeneracy, and honestly much of it is.

Examples of degeneracy? I'd like to establish a degeneracy baseline before I start spouting off.

Originally Posted by DabOnEm

"Cling to god and guns". Much of this is propagated by MSNBC, the Atlantic, CNN, etc., that cherry pick elements of conservatives.

That clinging to god part can hardly be described as cherry picking. The US is in the top percentile of nations that cling to their deity with a tenacity that approaches certain sects of Islam. The guns part is also an immutable fact, and I'm one of them who clings. (Life member NRA & CRPA)

Originally Posted by DabOnEm

Far less homeless, a much stronger middle class

There's a direct connection between these two. Homelessness and the desiccation of the middle-class isn't a Calif thing, it's a 50-state thing. (Actually, it's a first-world nations thing, the global economy being what it is)

The rest of the country uses the West Coast as a homeless dumping ground, while the ones who can get here on their own do so because of the rumors flashing around through the homeless networks about all of the freebies available and how the weak-as-water large Dem stronghold cities (LA, Portland, Seattle, to name but three) tend to let them do whatever they want, save for the occasional encampment cleanup dog and pony show that's purely for placating a public who has had an assload of the homeless and the problems they bring.

[apple92680]

Originally Posted by Veritas Vincit

That's a small % of the population in areas that have seen rapid growth. No doubt those areas have a conservative profile overall, but the city of Coeur d'Alene for instance was pretty close in 2016 between Clinton and Trump with some areas going for Hillary.

I think the fearmongering that all the places beyond CA and parts of the Northeast are dominated by racists, bible-thumping reactionaries etc. is just another way people are manipulated to put up with what's going wrong in CA.

A relative of mine in L.A. who currently rents in a less than great area and can't afford a house in any good areas in L.A. - in spite of being in a two income middle class couple - has expressed interest in AZ and TX, but has also expressed repeatedly that they're afraid they'd be at risk of racist attacks because they have a Spanish last name. Of course in reality a Spanish last name is extremely common in AZ and TX and nothing anyone bats an eyelash at...but they've spent their entire life in L.A. and believe that 'out there' is full of violent militia members eager to get their hands on anyone who isn't WASP.

You're being disingenuous here. Nobody's worried about WASPs. Why would they be? WASPs are simply white Protestant Americans of British/Northern European ancestry who have obtained an "Old Money" level of wealth and prestige. Most WASPs live in Blue States and in wealthy liberal enclaves in Red states.


What worries some of us is the sketchiness of many people who've embraced the MAGA movement: whacky conspiracy theories, stockpiling of guns, openly racist statements, agitation for ethnic and racial division, openly pushing to destroy the social safety net, repudiation of education and educated people, defiance of health orders...and these are just the tip of the whole MAGA iceburg!


There are whole parts of the country, namely certain states, where not being in the majority religion means you are socially and economically outcast. Most of Utah is that way for non-Mormons, and much of the South is that way for non-Baptists. A lot of counties in Nevada, Idaho, Arizona and Idaho are majority Mormon too. Try being a non-religious, gay, medical professional in a town in Mississippi and tell me how that goes...

California's secularism and strict anti-discrimination laws allow people of belief, and non-belief, to flourish here. There is no pressure to join a particular religion in order to be successful because it will not be tolerated here.

[Huckleberry3911948]

An incrediblely beautiful place inhabited by people with issues
The bright side only here can you dress like a clown and not get laughed at