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As we all know there has been huge amounts of Californian transplants moving to other states for decades now, so much so that people often complain about it. A lot of talk of "California exodus" and California businesses leaving the state. That being said, which state would you say is the most Californianized by Californians and California culture?
Washington is the original, and had a huge head start before the others. I would say Washington state is the most impacted by California expats.
I mean, who really wanted to move to the Nevada desert back in the day, or heaven forbid, Arizona? That is really a post 2000 thing. I mean, Idaho residents have bemoaned Californians moving in since 1978, but the flood only happened in the past few years.
The Californication of Colorado began with the tech explosion of Colorado Springs with Californians moving from silicon valley.
I am not even sure Oregon was a huge destination for Californians, although back in 1980 they did post a sign on the California border that said, "Welcome to Oregon. Please enjoy your VISIT". The sign was to underscore they did not want Californian's to move there. As a young Californian in the 1980s, it really seemed like most people were moving to Washington, not Oregon.
Nobody was moving from California to Texas back in the day. That is a recent thing, like post 2000 Austin.
Maybe 20 years doesn't seem "recent", but Californians were starting to flock to Washington state in the 1970s. Of course, Microsoft's rise really sucked a lot of Silicon Valley techies in during the 1980s. It went viral then. Just a flood of Californians moving to Seattle to work for Microsoft. I don't even know if that was repeated with Amazon.
I'm still gonna say Nevada just because its population is still so small. Easy for Californians to overwhelm it. IIRC more people in Nevada were born in California than in Nevada.
When I was in Reno it definitely felt like most people I met were from CA, usually the Bay Area or Sacramento. In Seattle I definitely did meet people from those places, but there was a more even mixture of people from other states (in my friend groups: NY, NJ, MD, AZ, CO, UT, NM, OH, OR, NH, FL off the top of my head) and a lot of native Seattleites as well.
From what I’ve observed:: Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Oregon and Washington.
My brother and his family, who grew up in the Bay Area, relocated to the Seattle area in 1996/1997 (?) for a career opportunity. Back then, there were very few California transplants there. He tells me today, that the situation is “very different.”
Sorta off topic but the I-15 southbound was topped off with atleast 90% liscense plates from Nevada mainly, Utah and Arizona. Add in a nice chunk of Colorado and a bit more with Idaho. All those people created insanely huge traffic jams in the middle of nowhere CA desert yesterday and Monday (12/26-12/27).
This is the I-15 connecting Socal so I'm sure the I-80 has their own out of state jams going into Norcal.
Washington is the original, and had a huge head start before the others. I would say Washington state is the most impacted by California expats.
I mean, who really wanted to move to the Nevada desert back in the day, or heaven forbid, Arizona? That is really a post 2000 thing. I mean, Idaho residents have bemoaned Californians moving in since 1978, but the flood only happened in the past few years.
The Californication of Colorado began with the tech explosion of Colorado Springs with Californians moving from silicon valley.
I am not even sure Oregon was a huge destination for Californians, although back in 1980 they did post a sign on the California border that said, "Welcome to Oregon. Please enjoy your VISIT". The sign was to underscore they did not want Californian's to move there. As a young Californian in the 1980s, it really seemed like most people were moving to Washington, not Oregon.
Nobody was moving from California to Texas back in the day. That is a recent thing, like post 2000 Austin.
Maybe 20 years doesn't seem "recent", but Californians were starting to flock to Washington state in the 1970s. Of course, Microsoft's rise really sucked a lot of Silicon Valley techies in during the 1980s. It went viral then. Just a flood of Californians moving to Seattle to work for Microsoft. I don't even know if that was repeated with Amazon.
Arizona continues to be one of the top locations for SoCal transplants for decades while Washington is more likely to pull from Northern California.
Phoenix and Vegas are the only cities in the US that are outside of California that can actually get to California CITIES within a days trip by car, important for families who didn’t want to spend four digits to visit Grandma in Carlsbad. Or the reverse for families to visit Grandma in Sun City.
And between Phoenix and Vegas Phoenix is the most normal city, Vegas has its own thing going on and that doesn’t appeal to a lot of people for living. Yes Vegas is more quickly to get overwhelmed by California transplants and that’s true, Nevada also didn’t really have a strong culture or identity, as much as Arizona did, before Californization really became a thing so Nevada feels more like California. But the truth is is that Phoenix being the closest regular city outside of California closest to the #2 global city in the US means that Phoenix has and will continue to do so pull Los Angelenos more than anywhere else. Californians still have connections to family and friends in Rancho Cucamonga and it benefits them to be a days drive even if it’s “heaven forbid, Arizona”. Get off your high horse. Maybe actually spend a day in LA spend one day in San Bernardino that city is basically already in a desert anyway, hell Palm Springs is around the corner deserts have not stopped them one bit. The existence of Palm Springs is proof they love vacationing and spending time in the desert one that’s even uglier and hotter than Phoenix.
Phoenix has been getting Californians since the 50s and it has not stopped and clearly based on current data is not planning on stopping anytime soon.
Vegas gives a distinct vibe of "L.A. East". It probably helps that there's tremendous links between the cities thanks to the entertainment industry. Tahoe meanwhile feels like it's virtually attached at the hip to NorCal.
This is my take, from the list, and I'll add in a couple other considerations, as well--
1) Arizona - I chose this as #1 due to the Phoenix metro area's explosive growth. Many California transplants, and politically, Arizona is now pretty purple/leaning blue, due to a big CA impact, I think.
2) Nevada - Very close to the top spot. Vegas and Reno have a ton of CA transplants, and its CA impact is felt in both areas bigtime
3) Colorado - Denver and its surroundings have a "California" aesthetic and culture, and the state is solidly embracing a lot of CA policies in terms of politics
4) Washington - Seattle and its region have followed the San Jose trajectory of explosive tech growth and impact
5) Oregon - Portland has its fair share of CA influence and growth
6) Idaho - the Boise region has seen a huge influx of CA residents, but overall, the state is mostly changing there alone
7) Texas - Austin is ground zero for the MAJOR "Californication" changes--with politics, culture, trends and growth in the tech scene. But other areas of the state seem less influenced overall. Maybe Dallas or Houston would be 2nd, but overall the state remains solidly Texas
southeastern states seeing some California resident influx--
8) Georgia - the Atlanta metro region is seeing many California transplants, and as-a-result, the region is seeing some CA influence with its bars, restaurants, shopping, jobs and politics
9) North Carolina - Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham have some high earning Californians moving to the state
10) Tennessee - the Nashville metro region is a huge draw for many Californians--and the area is seeing a big movement of Californians to the region in general
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