The Great California Exodus

WSJ ^ | 4-21-12 | Joel Kotkin

[TurboZamboni]

Now, however, the Golden State's fastest-growing entity is government and its biggest product is red tape. The first thing that comes to many American minds when you mention California isn't Hollywood or tanned girls on a beach, but Greece. Many progressives in California take that as a compliment since Greeks are ostensibly happier. But as Mr. Kotkin notes, Californians are increasingly pursuing happiness elsewhere.

Nearly four million more people have left the Golden State in the last two decades than have come from other states...

[TurboZamboni]

Moonbeam's supertrain will turn this all around...(sarc)

[Travis McGee]

Can’t say I blame anybody for fleeing Mexicalifornistan.

[originalbuckeye]

We lived in California for 19 years. We loved the state. There is so much to do, the weather is pretty terrific and it is just plain beautiful. In 2009, my husband's company picked up and left the state. So we moved with the company. I also have a friend just south of San Francisco who has lived there for 35 years. She owns her house and is an employee of the state. She doesn’t even think she can afford to retire there. It makes me so sad to think California will fail. But I think it must. The USA cannot afford to help.

[raybbr]

Isn’t the supertrain a way out? Of course, libs, being stupid beyond belief, will never see it that way.

[ClearCase_guy]

Words that do NOT appear in this article:

Hispanic
Illegal
Alien
Immigrants

[TADSLOS]

Can’t say I blame anybody for fleeing Mexicalifornistan.

Unfortunately, many of the fleeing Californians are the same leftist asshats who voted in the mess there. Alot of those are now in Texas, bringing their "values" and lifestyle with them.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

You had to look for it.

“...permanent welfare class.”
40 percent of Californians don’t pay any income tax.

[central_va]

Fleeing Californicans, do not come to the South, you'd not ne happy there. We are nothing but a bunch of toothless rednecks that hang dead deer from out front porches and consider any spectacle with the number 500 in it a cultural event. We think the movie Deliverance was a documentary.

You'd feel more at home in Yankeeland and will fit right in. Go there.

[MulberryDraw]

all of the subsidies the state (California) lavishes on renewables, green jobs only make up about 2% of California's private-sector work force—no more than they do in Texas.

LOL! Now that's funny. And we have all the "evil" drillin going on too.

[umgud]

CA will crash. It’s on an unsustainable trajectory. If the economy turns areound, it may see a brief respite, but the crash is inevitable.

Too many people hold out hope that CA will be positively rebuilt after said crash, but let me point out that the same cast of characters will still be at the table after said crash.

My view is that CA will deteriorate to near 3rd world status and suck the life out of the fed and other US taxpayers.

[KoRn]

"hang dead deer from out front porches"

I do see them hanging from trees in front yards on occasion, but you are right. They shouldn't come here. They'd be MUCH happier somewhere else. :p

[Travis McGee]

It was ever thus.

[Mr Rogers]

A little known law in Arizona now requires Californians arriving here to spend 2 months working on a cattle ranch. After 60 days, the owner of the ranch will report to Arizona on the willingness of the immigrant to work & not complain about life, coworkers, cattle or saddle.

If the state receives a negative report, the prospective immigrant is returned to California with an “L” branded on their forehead...

[Homer_J_Simpson]

My employer is moving my job out of the state this summer. Because they can.

[central_va]

California with an “L” branded on their forehead.

I can think of a better place than on the forehead.

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

Great news from here in Massachusetts!

We’ve lost a House seat, due to our declining population!

No need to thank me, but please tip your waitress on the way out. ( /rim shot)

[Altura Ct.]

Exactly. They don’t once mention the invasion. Amazing how millions of third worlders have encroached on CA and according to this article has had no effect whatsoever on the ‘exodus’

[Baseballguy]

No different when the new england left for the south. What they find when they move is most of the culture they left can not be rebuilt where they go. No matter how they try.

Now you can see who voted for who in the republican party for pres and you choose your candidate and thats where most of the folks went.

Newt is SC land

[central_va]

This is horrible news. It means all those leftist mAssholes moved elsewhere and are now infecting perhaps a perfectly good Southern state. States like Mass, Md, and Ca are like Marxist tumors, when they metastasize it is going to get ugly...

[HANG THE EXPENSE]

I hope it all works out for you.Is the move to a red state or blue?

[randita]

The USA cannot afford to help.

We already help out. CA has a huge U.S. military presence and all of us are paying the higher costs of supporting that military presence there rather than Mississippi or another state with a much lower cost of living.

CA drags us all down.

[Noumenon]

Here in northern Idaho, it usually takes only one real winter. Then the for sale signs pop up in the Spring. They’ll leave before the places sell.

[saywhatagain]

Specifically words not appearing in this article

La Raza
MEChA
Marxism socialism leading to communism

I personally witnessed the corruption of Moonbeam 20 years ago when he helped an individual have a tax problem go away in exchange for 100,000 dollar donation to his political organization. I think it was 501c3 . . . back then???

Moonbeam and the rest don't give a shit about energy and all that crap. He was trained in the order Jesuit preists that only cared about “social justice”

Thinking thats the real narrative

[Homer_J_Simpson]

I hope it all works out for you.Is the move to a red state or blue?

Purple, I think - NC. They gave the CA employees the option of moving to the new location. I just doesn't work for the Simpsons at this stage of our lives. I am really looking for more of an underemployed situation anyway. Some of those are still available in CA.

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

-—This is horrible news. It means all those leftist mAssholes moved elsewhere and are now infecting perhaps a perfectly good Southern state. States like Mass, Md, and Ca are like Marxist tumors, when they metastasize it is going to get ugly...-—

My hope is that it’s generally sensible retirees moving south.

Many parents my age have told me that their children have left MA to seek opportunities elsewhere. MA is simply unaffordable for young people.

The problem Massholes seem to be moving locally, to NH, although I’ve heard that New Yorkers have ruined NC.

If we didn’t have a balanced budget amendment, we would have beaten CA to the bottom. Colleges have turned this state into the land of the libidiots.

[Mr Ramsbotham]

Mr. Kotkin describes himself as an old-fashioned Truman Democrat. In fact, he voted for Mr. Brown—who previously served as governor, secretary of state and attorney general—because he believed Mr. Brown "was interesting and thought outside the box."

That's B.S. He voted for Brown because he's a dyed-in-the-wool liberal who feared that if a Republican become governor there would be one fewer abortion per year in the state.

[GreyFriar]

Perhaps someone will write a novel about this reversal of the story line in “The Grapes of Wrath.”

[deoetdoctrinae]

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[PGR88]

In fact, he voted for Mr. Brown—who previously served as governor, secretary of state and attorney general—because he believed Mr. Brown "was interesting and thought outside the box."

Idiot. The author lost all credibility with me at that point. Just as with Obama, everyone knew EXACTLY what they were getting.

[skeeter]

Mr. Kotkin describes himself as an old-fashioned Truman Democrat. In fact, he voted for Mr. Brown—who previously served as governor, secretary of state and attorney general—because he believed Mr. Brown "was interesting and thought outside the box."

Having moved to CA in 71 you'd think this 'professor' would've had some clue who Brown was. Everyone else who was here from 75 through 83 knew.

Its no coincidence that state was considered paradise in 71 and was well on its way to being a dump twenty years later.

[ThunderSleeps]

Mine too. I’m not in CA (thank {Diety}). But our company is in the initial stages of moving work out of CA too. Probably means more work, opportunities, etc. for us here. Keep it up CA, we appreciate your (ex) business.

[WMarshal]

California is just the start of the problem. Poor young college graduates being crushed under student loan debt are going to start leaving the country in droves just to escape the lifelong debt. Many graduates face a bright future in the services industry. I had 45K when I graduated with my masters and paid it off in one payment after paying on it for 8 years and not seeing the principle drop one cent. There is no way a student without and engineering degree with 100K to 200K debt is going to pay it off in this economy.

That is why they are trying to pass the law where owing back taxes will invalidate your passport. You cannot leave the plantation if you owe money.

[Eska]

Trouble with Californians is they usually try to re-create their nightmare wherever they run to; but at least when they come to Alaska, they usually stay put in Anchorage.

[MachIV]

You couldn’t give me all the gold in Ft. Knox to move to California.

[moovova]

"Mr. Kotkin describes himself as an old-fashioned Truman Democrat. In fact, he voted for Mr. Brown..."

So, Mr. Kotkin...STFU! You Sir, have NO RIGHT TO COMPLAIN!

[and so?]

...hang dead deer from out front porches

Oh, hell no...the dogs could get at the meat...I hang it from a tree down by the equipment shed.

I hang dead snakes by the front stoop.

[super7man]

We just sold our little CA house for $3.5M and are heading your way. How much of the state can I buy for $3.5M.

Will you let me in if I show you the 10,000 rounds of .223 that I am bringing with me?

[BlueLancer]

"I hang dead snakes by the front stoop."

And catfish heads on the fence and gate ...

[Psycho_Bunny]

So, you get halfway through the article to discover that the guy who has a pretty good grasp of what’s wrong in California says HE VOTED FOR BROWN thinking that Brown would move to fix the problems.

This boils down to being an article about a moron.

[Dr. Ursus]

Yea,like they’re in the process of ruining Colorado!

[and so?]

We forgot to tell them about the bugs...great big ugly bugs with teef and ticks and chiggers and fire ants.

[outpostinmass2]

The amazing thing is that California had productive industry, educated labor and abundance of natural resources. Things that Greece has very little of.

[Savage Beast]

California certainly WAS one of God's best moments and one of the best places in the world to live--from its very beginning through the 19th century (witness Richard Henry Dana's Two Years before the Mast,) and through much of the 20th century--until the forces of decadence rotted the civilization of its inhabitants.

Today the once Golden State decays, its ancient beauty and promises mocked by the absurdities and self-destruction of the ancient enemy of all civilizations.

Spring forever keeps its ancient promise, but only to follow the darkness and severity of winter, cold consolation for those who concern themselves with the foreseeable future.

[Mouton]

I got a reprieve from there just over 20 years ago. Transferred by job to Ft Worth. Never looked back except to visit.

It is a beautiful state, no doubt. Unfortunately, a leopard is a pretty cat too but get to close and it is all over for you.

[Yaelle]

Look, the politics here are liberal and terrible.

But do note, as you all complain of how horrible Californians are and how you don’t want us ruining your state, that there are MORE solid conservatives here than in your state. CA started Free Republic and CA donates more than most states. There are great people here too.

[Savage Beast]

"Will you let me in if I show you the 10,000 rounds of .223 that I am bringing with me?"

With open arms.

It's those who have seen the future who prepare for it.

[Savage Beast]

"Will you let me in if I show you the 10,000 rounds of .223 that I am bringing with me?"

With open arms.

It's those who have seen the future who prepare for it.

[Savage Beast]

"Perhaps someone will write a novel about this reversal of the story line in 'The Grapes of Wrath.'”

It was a movie: Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

[redgolum]

Don’t send them to the Midwest. Winters are cold here, and we all talk like they do in “Fargo”.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

***Yea,like they’re in the process of ruining Colorado!****

39 years ago when I lived in Pagosa Springs, the most popular bumper stickers were VIOLET’S ARMY! (A support for the King Coal mine) and DON’T CALIFORNICATE COLORADO! Well, they have.

I’ve noticed that every place that is beautiful in the mountains, the wierdos have taken over because of lib outsiders taking over the city councils.