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CA-LA: People leaving county in droves (Largest population shift in US History)
Los Angeles Daily News ^ | 4/15/05 | Beth Barrett

Posted on 04/15/2005 10:24:05 AM PDT by BurbankKarl

The exodus of Los Angeles County residents to surrounding counties and nearby states accelerated significantly during the past year, driving the largest population shift in the nation, according to new U.S. Census Bureau figures released Thursday. Fueled by soaring housing prices, traffic congestion, and new jobs in outlying areas, residents left L.A. at an average net rate of 9,621 per month between July 1, 2003, and last July 1, compared with an average net of 7,373 per month over the three previous years -- a 30 percent increase on average.

The figures show 115,434 more residents left the county last year than newcomers arrived. But the overall population still increased with 98,184 new immigrants arriving from foreign countries and 94,675 more births than deaths.

Experts said the trend is a continuing shrinking of the middle class in Los Angeles and a worsening of the disparity in income between new arrivals and the wealthier, long-term residents whose incomes likely will grow.

William H. Frey, a demographer and visiting fellow at The Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., said the decades-long shift of populations to the suburbs has accelerated and expanded throughout the nation, with more families moving farther away into what's been dubbed the exurbs.

"What's happened in Southern California is a mega-trend of what's happening elsewhere, with people moving farther and farther from the central urban area. In California, it's even beyond state lines."

Frey said studies show that no longer is the migration a "white flight" phenomena, but that Hispanics, in particular, and other ethnic groups are joining in increasing numbers.

Los Angeles remained the nation's largest county with a population of 9,937,739 as of July 1, up 77,357 from the previous year.

Riverside County was reporting a net gain of 66,664 residents from other U.S. counties; San Bernardino gained 32,517 and Kern got 10,731 people from other counties -- a total gain of 109,912 residents last year.

Since April 1, 2000, 403,070 L.A. County residents left; Riverside, San Bernardino and Kern gained 367,323.

The San Fernando Valley, meanwhile, bucked the county trend, gaining a net 8,700 people from both international and domestic immigration last year, said Daniel Blake, a California State University, Northridge, economics professor and director of the San Fernando Valley Economic Research Center.

He attributed the countertrend to greater job growth in the Valley -- a 1.6 percent increase last year versus 0.65 percent countywide.

County residents moved out of Southern California entirely, too, largely in search of cheaper real estate, less congested roads and employment, to counties such as Maricopa, which includes Phoenix, and Clark County, which includes Las Vegas.

"On an aggregate, Riverside is the biggest gainer in domestic migrants, and L.A. County is the biggest loser in terms of domestic migrants," Frey said.

"People are leaving L.A. to go to Riverside, Las Vegas and Phoenix, then San Bernardino. It's affordability that's causing middle-class flights. People can't afford housing in Los Angeles, but want to stay in the Southwest and will commute long distances."

Jack Kyser, chief economist for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp., said the chief factor for people leaving L.A. is "housing affordability," and the largest potential economic impact is that they then take jobs in outlying areas.

"We're getting a little bit too expensive," Kyser said of the county, noting a similar trend in Orange County, where 27,590 residents left for other counties last year. "The question is, Will they take jobs in other counties, or not?"

Increasingly, for example, professional service businesses like law, accounting or governmental affairs firms are moving farther from traditional urban cores like the city of Los Angeles, where business tax and other costs are high, to smaller cities like Ontario, he said.

L.A. also is a major port of entry for many immigrants who gain an economic toehold, then move on to other cities and states, inflating the extent of the county's outmigration, demographers said.

Florida also showed marked changes in population, recording 14 of the nation's 100 fastest-growing counties.


TOPICS: News/Current Events; US: Arizona; US: California; US: Nevada; US: New Mexico; US: Oregon; US: Utah; US: Washington
KEYWORDS: census; exodus; illegal; losangeles; mexifornia; migration
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To: television is just wrong

The problem is that the governement has basically told young americans to go to hell in every way possible.

1. Catering to newly arriving illegals makes it harder for young people to move up the ladder.

2. Refusing to cut wasteful senior citizen welfare and abose. Social security and medicare are nothing more than bloated welfare programs that cost the young a fortune.

3. Punitive real estate taxes in places where most jobs are for young people is making homeownership harder and harder for younger people.

I am utterly disgusted with both the GOP and the RATS. The GOP has squandered everything so many of us worked so hard for. They have cowered like panzies and patsies to the liberals.

I for one am on board for any move to dump all of our present GOP leaders are they are useless.


101 posted on 04/17/2005 6:16:59 PM PDT by chris1 ("Make the other guy die for his country" - George S. Patton Jr.)
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To: chris1; television is just wrong
Here is the text of California Assemblyman Ray Haynes' email for this week.

MONDAY MORNING MEMORANDUM
By Assemblyman Ray Haynes
April 18, 2005

Leaving Los Angeles and Rushing to Riverside

“People Leaving County in Droves” says the headline in the LA Daily News. “…Decline Continues in San Francisco,” says the San Francisco Chronicle. Two of the marquee city names in the world—beautiful locations on the coast, culture, fine dining, and diverse populations, complete with major research, science and educational institutions. How could this be happening? Have they found a better beach? A better view than that from the Hollywood Hills? Better shopping than the Westside Pavilion? Where are they going?

According to the US Census Bureau, they’re going to Riverside. And San Bernardino. And Bakersfield. Or even worse—out of state entirely, to Clark County, Nevada, and Maricopa County, Arizona!

We who live in and represent Riverside and the Inland Empire, and the San Joaquin Valley, have known this for a while. An area long used as the butt of jokes about lack of culture, deserts, smog, traffic and “the 909,” has increasingly become a place people want to live. And not just any people, but LA people! People who have allegedly lived the good life, been close to the beach, and Hollywood, and the cultural centers downtown, and have now chosen to live in Corona, and Temecula, and Murrieta, and Lake Elsinore. Chosen!

The census data shows that the rate of people leaving Los Angeles to surrounding counties has accelerated, and that San Francisco had the steepest drop in the state, despite improving economic conditions in the area. But why?

Clearly housing costs are a major driving force. Even as housing prices have more than doubled in the outlying areas, the prices in LA and San Francisco are even more ridiculous. People are trading small places in LA for larger places and longer commutes in Riverside and San Bernardino, and even Kern County. This must confound the urban planners, who are certain that if we just build denser housing with more mass transit, everybody will be a lot happier.

But it’s also about quality of life. Despite the fact that nearly half the legislature hails from Los Angeles and the Bay Area, and has been for as long as anyone can remember, and despite being home to some of the richest people and most valuable and beautiful property in America, they have managed to turn their urban cores into nightmares. Their schools are among the worst with no prospect of improving, crime continues to be a real concern, and government services are spotty at best. They may not have to drive as far to get somewhere, but the drive will be miserable from beginning to end any time of day.

The middle class is leaving as fast as they can leave. It is looking like all that will be left in the end are the super-rich who can afford private security and private schools and homes on the hills and on the beach, and the super-poor who can’t afford to move.

And what are these cities and their legislators doing to stop the exodus? Passing symbolic resolutions. Performing gay marriages. Investigating the police. Letting the public employee unions have their way. Piling more mandates on employers. Planning more trains. Expanding services to illegal aliens.

I welcome LA’s refugees to Riverside and the other non-beach regions of our state. I hope this population shift brings new clout to the Inland Empire, and the San Joaquin Valley, and other places where rational, economically sensible, politically independent people with a strong sense of community, family, and faith have congregated over the years. Perhaps we can change the political dynamic that has kept LA and San Francisco largely in control of our state’s budgets and priorities, squandering money on their own corrupt messes, and short-changing the rest of us—a situation that has forced us to do more with less in education, transportation, and infrastructure. Perhaps we’ll finally get our “fair share” of state revenues, so that we can continue to provide a way of life and standard of living that has people deciding that maybe there are more important things than living next to the beach.

Welcome, new neighbors! We’ll leave the light on for you…"

102 posted on 04/18/2005 6:57:13 PM PDT by CHARLITE (I lost my car keys............so now I have to walk everywhere.......)
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To: CHARLITE

Great post. Public unions are so destructive. It is basically another form of welfare.


103 posted on 04/19/2005 12:22:09 PM PDT by chris1 ("Make the other guy die for his country" - George S. Patton Jr.)
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To: chris1
"Welcome, new neighbors! We’ll leave the light on for you…"


Example of cramped urban living! Error made by city utility pole installation workers.

104 posted on 04/19/2005 2:50:40 PM PDT by CHARLITE (I lost my car keys............so now I have to walk everywhere.......)
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To: CHARLITE

Don't get me started. The public employees where I live basically live by the credo:

"Public service is big business."


105 posted on 04/19/2005 6:50:36 PM PDT by chris1 ("Make the other guy die for his country" - George S. Patton Jr.)
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To: CHARLITE

amazing.

the large valley 30 x 40 miles or so from riverside to moreno valley, south to hemet, and west to temecula and murietta

will be a huge parking lot!

they needed to build a new north-south freeway, parallel to the 15 on the east side of the valley, from moreno valley to hemet into north san diego county.

and they needed to build 2 or 3 east-west freeways to connect the 15 and 215 to the north-south unbuilt freeway.

but they did not.

so, someday that valley will just stop.


106 posted on 04/19/2005 6:56:59 PM PDT by ken21 (if you didn't see it on tv, then it didn't happen. /s)
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To: missyme

I'm not a California native but have lived here for 30 years and watched it's demise, especially the LA area in the past 10 years. My husband wants to move to Texas and leave California for good. He says between the congestion, eroding beauty and explosive cost of living the once bright future outlook looks very dim now. To be honest, I don't think California will ever be what it once was. So sad. Such a beautiful place that has been ruined by people and politics.


107 posted on 05/30/2005 6:40:57 AM PDT by pursuitofliberty
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