I travel to California maybe twice a year, and for anyone who grew up there, it’s like going to another planet. All the wealth has been squished into a tiny sliver along the coastal cities from SF to SD. Plenty of consumer related businesses like Whole Foods and Jiffy lubes in those areas, but the cost of living is very high. The rest of the state looks like the Oaklahoma dust bowl without the dust.
Yes, I did grow up there. My family (both sides) were pioneers there, and they would be rolling in their graves to see what their progeny made of it.
Mismanagement of water has a lot to do with it. VDH touched on it.