I’ve been out of CA for 17 years and have never looked back. WA is very liberal but so far we have not come close to jumping off the cliff, unless one lives in Seattle. I’ll take our loony libs any day here than the pure communists in Sacramento. There’s hope here I think, not in CA.
Rather, my priority was always the economy ie professional career prospects. Second was maximizing the best possible place to live based on natural beauty, weather, activities, etc.
There are millions of people in this state making coin. And I don't mean just the tech people and entertainers. Contractors and others in trades are able to earn enough to allow these 'regular' people to purchase (albeit expensive & small) homes in beautiful coastal and/or hillside communities.
It's all relative - there isn't any free lunch. It almost doesn't matter how high taxes go, because they are always passed on in the form of higher wages and costs. We have many millions of tourists and visitors who actually bear a significant burden of the costs.
And of course, they keep moving here. I had a lady from England ask me last month if it was always so 'warm'. It was sunny, around 68 at the beach path, really nothing special, just a regular day. Here reply? "That't it, I'm moving here".