February 16, 2023

The population of California "dropped by more than 500,000 people between April 2020 and July 2022."

The L.A. Times reports.

We're told that "experts" attribute the sharpness of the decline to the pandemic, given the "high housing costs... long commutes... crowds, crime and pollution" and the new freedom to work remotely.

The experts, we're told, think the "rate of the exodus may now be slowing as the pandemic’s effects ease."

42 comments:

Mary Beth said...

Long commutes and the freedom to work remotely.

gilbar said...

experts think the "rate of the exodus may now be slowing

experts Think! assumes facts, not in evidence

wendybar said...

Americans want Freedom. They are sick and tired of the woke bullshit the Progressives are foisting on us. We are sick and tired of the hate and division being spewed by the Whoopie Goldbergs of TV land and the Main Stream Media. We are sick and tired of Barry Soetoro's fundamentally changed America.

Lawnerd said...

I fled California for northern Wisconsin two years ago. The reason was the insane single party politics. Best move we ever made. But all my neighbors think that because I moved from California I must be liberal.

gilbar said...

My cousins (3rd generation native Californians) are THE Most Conservative people i know.
They HATE what Califonia's become (they kinda LOVE the huge demand for competent welders, though).
If they weren't making such great money, they'd move out in a heartbeat.

The Tangerine Tornado said...

Moving is a big pain in the you know what. Nobody takes such decisions lightly. California has found the magic formula to enable residents to break out of their inertia and say goodbye. As for me, I don't expect to see this trend change.

Iman said...

“the experts”…

‘nuff said.

Enigma said...

Those leaving are the wealthy, as California taxes them heavily for wealth redistribution, equity, reparations, or whatever you want to call it. They spend money on government pensions, housing subsidies, free food for tent people, and the infamous bullet-train-to-nowhere.

Many Blue states are in serious trouble, and the pandemic pushed forward migration by perhaps 15 years. I perceive parallels to the politics around World Wars I and II, where the end of global empires caused European nations to direct their aggression inward. Those losing power and influence tend to strike out blindly and close to home. They are doing literally everything opposite of what their essential backbone citizens want.

Those who do not know history are condemned to repeat it.

re Pete said...

"I pity the poor immigrant

Who tramples through the mud

Who fills his mouth with laughing

And who builds his town with blood

Whose visions in the final end

Must shatter like the glass

I pity the poor immigrant

When his gladness comes to pass"

Bruce Hayden said...

Probably the worst run state in the Union. Sky high taxes, and set to get higher, with a proposed punitive wealth tax that will try to follow you when you move away. And for what? Things like the bullet train from nowhere to nowhere, or Reparations. It’s all about looting the state coffers, which the Dem leadership have turned into a high art. They get filthy rich, and the shit and drug needles pile up in the bigger cities. Short on water, so instead of putting money into diverting water from the north and shipping it south, instead blow up their existing dams to protect insignificant species of fish. Biggest net importer of electricity in the country, so they shut down their nuclear plant, and prevent the construction of any new power plants, and sink their money into intermittent expensive solar and wind power. And mandate that soon all new vehicles will be electric. Rolling electric blackouts, set to get much worse. Raging wildfires every year that are often started by the power lines bringing electricity to the state, since the state refused to let the power companies charge their customers to maintain the rights of way for those power lines. Crime is increasing like crazy due to crazy leftist policies, along with homelessness abd drugs. So, they enact ever more draconian gun control laws. Etc. One of the most beautiful and resource rich states falling apart, at an increasing rate, before our eyes.

retail lawyer said...

It would be foolish for Blacks to leave now, just before reparations are distributed.

Ampersand said...

Great weather and natural beauty versus bad government and high taxes. Which will win?

Bryant said...

Latest California issue (where I live) is super high natural gas prices.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/the-gas-bill-is-90713-sticker-shock-for-californians-as-prices-soar/ar-AA17whLL

And this is what our governor had to say about the issue:

Gov. Gavin Newsom has called for a federal investigation into the wholesale price of natural gas, asking the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to look into "whether market manipulation, anti-competitive behavior or other anomalous activities are driving these ongoing elevated prices" in the West.

This is the guy who is banning anything to do with fossil fuels and this is a direct result of his actions, yet my fellow Californians will continue to vote for him and senators who don't remember their own name.

Roger Sweeny said...

The number of counted (or estimated) went down by 500,000. If that were really true, I would have expected housing prices to start coming down. Gee, where could lots of uncounted people have come from?

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

There goes another Congresscritter to TX or FL.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Contrary to the “experts” I’ll predict GREATER numbers leaving this year and next as Newsom’s Folly continues to pay dividends. Just wait until all the “high speed rail” construction workers move back to wherever they’re From.

Anthony said...

Unfortunately, bunches of them came to AZ and are busily creating yet another progressive s***hole.

Birches said...

Here's a comparison of CA tax rate vs. NY vs. Florida

Yeah, people are still going to leave.

Rusty said...

People move away from craycray when they can.
My oldest is waiting for retirement and my youngest is applying for work anywhere but Cali.

JAORE said...

If GN actually wins the Presidency that will beg the question of, "Where to we go from here?".

Charlie Eklund said...

The experts, we're told, think the "rate of the exodus may now be slowing since every Californian with any get up and go has already gotten up and gone."

FIFY

Static Ping said...

There is a tendency in systems for things to remain the same, not because the current state is best, but because it would be too difficult, costly, etc. to change something that works. Often the way these systems change is there is some shock to the system that throws everything into chaos, and it is a lot easier to make changes in the chaos. Other times, the change comes about because flaws in the system slowly but surely make the status quo intolerable to more and more impacted parties. California is experiencing both, COVID having upended and partially transformed the labor market, and the Democratic Party's policies having made the state less and less attractive as a place to live and work.

This is a warning sign to those that will pay attention that the system is failing. As of right now, I see no indication from the California Democratic Party that they realize this, and they are continuing down a path that will cause the system to fail at a faster and faster rate until it all collapses. Students of history will recognize that bad systems can linger on semi-functional for a long time before they break, but when they break it is often not a pleasant time for those that benefited from that system.

planetgeo said...

Like the old (and accurate) joke about owning a yacht, the two happiest days in a California resident's life are the day they got in and the day they got out. Speaking from first-hand experience here. And speaking as a "refugee" on both ends.

Hard to believe that people would take something so good and knowingly turn it into something so bad. And keep voting to make it even worse.

Ryan said...

Let's do the math. 500k people out of 39 million left over 2 years. That 0.64% per year. That's barely any. Frankly, more people should leave. It's too crowded here, on the beautiful and rich West Side of LA. I think stories like this are good because they encourage more folks to leave. As for me, I have lived all over the country and settled here. I am conservative as are LOTS of others. I love LA and have no plans to ever leave.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

and they loaded up the truck and moved back to Tennessee.

CA is for rich progs, and homeless drug addicts.
the working class? not invited.

Fred Drinkwater said...

And yet the state mandates to build more housing, especially "affordable" housing, have become even more draconian of late.

Yancey Ward said...

California will actually be exchanging high income/wealth residents for low income/poor immigrants. That trend hasn't changed. California is now preparing to start taxing non-real-estate wealth, so that exodus will accelerate, not slow, since wealthy people aren't dumb, even the one who spew egalitarian political speech.

Michael K said...

As for me, I have lived all over the country and settled here. I am conservative as are LOTS of others. I love LA and have no plans to ever leave.

Good luck. I left after 50 years. You cannot imagine how wonderful LA was in the 50s. I lived in Orange County for 40 but the state just got too crazy. My wife is a 3rd generation native but she gets twitchy when we visit the kids. The traffic is just awful. Arizona is great but a Soros clone just elected herself governor so that may change. My younger son can retire in a very few years and plans to move to South Carolina. My middle daughter lives in west LA but owns property in Idaho and plans to build there.

Heartless Aztec said...

A fun place place to visit for targeted vacations. First point Malibu during a shift change, The 101 up through Big Sur in April or October, anywhere northern California and our favorite, Ventura. The point there at C street is fun, fun, fun regardless of daddy taking the T-bird away.
Wouldn't want to live there though. North east Florida on the St Johns river is political and climate heaven.

Biff said...

It's a pity that the states can't have an electoral college system for their own governance. Places like California, New York, Illinois, New Jersey, etc. would be a lot more moderate if the rural areas weren't completely swamped by a few areas of concentrated population. In places like NJ, there also is a lot of agitation to consolidate towns, ostensibly to save costs (that somehow will never materialize), but it really is about ensuring that small towns gain more "features" of blue urban government.

~ Gordon Pasha said...

My family is 3rd generation Californians and my wife's father was a highly placed engineer with McDonell-Douglas aerospace so she spent a lot of time in SoCal. She moved out in the early 80s and I left after the Rodney King riots. I still have family in nice parts of SoCal

My wife is an now Idaho realtor. California's dystopic government has been very good to us. The rate of sales to California ex-pats has slowed due to rising prices in Idaho as well as loan interest rates.

Ryan said...

"You cannot imagine how wonderful LA was in the 50s." I can imagine it was wonderful, better in many ways. But one thing cannot change: the natural beauty - the coastline, mountains, deserts, and perfect weather nearly all the time with really gorgeous sunshine almost every day. I imagine those things have largely remained the same, and will stay the same. I grew up in the South with the heat and humidity, and lived for a while in the Widwest with the cold and clouds. Weather and nature is the real reason to live in California. I suspect people who leave miss those things the most. It really is the best.

Rusty said...

Ryan said...
"Let's do the math. 500k people out of 39 million left over 2 years. That 0.64% per year. That's barely any. "
When they're the skilled people paying the taxes it's a significant number.

Fred Drinkwater said...

Ryan, ok, but now we have water rationing, wildfires, electricity outages, higher taxes, housing mandates, and Prop. 65 cancer warnings on absolutely everything.

I'm ready to leave.

Mason G said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mason G said...

"But one thing cannot change: the natural beauty - the coastline, mountains, deserts..."

In order to enjoy those things, you have to get in your car and drive to them. If you work, about the only time you can do that is on a weekend or holiday, along with several million other people. Have you ever driven east through the Santa Ana Canyon on the 91 at the start of a holiday weekend (you actually need to leave home on Thursday anymore) in order to get to the mountains or deserts? And then, back again on Sunday afternoon with the same crush of people?

But yeah- the natural beauty.

Old and slow said...

Most of the things people purport to love about whatever crowded place they pay a lot to live in are things they haven't the time or inclination to actually enjoy. They just like the idea of having those things. I say that based on having lived in many beautiful and entertaining places and cities. At the end of the day, what makes a place what it is, is you yourself and the people you know there.

On the other hand, I knew an Irish guy who loved Eloy Arizona more than anywhere on earth. He was a skydiver and Eloy has nothing but empty fields and clear sunny skies, other than that it is hell on earth... Even WITH that it is pretty crap.

Rollo said...

But do Americans really want freedom?

Mason G said...

"Most of the things people purport to love about whatever crowded place they pay a lot to live in are things they haven't the time or inclination to actually enjoy. They just like the idea of having those things."

I was born and raised in SoCal, grew up in Orange County in the 50s/60s. I left CA over 30 years ago because it was becoming more and more difficult to enjoy the natural beauty, having to compete with ever-growing numbers of others trying to do the same. In the last 10 years I lived there, I didn't go to the beach even once because of the time and hassle involved. The people I know who are still there all say the same thing- "It's too much trouble".

Bunkypotatohead said...

The more who leave are actually lowering the cost of housing for those who remain. (Supply vs demand)
It might be in CA's interest to pay people to leave and put less strain on the gov'ts resources.
For people on the fence it would probably not take too many thousands of dollars to make that leap. Newsom can call it reparations, if it makes him feel better.

Ryan said...

"In order to enjoy those things, you have to get in your car and drive to them. "
Not necessarily - I am close enough to bike to the beach.

"Have you ever driven east through the Santa Ana Canyon on the 91 at the start of a holiday weekend (you actually need to leave home on Thursday anymore) in order to get to the mountains or deserts? And then, back again on Sunday afternoon with the same crush of people?"

That's pretty specific, but no, I haven't done that drive, nor would I because that is for folks farther south in OC. In any event, I'm up in the San Gabriel or Santa Monica mountains almost every Sunday and the traffic is never that bad. And I've been up to Big Bear plenty of times on the weekend without any issues. Once you learn the traffic patterns it's all manageable.

Ryan said...

"Ryan, ok, but now we have water rationing, wildfires, electricity outages, higher taxes, housing mandates, and Prop. 65 cancer warnings on absolutely everything."

From what I gather the water rationing is all voluntary, it's not enforced. Plus it has been a very wet winter and the severe drought conditions are essentially over. As for wildfires, they are basically a non-issue for me because I don't live in the hills, I live in the city. I have never had any electricity outages. Higher taxes, yes, but we also make more money here. Prop 65 cancer warnings, who cares, I don't even notice them anymore.