To people leaving California: May the road rise to meet you as you seek better lives in new places. Now, could you please extend some goodwill to those of us who remain?
Several friends and family members have moved out of this state, so I can understand the factors driving such decisions. But the reasons for leaving don't explain the impulse to insult California on the way out.
More than 800,000 Californians will move in 2022and many thousands more left last year. Often, those who leave, cash in hand from the sale of their million-dollar bungalows, feel the need to express disdain for their home state, and even some anger.
The need to rationalize a difficult decision can be powerful, and trading in an expensive 900-square-foot house in Los Angeles for a mansion in Texas often comes with a big problem: You have to stay home half the year and take advantage of all that. additional climate controlled space.
As we watch them (our elderly parents, our friends, our neighbors with children the same age) look at Idaho and Nevada for housing listings, we hear the criticism of California. Some are subtle and others not so much.
I remember last year a relative who, while telling me stories about the charming little town he found several states away, said his neighbors warned him not to “bring those strange California customs” to his new home.
And what would those forms be? I have a feeling it's not California's low property tax rate or zoning rules that are They conspire to increase home values so that homeowners can sell their homes and make huge profits.
Maybe it's our acceptance of LGBTQ+ Californians. Or is our politics liberal, with the state Republican Party? reduced to irrelevance after its cruel attempt in 1994 to marginalize immigrants with Proposition 187.
Maybe I'm sensitive because California (and especially Los Angeles) used to be where people went. And many still move here especially immigrants. I come from a family of immigrants blessed by the working class riches our state once offered.
But it doesn't work for everyone, and I've seen people decide to leave without verbally trashing the place.
Take my former neighbors Joe and Shannon, for example. They left Los Angeles for New England in 2020, another departure for a family from our block. They explained why the move was right for them and told us something I will never forget: this is a great neighborhood and “you belong here.”
California is big, powerful, and therefore tempting to belittle it. We have 39 million people, Hollywood and Shohei Ohtani. This state is a haven for reproductive and LGBTQ+ rights, but income disparity and the housing crisis are critical issues we need to fix so progressive ideals match the reality on the ground.
If you must leave California for Texas, Arizona, New England or anywhere else, don't be a person who speaks ill of the home of 39 million people. You don't hear many new Californians (they exist!) criticizing Nebraska or Minnesota.
Instead, be a Joe and a Shannon.
