Somebody explain to me why so many people live in California.

I've been there and I just don't get it. Why do so many people live in California or want to live there?

I don't think the beach is as good as Florida, and that water is COLD and dark.
It is very dry and not nearly as lush as it is depicted.
It is crazy expensive. There are always fires, earthquakes, horrible traffic, crime and way too many people.


Seriously, why? I don't get it.

People move to Silicon Valley because it is easy to change jobs within a day, simply by going out for lunch and meeting friends. This applies to the other areas like Los Angeles and Sacramento.

In other parts of the country and world with smaller towns/cities, you might have to wait anything from three months to a year before you get a job offer, because there are so few companies hiring at any time. Then those offers will be in other one company towns, requiring the hassle factor of long-range relocation. Forget about university cities, because there are more graduates seeking work than looking for jobs. Other states have non-compete agreements and right-to-fire. Those can lock you out of an industry within a day.

In the UK, they won't let you change tech professions very easily eg. embedded/device drivers to mobile or desktop/applications development or even Big Data. The only way is to become self-employed as a freelancer.

a reply to: JAGStorm

Gold 100 years ago

Nice weather

Hollywood brainwashing

a reply to: JAGStorm

We like it because we see all the mid west and southerners make fun of our state,but will kill to live here,it is the best state,as long as we can dump the liberal scum destroying it,stay in your own state,most trouble makers here are from lower states,in more then one manner

a reply to: JAGStorm

History, gold rush, railways opening up,

Cold & dark water usually is less polluted?

It is very dry and not nearly as lush as it is depicted.

wiki

Coastal and southern regions of the state have a Mediterranean climate, with slightly rainy winters and dry summers. ... Northern California has a moderately oceanic climate and generally receives higher annual rainfall amounts than southern portions of the state

LA is like any other megapolis, aging in parts, ridden with crime, corrupt bureaucracy , corrupt cops, corrupt construction monopolies,

Specialties of California: gangs based on race or colour,

Seriously, why? I don't get it.

Think of it this way...a lot of people cant just get up and go to cheaper land/housing; what about jobs?, distance to job,
close to family and ties.

Easier said than done moving to greener pastures.

beach is as good as Florida

Yes but their arent alligators, or crocodiles?

wiki

American crocodiles (Crocodylus acutus) are a shy and reclusive species. They live in coastal areas throughout the Caribbean, and occur at the northern end of their range in south Florida. They live in brackish or saltwater areas, and can be found in ponds, coves, and creeks in mangrove swamps.

That'll it be $10 thanks, towards my next trip visiting New York, West Virginia, Texas AND avoiding California.

cause thats where all hot celebs are...

It's where you go to be rich and famous in hollywood.

I left southern california as soon as i turned 18.

Some people like living in a very big crowded city. They like the night life and constant boozing. Its fun for a while but it gets old.

a reply to: Oldtimer2

I am from the midwest and I can guarantee you that I have zero desire to live there. I also don't know anyone here that would.

I'm also not making fun of it, I am genuinely curious. I can see a portion of the population being there like Stormcell said for job with silicon valley, and a portion for Hollywood, but what about everyone else? Nice weather only goes so far. If you can't afford a house, or car or basic living what does it matter? I guess it is better to be homeless in a good weather place than bad?

originally posted by: Oldtimer2
a reply to: JAGStorm

We like it because we see all the mid west and southerners make fun of our state,but will kill to live here,it is the best state,as long as we can dump the liberal scum destroying it,stay in your own state,most trouble makers here are from lower states,in more then one manner

I have no desire to live in Commie-fornia. I hate it when the Army sends me to train there. It should be a fenced-off penal colony. The only exception would be northern California; I hear it's nice and the people are sensible, hard-working, and conservative.

They probably use punctuation and capitalization correctly, as well.

originally posted by: booyakasha
cause thats where all hot celebs are...

It's where you go to be rich and famous in hollywood.

I left southern california as soon as i turned 18.

Some people like living in a very big crowded city. They like the night life and constant boozing. Its fun for a while but it gets old.

It's basically the degenerate Capital in Hunger Games.

California was nice in the late 70's and early 80's. A place where if you had a dream to open a business, you could. But now I feel them days are long gone. You know what it cost to get a taco or pizza truck made these days?

a reply to: JAGStorm

its gotta be the girls in bikinis.... or less

My maternal side ended up there because my Grandpa got a job at an Air Force base there in the late 1950s.

My paternal side moved to CA from Arkansas in the late '30s because people heard there were jobs in California. They stayed on there and that is how Salliesunshine ended up a native of the Golden state. Some of us (myself included) left in the 1970s because it got so crowded you couldn't even find a camping spot on the weekend.

But I think the promise of warm weather, and beaches is an attractant for many people.

Sal


a reply to: JAGStorm

Back in 2005 I got sent to training in San Diego, California (from Texas). While having a conversation with a taxi driver, housing costs in California came up. When he shared I would have to pay about $400k for the same size home I bought in Texas for $50k, I knew California wasn’t for me. Even accounting for inflation, $400k for a 1200 sq ft house is absurd (and that was 2005)!

I don’t fault them the crime (we have Houston), gangs (we have Houston), coasts not as nice as Florida (we have Corpus Cristi), or liberal nonsense (we have Houston, Dallas, Austin). But the liberal socialist policies in California have priced any normal person out of living in California...which is why, unfortunately, they are all moving to Texas, bringing those liberal socialist policies, and trying to turn it into East California.

There are always fires, earthquakes, horrible traffic, crime and way too many people.

It's not that bad. Really there are only four things wrong with California:

1) Earth -- earth. California earth is about as stable as a mass shooter.
2) Air -- Smog. See also #3. Santa Ana Winds. Outspoken celebrities.
3) Fire -- Just read the news. Raging elemental fire everywhere.
4) Water -- Yuck. Just go swim in Santa Cruz, or Santa Monica, or Orange County. Seawater and "fresh"-water streams are yucky, black, smelly, polluted.

Other than that, California is a great place! Great food and drink, beautiful people, lovely scenery, vibrant economy...

a reply to: JAGStorm

huge jiu jitsu scene
good food
legal weed

yeah. i want to live there

I work in Orange County though I live on the East Coast..

When I visit the weather is perfect, Im 10 mins from from great coast line with plenty of good food.

I dispisethe humidity of Florida so like everything in life it just comes down to preference.

a reply to: JAGStorm

I lived in Chicago for 50 years and now live in San Diego County and I like it here. Lots to do and see, even snows in the high mountains. Snow ski resorts are 2 hrs to the north.
The downtown areas or near the water are the most expensive.
In the rural areas,$450,000 to $555,000 are the averages.
The county is mainly Republican.

Where did you go?

Unless you’ve spent time in the redwoods, Yosemite, sierrra Nevada mountains, etc, you don’t understand. For example, Sierra Nevada and Lake Tahoe are alps level mountains and skiing. Neither Florida, nor anywhere on the east coast have that. Similarly, Yosemite and similar places are breathtaking. Third, it’s the most agriculturally conducive place in the US. 50% of fruits and nuts in the us are produced there. Fourth, sf and la make up two of the economic powerhouses of the Us, so there are more jobs just like nyc. Fifth, ca like nyc is very diverse and international. Sixth, nor cal has an amazing chilled out culture. Tons of people from all over the world love it. Some of the top surfing in the world is there. You can go from surfing in the morning to skiing world class ski slopes in hours. Ecologically, it has more ecosystem range than any other state, from pacific rainforest to alpine to full desert.

It’s these reasons that make it prime real estate and draw people, which is what makes it expensive.

Ive traveled the world and country, and I’m sorry most states factually don’t have the full range of all these things. They have a few of them.

Disclosure, I grew up in sf Bay Area, and now live in nyc.

So cal is worse on all these fronts.

I lived in Santa Cruz for five years. Unless you are talking about the rivers once they get down into city polllution, they are amazing up stream in the mountains. Even the San Lorenzo up stream.

Rivers in most places once they get down to industrial areas get bad. For ex, the Hudson River here in nyc is horribly polluted. So that’s not a ca issue.
a reply to: Namdru