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I have a question for those of you who live in California.

I grew up in southern California but I did not return after I got out of the service. It realised even then that the LA metro area was not a healthy place to raise children, at that time.

I have seen a couple of recent videos which portray California as a sesspool. One stressed that for those who live elsewhere and think that Californians are exagerating, they are not. Apparently CA has more homeless people than the rest of the country combined. People are schitting on the sidewalks and it's so pervasive that you have to watch where you walk. Gas costs $4.50/gallon. Gun laws are getting more and more restrictive. You now have to use non-lead bullets to hunt anywhere in the state. Power outages are common and the utility company is bankrupt. Real estate prices are ridiculously high.

I've heard that droves of middle class working people are migrating out of CA to other more healthy places.

So here's my question to you CA guys. Is it really true? Is it limited to the big cities? Are the rural areas still OK?

Can't be that bad the residents keep telling how wonderful it is, all the beauty, sporting opportunities, and they have friends and family etc they are actually raising kids there
If this were true surely as free Americans they would leave such tyranny.

I'm splitting my time between CA and MT due to my parents being in CA, but I'd have been out of CA years ago if I had no family there. The hard core left seems to be staying put in CA, but pretty much everyone else is considering a move (if not actually leaving). For example, my wife's best friend, who is politically moderate, is seriously thinking about leaving CA due to the cost of living, political nonsense and crowding. Same thing with the lady who takes care of our dogs when we're at work. My cousins want out as well (quite a few have already left for redder states). The only ones who seem to be happy in CA are the ones who voted for the idiots who destroyed the state, and I hope they do stay to suffer the consequences.

I live in Contra Costa county. This is in the Bay Area. Middle of the state but considered northern Ca.
No one is crapping on the sidewalk in any residential neighborhood near me that I’ve seen. Gas is about $3.15 for regular here. It gets pricey near the freeway or in big cities like San Francisco.

There are a lot of homeless but they seem to be concentrated. Near the freeways in most big cities. San Francisco and Oakland have very large groups. I’d guess that we have large numbers of homeless because we have high housing costs and good year round weather.

The no lead for hunting is true. Had to start using non toxic shotgun shells this season. The ammo costs more and is a pain to find but works fine and is becoming more available.

Study’s do say people are moving out of the state but it doesn’t feel like it when you’re on the freeways.

The politics suck but it’s still a beautiful place to live for most of us. Most of my friends are conservative and will move out of state when they retire. I’ve always planned to buy a second home out of state when I retire and establish residency somewhere with lower taxes. Hoping to keep my current home and winter here.

As most things you see online or in the news, I think how bad it is here has been blown out of proportion.
I will absolutely agree that housing prices are nuts but it’s simply supply and demand. For all the folks you read about moving out, there seems to be more moving in and willing to pay big money to live here.

I’ve been shooting and hunting since I was 10 years old. I’m a coach for our local high school trap and sporting clays team. I travel out of state to hunt every year and have always enjoyed meeting folks in the states I travel through and hunt in. If I manage to retire out of state and run into you, I promise you’ll never hear me say I wish my new state was more like California.

Bob

Don't know all that much about the big cities, I have avoided them for years. The rural areas are still pretty much the same as they have always been, pretty decent. Currently gas is 2.99 a gal. The non-lead bullets use is for hunting only not for target shooting, yet but I'm sure some a hole will get around to that too. Real estate has always been high, the power outages are from the power company trying to cover their ass during high fire danger and I don't pay much attention to the BS gun laws. I might note that I live in the Sierras at 4000 ft in a small town of 3800 people so I don't see any of the homeless problems the larger cities have. The sporting opportunities are no where what they used to be pheasants and other upland birds have all but disappeared and big game is dismal at best. I'm still here because I getting too damn old to go pioneering to another State.

Lower crime rate here than Colorado Springs...

Phil

I’m guessing it’s like here and Oregon.

Large city pop centers are schitholes run by schit heads. 90% of the state populated by good folks.

Don’t have to go far to see more N VA Battle flags than Bernie stickers.

Got back from Huntington beach last week. Gas was 3.09, it's 2.95 here in az. BIL says there are some more homeless around the beach and used needles are more of an issue, but nothing like the msm shows in SF.

Really proud of my Niece, 16 years old and wrote a piece for the school paper about guns, interviewed the chief of police asking pointed questions on whether he approved citizens being armed. His response was, not on the job it makes it harder but off the job yes he does. She caught some flack being pro gun but much more positive than negative. She never gets to shoot guns except when she comes out here with me, it's become her favorite thing to do with me edging out fishing and camping, which she still loves. Her new boyfriend told me he had a 3006 and wanted to go hunting sometime, skin an elk... I told him come on out and I'll take him.

California isn't dead yet.

Kent

Tons of homeless junkies in Chico and starting to see needles and schit more and more in commercial areas.

Sacramento is two to three times as bad and I've grown used to watching where I step when working there.

Really stupid to hear the libs say it's a "housing crisis" and then talk of building housing for these scroats!

It's the decline of modern society that started with decriminalization of theft, legalization of marijuana and over crowded jails.

There are zero consequences for bad behavior and these low lifes know it.

Yeah, some have mental issues (drug induced or otherwise) but a very small percentage imho.

Prop 47

AB 109

Prop 57

We need more prisons!!!

Dang Hig, that sounds bad.... when I was homeless in Chico 30yrs ago I was one of the only ones....

Our daughter and son-in-law just left CA because of everything you are talking about KC. They sold their home and bought one in GA and are paying for the house with the funds they save from state, property, and local tax's. They said it was so bad they were willing to lose a great IT job just to move their children to a better place. He told his company he was leaving and they agreed with him that things were that bad. So bad, they paid for his move, and pay for his flights each week back to CA for his job. Three other executives have now done the same thing. They are affiliated with a large group of hospitals and cannot relocate their company. So their executives are moving out and are commuting.

Homelessness is often an addiction problem. Someone went around and talked to every homeless person they could in Seattle and every one was an addict of some sorts. Some say they are addicts because they're homeless but I think they are homeless because they are addicts. Addicts tend to burn all there bridges and have no place to go.

Bb

While California certainly isn't a cesspool, there are cities with "skid rows" where several blocks may contain a high density of homelessness. These are not areas where normal people find themselves. A tiny portion of these homeless are so whacked out that they know no better than to crap wherever the urge strikes them. Others figure out where public facilities are available. Also it is common to see homeless people in high density population areas away from cities.

Gas costs ~$1/gallon more than just about anywhere else in the country. That is a fact of life. The real reason for this seems to be to fund the bloated government agencies, insane number of liberal programs and pork barrel projects.

Across the board, gun laws are much worse than most other areas of the country. In Los Angeles it is virtually impossible to get a concealed carry permit.

In nearly 60 years I've never experienced a power outage, except for the rare occasion when a storm or accident might have temporarily interrupted power. But I have heard of other areas which have suffered rolling blackouts.

Real estate prices are in fact ridiculously high.

The majority stay because they're F'ing liberals and wouldn't have it any other way. Some people get tired of one thing or other, give up, quit and move elsewhere. Others stay and fight because of friends, family, businesses, etc, not allowing themselves to be pushed out, and continue to be the minority voice against overwhelming liberalism.

Attached are a few photos which may provide a sense of my own view of California.

I live in central California “farm country”.

It is a lot different then many other parts of the state. I am told Fresno county has more pick up trucks registered per capita than any other county in the country.
We regularly elect Republicans.
The local mountains that I hunt & fish are spectacular, possibly the most beautiful country anywhere.
Within a few hours, I can drive to Yosemite National park, the coast or Death Valley.
The Getty museum, Disney land, Reno or Las Vegas.

That being said, the laws being passed by the liberal nuts are becoming unlivable.
The taxes are already unlivable, and the smog is getting there.
We have a staggering number of illegals.

Problem is, my wife’s parents and my job are here. My kid goes to school here, my friends live here.
I am about 2 years away from retirement, decisions will need to be made.

The rurals in Ca are still fine, like OP said, it's the bigger cities that are F'ed up. Like most anywhere. Even small towns, no matter what state, can have small town issues. Not leaving till wife retires. Her job means a lot to her and she makes damn good bank. Sheit, might be too old to think about moving out by then. We'll have to see. But, back to OP's question: It ain't quite as bad as some harp about, but, it sure as hell isn't paradise either.

All of the above is true.

The cities, especially the trendy desirable one, are magnets of self-indulgence. Addicts are the ultimate self indulgence.

It is as bad as you see in the news, in the big liberal cities. The massive megapolis suburbs are connected to them economically, so they suffer from the liberal policies enacted by the "cool crowd" of lib politicians. Public school sex education was rammed through a few years ago from some high profile homosexuals from San Francisco, so it must the befter than the Second Coming.

The families in the suburbs are too busy making ends meet and trying to raise kids in a world of intrusive tech that most don't notice the politics. Most normal people can't believe their votes count.


For every fed up decent Californian moving out, there are ten southeast Asians lined up to take their place. Three out of ten make more money than the native born. Demand for coveted housing keeps the prices up.

Filth and debt abound but that is the fault of the dopers and the politicians.

Drugs are everywhere. My sister lives near the I-5 in Weed, California. The druggies move through the woods along the train tracks. They camp and leave their garbage and move on to spoil another site. some are on trust funds, but most know how to work the welfare/EBT system, deal a little dope, and where it is easy to steal.

Hmoung families have been imported from Minnesota to work the now legal drug.marijuana farms. Sloppy agriculture practices are ruining creeks and run off area. Cartels quietly are dominating this enterprise.

it is scarier than you know.

Phil, the "crime rate in Kailifornia is what the police agencies say it is. Nobody audits them. How badly do they lie ? Even back in the early 70's, the San Jose Police Dept. was only reporting 40% of the actual burglaries. Or you can consider Oakland's stats. For a while, they were the murder and robbery capital of Kalifornia. Then, after going through three chiefs of police in a month, the mayor finally someone that would "solve" the crime problem. Two weeks after taking office, the "crime problem" was no more. And no one questioned how that happened. And no complaints from any anyone according the newspapers. E