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Its about friggin time. What took them so long? Why leave a place infested with illegal alien welfare sponges, high tax rates and an oppressive government bent on destroying people's lives? No jobs, due to high tax rates, and businesses fleeing the state. I cannot figure out why anyone would want to leave such a tolerant, liberal bastion of love. Problem is, where do people go when the whole world is controlled by lefty whackos?
Los Angeles TimesThey said, "Go west," but many Californians are going north, south and east.
For the fourth consecutive year, more residents left the Golden State than moved there from other states, according to a December report by the California Department of Finance.
The outflow – last seen during the economic and social struggles of the 1990s – started when it became too expensive for most people to buy homes in the state.
The trend underscores the state's sour economy, as layoffs continue, the fiscal strain on government grows and home values decline.
While more births and rising international immigration boosted California's population 1.16 percent in 2007, the state continued its steady stream of domestic outmigration – the movement of residents of one state to others.
In the last fiscal year, 135,173 more people moved out of California than moved in from other states. Though just a drop in the bucket for a state of 38 million people, the trend is significant because such declines usually occur when working Californians decide opportunities lie elsewhere.
Gone to Texas
"I just gave up," said Grace Bryant, a former Glendora resident who fled to Texas after 18 months without consistent employment as a residential appraiser. "California is too much of a struggle."
Like Bryant, many of those who left California went to Texas, according to the U-Haul truck rental company; other popular states were Nevada, Arizona and Washington.
U-Haul said that as of late November, 0.5 percent more rentals were hired this year to leave the state than move in – 0.2 percentage points higher than last year's figure.
Before writing the state's obituary, critics might note that a study by the Pew Research Center bolsters the notion of California's high desirability, showing that most native Californians prefer to remain in the state.
Though California is often depicted as a bastion for the rootless, 69 percent of native residents 18 and over still live there – a stability exceeded only by Texas, North Carolina and Georgia.
Still, the departure of so many residents is serious enough to concern policymakers, who worry about the drubbing that California is taking in the recession.
Housing bubble
The current spate of domestic outmigration began in 2005 after six years of domestic growth. The trend coincided with the housing bubble, which peaked in 2007 when median home values in Southern California reached $505,000.
"This was the epicenter of the housing meltdown," said John Husing of Economics & Politics Inc., a regional economic research firm.
Then the bubble burst, and Californians were faced with a new crisis – joblessness.
The state's 8.2 percent unemployment rate is 1.5 percentage points higher than the national rate.
"I think [last year's outmigration] was because of the very high unemployment," Husing said. "That's what will be driving it now."
But Husing dismissed pessimism, noting the state has long priced out the working class and been expensive, yet it reinvents itself through innovation and entrepreneurship.
"It's the hallmark of the California economy," he said. "We attract risk-takers."
Los Angeles Times
In bad economy, many Californians packing up and leaving
Los Angeles TimesThey said, "Go west," but many Californians are going north, south and east.
For the fourth consecutive year, more residents left the Golden State than moved there from other states, according to a December report by the California Department of Finance.
The outflow – last seen during the economic and social struggles of the 1990s – started when it became too expensive for most people to buy homes in the state.
The trend underscores the state's sour economy, as layoffs continue, the fiscal strain on government grows and home values decline.
While more births and rising international immigration boosted California's population 1.16 percent in 2007, the state continued its steady stream of domestic outmigration – the movement of residents of one state to others.
In the last fiscal year, 135,173 more people moved out of California than moved in from other states. Though just a drop in the bucket for a state of 38 million people, the trend is significant because such declines usually occur when working Californians decide opportunities lie elsewhere.
Gone to Texas
"I just gave up," said Grace Bryant, a former Glendora resident who fled to Texas after 18 months without consistent employment as a residential appraiser. "California is too much of a struggle."
Like Bryant, many of those who left California went to Texas, according to the U-Haul truck rental company; other popular states were Nevada, Arizona and Washington.
U-Haul said that as of late November, 0.5 percent more rentals were hired this year to leave the state than move in – 0.2 percentage points higher than last year's figure.
Before writing the state's obituary, critics might note that a study by the Pew Research Center bolsters the notion of California's high desirability, showing that most native Californians prefer to remain in the state.
Though California is often depicted as a bastion for the rootless, 69 percent of native residents 18 and over still live there – a stability exceeded only by Texas, North Carolina and Georgia.
Still, the departure of so many residents is serious enough to concern policymakers, who worry about the drubbing that California is taking in the recession.
Housing bubble
The current spate of domestic outmigration began in 2005 after six years of domestic growth. The trend coincided with the housing bubble, which peaked in 2007 when median home values in Southern California reached $505,000.
"This was the epicenter of the housing meltdown," said John Husing of Economics & Politics Inc., a regional economic research firm.
Then the bubble burst, and Californians were faced with a new crisis – joblessness.
The state's 8.2 percent unemployment rate is 1.5 percentage points higher than the national rate.
"I think [last year's outmigration] was because of the very high unemployment," Husing said. "That's what will be driving it now."
But Husing dismissed pessimism, noting the state has long priced out the working class and been expensive, yet it reinvents itself through innovation and entrepreneurship.
"It's the hallmark of the California economy," he said. "We attract risk-takers."
Los Angeles Times
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