I agree, California is a special, exceptionally difficult case. Due to reasonable policies which allowed it to be a hotbed of tech innovation since 1960s, it has enough inertia to allow it enforce pretty crazy policies, and still stay very much afloat.
Well, problems with electricity, water, and wildfires destroying towns? Transportation problems and a housing crisis? Never mind, Silicon Valley and Hollywood will fill the state coffers all right!
Tides turn slowly, but they are turning; I'm afraid Californian voters are heading towards a series of rude awakenings.
The scariest thing about California I don't think left leaning people realize, is that tons of conservative Californians are leaving.... and many of them are business owners. Not just business owners, but some of the most clever, hard working, helpful, interesting people Ive known. Between 2000 and 2018, several great people I knew died young. I used to say that only the good die young. But now the good also move out of state.
My neighbor that would mow my lawn and sweep my sidewalk gutter if I was out of town. Gone to Nevada.
Race car driver that owned a mobile office trailer building company. Gone to Idaho.
Master electrician that could do work alone that would required engineers to reexplain to regular electricians, gone to Utah.
Cabinet company manufacturer, family owned for 30 years. Idaho.
The nicest most helpful towing company owner I ever met? Closed down this summer and went to Utah.
I'm not exactly sure if I want to live here myself if all that's left is crime, tent cities, and tech workers.
Every time I get cajoled into visiting my wife’s family out there my experience is just a long stream of internal “how do you live like this?” moments.
>Why is there a carcinogen warning on the rental car?
>Am I the only one bothered that an in-laws car was broken into in his own driveway in a residential zone in the middle of the day?
>Does nobody else see there’s a guy shooting a deuce on a bus stop?
>Did I really just spend 15 minutes in line for 6oz of soft serve ice cream?
>The first thing you discuss with your middle school class is pronouns? Not, like, here are the fire escapes? Or maybe, this is what we’re going to study?
>Why do all these 40-somethings dress like teenagers?
>Well, I guess no outdoor wedding photos… too much smoke… everything a few miles away is on fire.
>I guess there are just tents at basically every intersection. Huh.
>You’re paying 3K a month to live in a 60s era cracker box? Bummer. My mortgage is less than a third of that for twice the house and five times the land.
Permanent residents seem to have this defense mechanism where they just act like it isn’t happening. I’m pretty happy with flyover county. Given how easy remote work is now, I really don’t get why so many stay. Other than programming from the paid mouths in (info/e)ntertainment beating the drum of urbanization and ‘oh it’s just the zoning’
I've been here for 40 basically, and while his comments were slightly exaggerated, they all basically ring true. The most exaggerated one is the smoke being THAT bad. Other than the 2020 smoke Armageddon I've never even noticed fire season. But I assume he just means that in general our public lands are mismanaged.
I've been offroading and riding dirt bikes for 20+ years. Without a doubt, fire roads in the mountains are falling into disrepair. When they do clear them, they do so so lazily that it for sure will alter their response time if they ever need to use them. And that's just one tiny example.
I think OPs list was pretty accurate, just a little exaggerated but I think you know what he means.
Well, problems with electricity, water, and wildfires destroying towns? Transportation problems and a housing crisis? Never mind, Silicon Valley and Hollywood will fill the state coffers all right!
Tides turn slowly, but they are turning; I'm afraid Californian voters are heading towards a series of rude awakenings.