honestly if i was like rich as shit- California would be a great place to live- but if you are not rich and cant get away from all the negatives it would be really trying to live there.
tons of illegal immigration. highest taxes in the nation. wildfires. earthquakes. crazy traffic. housing costs are INSANE- esp. in any of the nice areas of San Fran, SAn Diego, LA etc...
If i like won the powerball - or conversely, was making like half a mill a year or something- it would be really cool--- and dont get me wrong- some of it is positively gorgeous- but a lot of it seems like a big time pain in the ass.
I mean- what are the chances that me or you could ever get a sweet place in like Huntington Beach or something? next to nothing. I love visiting out there- and have a few friends out there--- in San Fran, SD, --- one of my best friends is in some little shitty rental in huntington beach taht he pays an arm and a leg for and thats AFTER getting a ton of help from his mom- and he has a pretty decent job.
Yeah, it's pretty ridiculous. If I had my way, I'd have been out of here a long time ago. However, as long as the grandkids and my wife's Mom are in California, we're not going anywhere.
Huntington Beach was my old stomping grounds in my teenage and young adult years. I even lived there for awhile in the 80's and rents, etc. were pretty reasonable.
Now? I could live there, but wouldn't be able to afford to do much of anything else and I make a lot more than I did back then.