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Mass Exodus From California Picks Up After Pandemic 

Mass Exodus From California Picks Up After Pandemic 

Residents of California are starting to realize that the only way to escape the mess created by a decade of Democratic leadership is to leave the state. 

Far more people have been exiting California than moving in for years now, but the trend seems to have picked up following the COVID-19 pandemic and the strict lockdowns imposed by Governor Gavin Newsom (D) – not to mention the skyrocketing increase in crime and homelessness, the raging wildfires, the power outages, the water shortages, and the record-breaking jump in housing prices.

In August, the average price for a single-family home in the state of California reached a whopping $827,940 – that’s an increase of more than 17% compared to 2020.

According to a migration report published by North American Moving Services, Californians who decide to leave the state are most likely moving to GOP-led states like Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Texas, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Florida as well as Colorado and North Carolina. 

The greatest loss so far occurred in Los Angeles County, which saw more than 74,000 residents move out during the fiscal year ending in July 2021. Of those who decided to remain in California, most moved to the “Inland Empire,” a region between LA County and the borders of Arizona and Nevada that has seen its population grow by 78% over the past 30 years.

The population shift has altered California’s demographics as middle class residents seek open spaces and leave the big cities to those rich enough to afford it or too poor to leave.

“California is changing becuase of a desire of many millions to have something that looks like the conventional, traditional California dream: a house on a lot in a neighborhood of similar houses on lots,” says DJ Waldie, a cultural historian. 

A similar trend is taking place in Illinois, New York, and other northeastern states as people seek less-densely populated areas over the pandemic-inspired fear of living too close to other people. 

“Northeastern states make up four out of the seven states with the most outbound moves, and none of them make the top eight for inbound moves,” notes the report. “New York led the way, followed by New Jersey and Maryland. But California edged out Maryland for fourth place on the outbound list.”

Other factors are play here include job availability, cost of living, weather, and the ability to work remotely. 

“States in the south consistently rank well in the list of inbound moves. On average, states throughout the southeast, south, and southwest continue to see their populations grow as more individuals relocate there than leave the region. Arizona and South Carolina have been in the top five inbound states since 2015.”

Southern states like Florida are also experiencing an explosion in job growth as companies relocate to warmer climes and friendlier governments. 

Sources:

The blue state exodus: How Americans fled New York and California for Republican states of Arizona, Idaho, and the Sun Belt to escape lockdowns and skyrocketing crime 

California exodus intensifies as retirees, teachers, musicians seek cheaper, less-crowded pastures 

Californians Flee the Coast to Inland Cities in a Mass Pandemic-Era Exodus 

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18 Comments

  1. Joseph S. Bruder

    Have you ever stopped to think that there are so many people in CA because people like it there? And they’re willing to pay top dollar for homes because the jobs are REALLY good? Supply and demand determine prices. Some people may be leaving because it’s crowded, but people are still moving there too. Same with New York – some people move in, others move out. There are opportunities in big cities that you don’t find in other places.

    You’re just repeating the old joke, “Nobody ever goes to that restaurant anymore because it’s so crowded”. Except, you’re serious, and your article is the joke.

    • Dan Tyree

      What was once a great state has became a commie shit hole

      • Joseph S. Bruder

        And again, Dan brings up his favorite activity…

        • Frank stetson

          Brau, I respectfully disagree. Perhaps his favorite body part but he favors a different activity.

          • larry Horist

            FYI Frank. It appears that you are addressing Bruder as “Brau.” Are you under the assumption that it means “brother” or “friend?” It actually translates as “brew” as in “bier.” You may recall a popular brand “Meister Brau” — or “Master Brew.” Bruder is using the actual German word for “brother” as an alias — a secret allusion to the fact that he is the real brother of the owner of this site. Just thought you should know.

    • mojo

      If you had a brain in your head you would realize that if all those high paying jobs are negated by insane unconstitutional government laws, taxes and prices, it gets to a point, move or starve in the bottom of a homeless excrement cesspool.

  2. frank stetson

    “What was once a great state has became a commie shit hole.” Now that’s funny. Consider the source :>)

    “Residents of California are starting to realize that the only way to escape the mess created by a decade of Democratic leadership is to leave the state.” Like Dan, this opinion is pure bullshit. Alice’s source, the moving company collecting her data, starts by noting: our moving volume stayed about the same….. Mass exodus my billydoot. Your own source says “it aint’ necessarily so.”

    Once a year a single moving company puts out its yearly summary of who moved where, some demographics, along with a simple survey response. Alice is not alone. Ignorant journalists pick it up and run with the results as if a single moving company, with it’s single client base, statistically speaks for the nation. It doesn’t. It never has. But you all run with it, often, like Alice, putting your own spin, often illogical, on top making for an illogical conclusion on top of an imperfect data source.

    Journalists run with it because it’s a great fear piece, “everyone is leaving here…..and everyone is coming there.” And then the journalists assume some things about why and sometimes pick responses by the survey which is not statistically valid for oh so many reasons. Journalists don’t have to work hard to do this one, Alice’s forte is not working hard. Alice at least pulled three sources, even though I gather they all may lead to the same moving company for the data.

    She didn’t even check state populations to see if it ain’t necessarily so. And it ain’t.

    Fact is Alice, these trends, albeit not statistically valid due to the source alone, have been occurring for years. We have been hearing everyone is leaving NJ for over a decade, sometimes we hear it’s just the rich, but yet —- here we are, with basically as many citizens as the previous year. Using a single source to explain a national trend leaves out anyone who does not hire this moving company. What if their customer demographic was skewed to retiree’s? Well, of course they be going to the sunbelt. And being baby boomers, our numbers are still growing. Or skewed to an urban customer set; what destination skew would that provide? Green Acres? People who move without using this moving company, or any mover, are not included.

    Second, this is a trend that has been happening for years. I say we are “not a country for old men,” to describe NJ as in you hit retirement, you leave. And yes, you go to a warmer place, usually. But guess what — NJ houses are not empty. Rentals are hard to find. My home value is way up. And it has been this way for years. Stupid journalists read the moving company report but forget to look at the population which, for NJ, has not shifted much at all. Some say California population shrank for the first time in 120 years in 2020 but it’s still a 6% growth from 2010. The mass exodus resulted in a 2020 loss of 180,000 CA residents out of 39,000,000 total. That’s not an mass exodus Alice. Alice’s own source said something similar to that for CA, not to mention that many in Alice’s exodus to Red States actually just moved to less dense spots in CA. Your source Alice.

    What you have is long term historic trends for movement to the sunbelt, short term pandemic trends to get out of denser populated areas, and retirement trends which grow as more and more boomers live to an active retirement. There’re also historic low interest rates, extra money floating around, and given the lock-downs and the entrance of vaccines freeing up our spring/early summer, the peak moving time, pent-up demand too. Not to mention all the properties that are coming up in more rural Trump country as people leave for the great beyond, thank you anti-vaxers, now dying at about 1,000 Trumpers a day. It’s a sad state of affairs, but you can bet it’s happening because these folks aren’t vaccinnated, they are dying, they are and they are Republicans. Now that’s a mass exodus. 1,000 people a day moving to the great beyond due to Republican policies, media messages, and denial to the point of death.

    I think a real journalist would have dug a bit to find the pandemic trend where people moving to less denser areas across the land. More useless anecdotes, but I have relatives up on Cape Cod. Their house has tripled in value as folks get out of Boston for virtual work on the Cape. Like a few hundred thousand dollar uptick in 18 months. These facts probably can be found outside of almost any major metro, independent of party governance.

    If only Alice did the work, sigh :>( But like I said, you are not alone on this one, happens every year, like geese migrating South for the winter.

    • Dan Tyree

      Quit slinging snot. The only ones staying are the ones that belong in Cuba

    • Larry kuhn

      Tripled in value? Must be a white neighborhood.

    • larry Horist

      FYI Frank. It appears that you are addressing Bruder as “Brau.” Are you under the assumption that it means “brother” or “friend?” It actually translates as “brew” as in “bier.” You may recall a popular brand “Meister Brau” — or “Master Brew.” Bruder is using the actual German word for “brother” as an alias — a secret allusion to the fact that he is the real brother of the owner of this site. Just thought you should know.

    • larry Horist

      Frank. California IS an exodus state — and has been in the top ten for some time. It is currently number nine. And Alice is correct to note that the departure rate ticked up during the Pandemic. The population loss is why California is losing a congressional seat — first time in the states’ 170 year history. They are also losing business and jobs. The trend is not favorable for California and is likely to continue for the foreseeable future.

  3. Frank stetson

    Does KKKuhn use fitted or flat?

    Yes, it’s white. Actually too expensive for you though, sorry.

  4. Frank stetson

    You boys ever want to talk issues? Like afults?

    Or just keep hurling insults and names like little kids?

  5. Rat Wrangler

    The official 2010 Census number for California showed about 37.25 million people. In 2020, the official number was 39.37 million. Unless over two million people moved out in less than a year, the state has more people now than it did eleven years ago. It could be that a lot of those counted in 2020 may not have been citizens, since the Census was not legally allowed to ask, but we don’t know for certain.

  6. More Illegals. Less American Citizens.

    Democrats DON’T WANT the Census to ask about Citizenship.
    Why NOT? Census always asked about citizenship in the past on long form … that is before Obama.

    Numbers mean More Illegals.
    Less American Citizens.

    If ANYONE does not believe that more people in CA means more illegals… pressure the Democrats for Census WITH citizenship question.
    If you don’t want to SOLVE the problem, you are PART OF the problem.

    We know MILLIONS of illegals have entered through California.

    • Frank stetson

      Why? Did they take your job?

  7. john fudacz

    good people should leave california before it falls in the ocean, leave all those dammed democraps go with it !

    • Frank stetson

      That’s like wishing for the death of 22m souls, 5m of whom are Republicants. Not to mention, a huge part of our economy the end of which would most certainly bite you right in your big ole white fat ass. Sweet. May your karma be returned to you ten fold. What happened to you to make you so bitter? Democrat steal your cheese? Or maybe you ate just brain dead. Remember, in the end, we are all in this together.

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