An Open Letter To The Leaders Of California

Adios California

An Open Letter To The Leaders Of California


For over 50 years, I have lived in the Southern California area, surrounding Los Angeles. I grew up there, got married there, raised my kids there, built my career there, and accumulated countless memories there. I can't count the number of things that I like about Southern California. From the weather, to the number of things one can do, to the long wonderful motorcycle rides that I took around and through the mountains that surround L.A. To say that I am a SoCal boy is a gross understatement.

As I approach my senior years (I am 63 as of the writing of this note), I have found a few things about my home ground in L.A. that have, well, let's just say, I have become disillusioned by them. Below is a list of reasons I left my home, and resettled elsewhere.

Now, I don't have any sort of grand illusion that I am alone in this, and in fact, this is probably one of thousands of similar writings. I certainly don't feel that I am unique or special in any way. This is just me, jotting down some thoughts. I'm sure many before me have done the same.

Also, the following list is by no means comprehensive. It is, however, based in fact; MY facts, that is, how these facts have affected me, not how they might affect anyone else. There are many opposing opinions, and all are valid. This is just my take on the situation. Keep your flames and indignation to yourself!

Reasons I left Southern California:

  1. Money. The number one reason I left is to make my retirement money stretch further. I bought our home in the suburbs of L.A. (Simi Valley to be exact) in 2001. At that time, the price was just under $400k for a nice, 2700+ sq ft, 5 bedroom, 2 story house on a cul-de-sac. The payments were tough at first, but we could swing it, so we dove in.

    21 years later, with homes in our neighborhood similar to ours selling for slightly under one-million, the reality set in, that there was no way in hell I would be able to maintain that sort of lifestyle in retirement. My home had outgrown me and my income. Also, our children were literally priced right out of the very neighborhood we built for them. In addition, other factors (such as utilities like water, power, etc., see below) had risen so much that the monthly cash flow had also gotten too tight.

  2. Traffic. This one is common for large metropolitan areas, and L.A. is no different. When it takes 75 minutes to make a 20 mile drive, traffic is just too much. End of rant.

  3. The aforementioned, water. When we left L.A. in the summer of 2022, Southern California (well, really, ALL of California) was in the 3rd year of a massive drought and water was incredibly expensive. Everyone had stopped watering their lawn, washing their cars, even to the point that the water companies were discouraging us from flushing our toilets. That's simply not sustainable.

  4. Taxes. No secret, taxes in California are the highest in the nation. Sales tax alone was over 10% when all of the local, county and state assessments were factored in. Property tax RATES are still somewhat reasonable, but when that RATE is applied on a grossly inflated home cost, the actual tax AMOUNT is too high!

  5. Gas prices. This is partly a result of #4, in that gas is taxed at a higher rate in California than in any other state. But that's not the whole story. California's ridiculous and suffocating regulations force gas refineries and companies to create a special formula that costs more to produce, so the result is that gas is higher in California than in any other state except Hawaii.

  6. Homelessness. There are more homeless in California than in any other state (probably because of #1 and #4), and there doesn't seem to be anything that is being done about it. In fact, it's getting worse, not better. On several occasions in recent years, I was afraid to walk the very streets I grew up on, simply because of the sheer amount of garbage, feces and dirtiness on the streets.

  7. Politics. This one is highly subjective, but as I see it, the political landscape in California is responsible for everything listed above. An extremely liberal government has set policies that promote homelessness, drive away businesses (and jobs), which reduces the amount of funding available to solve many of the problems, and there is no end in sight. For this reason, anyone with any money saved up, leaves California to a state that doesn't try to suck away that savings, and thus, California is left with a problem of their own creation.

In summary, I love California, and especially Southern California. But the state didn't love me back, and has created an environment that is unfriendly to me, my family, and a lot of others like me. In the end, anyone with enough money to leave, will move, or already has moved to a state that doesn't suck the live and breath out of the very people that the state needs most.

To the politicians, policy makers, and officials of California;
Wise up!
If you drive away the people that you need, your state will fail. It has already started to fail. Change your policies to make your state more business friendly, and encourage people to stay instead of driving them away.
Wake up!
You are destroying your own state.
Goodbye and good riddance to California. I'm gone, and not looking back, and there are hundreds of thousands behind me!