# How do you feel about California? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 1, 2021, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-california/939181 "2021-04-01T20:36:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2021, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-california/939181/142 "2021-05-08T19:42:52Z")
> California lost 182,083 people in 2020, though it remains the most populous state, with just under 39.5 million residents. The state will lose a congressional seat for the first time, based on slower growth reflected in the 2020 census. > > State officials attributed California’s historic population decline to the falling birth rate, deaths from COVID-19 and reductions in immigration. > **[Has the Golden State lost its luster? California population shrinks for the...](https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-05-08/california-lost-population-in-2020-for-the-first-time-in-history-does-it-matter)** > > State officials attributed California's historic population decline to the falling birth rate, deaths from COVID-19 and reductions in immigration. There could also be an increase in people leaving the state because of remote working or switching jobs to places like Texas. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2021, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-california/939181/143 "2021-05-08T22:30:14Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > California lost 182,083 people in 2020, though it remains the most populous state, with just under 39.5 million residents. As a Californian, I think that’s great news. Less crowding, more housing is a good thing. Rock on. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2021, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-california/939181/144 "2021-05-08T22:34:23Z")
Maybe you’ll get your ‘auxiliary’ parking space back, too 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2021, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-california/939181/145 "2021-05-08T23:08:14Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > There could also be an increase in people leaving the state because of remote working or switching jobs to places like Texas. A lot of it is tied to the retiring Boomers. People retire _in_ California, but hardly anybody retires _to_ California. It’s just too expensive on a fixed income. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2021, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-california/939181/146 "2021-05-08T23:12:14Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > People retire _in_ California, but hardly anybody retires _to_ California. It’s just too expensive on a fixed income. And more than a few retire _out of_ California for the same reason. Hell, it is remotely possible I might be one of them in a year or three. Hopefully not though, as I actually rather like living here. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-california/939181/147 "2021-05-10T14:45:41Z")
I think I know where they’re headed: [Truck rental data shows Las Vegas is the top moving destination during pandemic | KSNV](https://news3lv.com/news/local/truck-rental-data-shows-las-vegas-is-the-top-moving-destination-during-pandemic) ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-california/939181/148 "2021-05-10T14:49:40Z")
Northern California, like the Humboldt area, is my favorite place on earth. And I’ve been to some places. I like to hike through the redwoods, lie on my back and look through them at the sky for a while. I often think it would be nice to live in a little cabin there, but then I think it’s extremely remote and not well-served by airports AFAIK. Wine country is really nice and mellow. It’s got that sun-glowy Tuscan thing going on, the food and restaurants are fantastic. I can’t drink alcohol anymore, so that’s kind of a drag to have to work around that, but otherwise it’s amazing. I haven’t been all over Southern California. I spent a very uncomfortable summer in the Mojave Desert. The moonlit desert nights were absolutely amazing, but the hot dusty days were pure hell. I assume all of SoCal is like that, so I’m not much interested in seeing it. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-california/939181/149 "2021-05-10T18:44:18Z")
[quote=“HMS\_Irruncible, post:148, topic:939181, full:true”]I haven’t been all over Southern California. I spent a very uncomfortable summer in the Mojave Desert. The moonlit desert nights were absolutely amazing, but the hot dusty days were pure hell. I assume all of SoCal is like that, so I’m not much interested in seeing it. [/quote] That is a really unfortunate assumption. Yeah, there’s plenty of desert area in SoCal, but that’s nothing like what much of it is. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-california/939181/150 "2021-05-10T21:03:50Z")
This is what came to my mind when I read the comment from @HMS_Irruncible . It’s a one minute clip, invoked here with a smile on my face, not to be critical: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/DAXxE3yCYNk/hqdefault.jpg "Crocodile Dundee - I Love Lucy") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAXxE3yCYNk) ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-california/939181/151 "2021-05-11T05:01:10Z")
I lived in California two years, Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties, and traveled through the state another 5-6 times. I think it’s fine, but not a place I’d burning to get back to. It’s a very friendly place, easy to make conversation. People you can chat with intelligently are very gregarious, and are frequently eccentric enough to be interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Enjoy\_Slurm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enjoy_slurm/32/3937_2.png) [@Enjoy\_Slurm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enjoy_Slurm)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-california/939181/152 "2021-05-11T05:41:14Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > I spent a very uncomfortable summer in the Mojave Desert. The moonlit desert nights were absolutely amazing, but the hot dusty days were pure hell. _I assume all of SoCal is like that_, so I’m not much interested in seeing it. It is. Especially next to the ocean. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-california/939181/153 "2021-05-11T06:05:20Z")
The last 2 times I went to California I didn’t even come close to dying so that’s improved my opinon of the place a little. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-california/939181/154 "2021-05-11T06:36:11Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > A lot of it is tied to the retiring Boomers. People retire _in_ California, but hardly anybody retires _to_ California. It’s just too expensive on a fixed income. Not too terribly bad out in the San Joaquin Valley, or at least some parts thereof. I’m in a small farm town with a total of two traffic lights, just a two-hour drive from the Bay Area, living passably comfortably (almost) on a fixed Social Security income. > [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > Wine country is really nice and mellow. It’s got that sun-glowy Tuscan thing going on, the food and restaurants are fantastic. You seem to be clearly referring to the Napa/Sonoma Wine Country, which is a bit up-scale-ish and touristy, but definitely an attractive area. There are other “Wine Countries” around the state. Paso Robles area (a wine appellation of its own) is otherwise largely “horse country”. Driving down U. S. 101, one also passes miles of vineyards in areas that don’t otherwise appear to have any interesting attractions at all. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-california/939181/155 "2021-05-11T13:28:51Z")
On the positive side, there’s a bill in the California legislature to ban the sale of gas-powered leaf blowers. On the negative side, it appears the bill would also ban numerous other types of small gas engine devices, including generators. [https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/editorials/article251210569.html](https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/editorials/article251210569.html) As a resident, I’d be a bit queasy about the prospect of future blackouts without the ability to buy a generator or replace an ailing one. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-california/939181/156 "2021-05-11T16:37:19Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Driving down U. S. 101, one also passes miles of vineyards in areas that don’t otherwise appear to have any interesting attractions at all. There are also a large number of wineries in El Dorado County, east of Sacramento. Those also don’t have anything else particularly touristy around them, apart form the drive on a scenic country road to get to them. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2021, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-california/939181/157 "2021-05-12T01:27:52Z")
> [@Enjoy\_Slurm](#): > > > [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > > > I spent a very uncomfortable summer in the Mojave Desert. The moonlit desert nights were absolutely amazing, but the hot dusty days were pure hell. _I assume all of SoCal is like that_ , so I’m not much interested in seeing it. > > It is. Especially next to the ocean. Are you saying summer in beachside SoCal is a hot dusty hell? If so, I have to assume it’s some sort of failed joke post. I live in the Bay Area and I’m not the biggest fan of Southern California. Also beaches, sun, and ocean are not my favorite things. Even so, the idea of coastal SoCal being a hot and dusty hell is silly. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2021, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-california/939181/158 "2021-05-12T03:11:54Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > On the positive side, there’s a bill in the California legislature to ban the sale of gas-powered leaf blowers. Be better if they’d permit their sales and ban their use. ---
**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2021, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-california/939181/159 "2021-05-12T08:32:21Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > Are you saying summer in beachside SoCal is a hot dusty hell? I took it as a Greenland/Iceland thing: “Oh, yeah, definitely don’t go there, _you_ wouldn’t like it at all _all_ … mumble… mumble… more for the rest of us… mumble…” ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2021, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-california/939181/160 "2021-05-12T16:52:55Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > There are also a large number of wineries in El Dorado County, east of Sacramento. Those also don’t have anything else particularly touristy around them, apart form the drive on a scenic country road to get to them. Shhhh! Don’t tell them about my old vines, casual and unassuming tasting rooms, and lack of tourists! Nothing to see here. Everyone move along. Nothing to see. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2021, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-california/939181/161 "2021-05-15T15:22:20Z")
Every time I see the thread title, I want to say “Umm, California, I don’t know quite how to put this, but… I hardly think of you at all.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-about-california/939181.md?page=7)