The “Water Cooler” is a feature on Claycord.com where we ask you a question or provide a topic, and you talk about it.
The “Water Cooler” will be up Monday-Friday at noon.
Today’s question:
QUESTION: If you could move to another city (inside or outside of CA) or state, where would you move?
Talk about it….
If it wasn’t for family we would have already gone to another state. Our democratic state officials have destroyed this state. And anybody that doesn’t think so is blind to what this state use to be.
@Latino Renegade: Leave it to the racist to see race in a comment that literally made no mention of it. California WAS better before for many reasons one could choose: Lower taxes, less open drug use/overdoses, less regulations in general etc….but NO all you saw was race. How do you know if the commentor is even White? The defense mechanism you are displaying is called: Projection. Go look in the mirror and be better than that.
And no, calling me a racist won’t work this time, I’m a minority.
@Latino Renegade
Your right. It’s better now with the homeless bum camps that trash once clean areas.
It’s better now with the population nearly doubling in the last 50 years.
It’s better now because the vast State Water Project was designed for a population not much greater than 25 million The state’s water system remains essentially is as it was in the 1960s.
It’s better now because the Hoover Institute stated that there is over $1 trillion in pension liability alone, or $76,884 per household. There are 4 million current pension beneficiaries, a number that continues to grow and which exceeds the total population of 22 states.
It’s better now because when you consider the California legal system and its regulatory system, inclusive of the world’s most comprehensive global warming law, California is likely the most regulated state in the Country, if not the World.
It’s better now because California also is among the highest taxed states in the nation. California has the highest income tax rates.
It’s better now because the defunct Master Plan for Higher Education, which banned tuition, as it was based on the ideal that public higher education should be free to students (just like K-12 primary and secondary education). As officially enacted, it states that public higher education “shall be tuition free to all residents.” Thus, California residents legally do not pay tuition.
It’s better now because the education system teaches you to respond to the things you’re ignorant of with calls of racism.
Somewhere cold and miserable to match my personality, and hopefully where no other Californians would follow me.
Probably Oregon
I would like to stay in California, and move to a different time… maybe the 1950s (just need a flux capacitor with Mr. Fusion upgrade )
I am going to move to any state or city that has a deep strong conservative ideology! Maybe Georgia or Orange County,California
I’m with you…but I don’t think I’ll move to Georgia…too humid. In San Diego even without talking to anyone, you can tell just from driving down the highway and looking at bumper stickers and flags and roadside stands that they are far more conservative there.
Still, I would want to live somewhere less populated and where it is still warm. It will take some investigation. Maybe the East side of the Sierras, or Arizona or Utah desert or New Mexico, or maybe Carson Valley area of Nevada…but I don’t know how conservative those are and would have to investigate.
Perfect!
given the last few days, one with a stable power grid.
@ Ash~
Think that would be Texas? If I remember they are on their own power grid,….anybody, correct me if I got that wrong.
California native here. 🙂
When our children started school, I learned that a lot of people don’t agree on much. So I consider the source, and move on. In my mind, of course.
I take life one day at a time.
California, love it. Can’t think of any other place I’d rather be.
Ditto
Oregon. Less than 400 deaths (population 4.3M) and it’s “open.” I promise not to bring the California “suck” with me. You can have it, the high taxes, the disgusting homeless problem (that Dems don’t want you to talk about), unfunded liabilities (they lie about those numbers too), the crime and failure to punish it and forty other reasons this state is a $***h**le. You who are choosing to stay, have lots of fun OK?
In state, San Diego.
Out of state, anywhere but Oregon or Florida.
If I had the means, I would have been gone already.
We will be moving as soon as we can sell this place. we are lifelong CA residents…mo more. We have found a nice area out of state with reasonable prices and politics. And no I will not tell you where.
A nice simple redneck state. I was married in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho and fell in love with it’s people, simplicity, and beauty. The people there were nice to us. We were in love, getting married, and they treated us like royalty. They even baked us a wedding cake and because we were from San Francisco, the band played, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” in our honor. At the time it was a lot like Mayberry. It was a long time ago, but from what I understand, Coeur d’Alene hasn’t changed much.
FYI, Coeur d’Alene is French for Heart of the Awl. Why an awl? Because the French Canadian fur traders thought the local tribesmen were as sharp as an awl when it came to trading.
Have to agree with you about the Idaho panhandle. Also some parts of western Montana. Common sense abounds there…..and if you screwup…its not someone else’s fault. Still good and bad like the beautiful summers and the very cold winters but its a trade off…
keep the fact you are a califonian under wraps. The natives don’t appreciate the Californication of c’ouer d’alene
Somewhere in the tropics would be great since the weather is about the same year round (and I like warmer weather). Problem is those countries are often politically unstable.
Nevada, Texas or Wyoming (no state income taxes)
Montana or Oregon (no sales taxes) or Idaho
Had enough and moved in March to Florida! Lower Taxes, housing prices, gas and better roads. Yea it’s hot here and they might get a hurricane but it’s hot in Calf. and you got Earthquakes.
Germany!
Born and raised here and unfortunately have witnessed the slow downfall of this once great State. Growing up in Pleasant Hill in the 60’s was like living in an episode of Leave it to Beaver, perfect. The 70’s and 80’s in Lafayette and Moraga, also great. Now in Clayton which is somewhat insulated from some of the insanity but our escape plan has been perfected and will be implemented shortly. All done with the heat waves, power shut offs, wildfires, crazy politics, insane traffic, overpopulation that affects everything from camping to getting a dental appointment, crazy high taxes and nothing in return. I could tell you where we’re moving but it’s a secret. Oh ok- The Gem State. That is all.
What street did you live on in P Hill? We grew up on Oak Park.
Grew up on Beatrice Road in Poets corner.
I went from San Francisco to Concord to Tracy to Modesto. I’m done movin’
We had a couple of areas picked out in both Washington and Oregon. After seeing the way those state governments conduct themselves, Never. So our search continues.
Well,…not sure where to go or to go,…yet. Hubby has a bit over 2 years till retiring. Then travel to see if we like other States. Daughter & Son-in-Law are looking for job(s) in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, or Colorado, so his Coast Guard pension isn’t taxed. So, still up in the air about it.
I’m a Calif native & I’m sick of the mismanagement of the state… the Enron power crisis, PG&E pspe’s, new rolling blackouts, lack of infrastructure planning at the same time as rampant unplanned growth (water shortages, school over crowding, streets / freeways going to hell, super high priced railway between Modesto and Bakersfield? (gimme a break), no traffic integrated planning, developers doing what they want – cities and counties just want their revenue and pass the buck, poor Covid leadership, (Newsom started strong then weakened – we need to start over to get rid of this imho)…. like the state – the leadership is awful 🙁
… sorry – forgot to mention this…. Newsom PROMISED to get to the bottom of the gas price gouging in Calif by the oil companies as part of his campaign to get voted – another missed commitment …. recently on the blogs here was Capital Punishment… doesn’t matter if you agree or not the VOTERS of the state voted for Capital Punishment – he unilaterally went AGAINST voters wishes and won’t follow through… 🙁
Exploring our options now, not sure where yet, but we have some of the same states on our list as have been mentioned in other comments. Lots of beautiful, sane and inexpensive places to choose from!
We have been looking at places in Idaho.
I am not a fan of high population density so, Montana or eastern Idaho
My wife and I have lived almost our entire lives in the Bay area. We concluded about 5 years ago that we couldn’t retire here. While we can afford to stay we have had enough of the politics, expense and traffic. We can move to other parts of CA to get away from the traffic, but we have to leave the state to get away from the other two. We don’t understand why the state and voters continue to raise our taxes and things just keep getting worse. They want to break up Prop 13, 1st on business then voters. There are two props doing just that in November. If you think things are hard on business now, how do you think things will be when you raise their property taxes. If you reject calls to increase the sales tax rate (ie. County and Concord) they will broaden the sales tax base by taxing services like haircuts, auto repair, nails, etc..places where you already pay sales tax, thus raising our costs further so they can continue to fund their pet projects.
We have not determined our ultimate retirement, but I won’t be surprised if we have a summer and winter place since it is hard to duplicate the great CA climate. We will miss a lot of CA, but we have simply had enough.
Considering it after I replace my Goodyear tires.
We’re actively looking right now at homes in a couple of other states. The plan is to buy one now, use it as a vacation home until we retire in a couple of years, then live there permanently.
I’ve lived in CA for over 30 years and I can say the last five years have been a noticeable decline. How do people keep voting “Democrat” every election and then wonder why things are so bad? We need a more balanced government, some Republican, some Democratic, some Independent. No one party has all the answers.
Whenever someone I knew would move east I would tell them “call me from your basement when you have a tornado warning, or have fun getting eaten alive by mosquitoes in the evening.” Now I’m wondering if that is worse than our endless cycle of heat waves, droughts, massive fires, smoke-choked air, and ever higher taxes that fix nothing.
Already in the works…
Oklahoma yep Oklahoma with all of its humidity random tornadoes and much larger insects. My husband and I were born and raised in Ca during the 70’s. It is extremely sad for us to decided this but we have a 9 year old and want her to grow up in a more rural area. Where it’s more family oriented and seems like it’s more conservative. Plus I have some family there and we will get way more bang for our buck.
Tomato Girl: I am sure you will find new friends in Oklahoma. There are some very creative lady’s there (Pioneer woman – Ree) Your family will give you some tips to help you to integrate if necessary.
I have asked around through the years to find out why Californians are so hated by a few. It is because of complaining. Californians are used to variety and can become claustrophobic. Still yourself if this happens. Buy the local coffee. Enjoy the unique culture. You will love having your child in the rural surrounds.
On the other hand, be prepared for the flip side. The drug culture can snap up your child before you know it. Hands on mommy! Keep your child learning new wondrous things.
Sorry in advance if I sound bossy.
Just based on my preferences it would probably be somewhere in the Mountain West. Colorado maybe, or Idaho. It is hard to enjoy the California climate when we spend weeks with horrendous air quality. Honestly I would be better off in LA I think. Worse air quality as a baseline, but they aren’t a smoke funnel for the whole central valley like the Bay Area is. A fire can be in the mountains above Bakersfield or way up in Lake County and we are still likely to get the smoke pouring through here. LA gets smoke from fires right around LA, that’s it. If our air is going to be like Beijing every fall, then forget it.
I am moving in two weeks to Idaho, after living in the Bay Area for 60 years! My kids and grandkids moved up there this year; I’m following! I will miss my family here, friends, familiarity of everything but I will not miss the rolling blackouts, the 1.1 million people in CCC, or the politics. However, I do have VERY fond memories of growing up in Concord in the 1960s and I will take those memories with me!
That is sad to me.
I would leave today if I could convince husband. Places like Idaho or Montana or Wyoming sound great but we are up there in age and can’t deal with the winters. I would love to go back to the South, Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky or even Tennessee. So very sick of this state and everything about it. Always a crisis, always a disaster. It’s too hot, it’s too smokey, it’s too dirty, totally sick of the homeless mess, always waiting for the “big one” to hit us again. I am done. You can get acreage and a mansion elsewhere for what our homes are worth, no mortgage and hundreds of thousands left over.
I have lived in Washington and Oregon. They are nice places, but they are not home. Contra Costa is a great place. If you have spent any time outside of North America, you know our cities are not crowded. Besides I hate real winters, and we don’t have that wasted time of the year. Between too cold by the ocean, and too hot at the Delta and beyond. Central Contra Costa is my home. There is no reason to leave and be board somewhere els
We left in 2017. Writing was on the wall, so sad,
If I were to move it would be Utah, Colorado or SW Oregon. I like it here. However not the weather lately or fires! Is there a place where there are no weather related or natural disasters? I am very comfy in my new place all paid for. I don’t need money. So I am all set. I can’t afford a Lamborghini. I saw two different ones today in Danville. I will make due.
That is sad to me.
>Is there a place where there are no weather related or natural disasters?
The problem with “global” warming..
Lake Sherman, Texas
Copperopolis, CA
Dorrington, CA
Oroville, CA
As some of you know US is my adopted country. I was very young when I arrived here in 1967 (22years) as an au pair, I was an au pair for 2 years in Westport, Ct. and loved Westport. After a few months back in my native Denmark I returned to the US and moved to New York City with girl friends, missed Westport, but eventually grew to love New York, of course it was the late sixties and lots were happening. I met my ex husband and moved with him to New Orleans for one and a half year, then back to New York. Got married and my husband got transferred to Milwaukee, where we lived for just a few months before he was transferred to San Francisco. At first I missed the East Coast, but in all the years I have been here I have grown to love California, first of all there is the weather, then the nature, Tahoe, Yosemite, the Gold Country, the Wine Country, the Coast line. I still love New York and the East Coast. New Orleans was too hot and humid, however the food was great. Milwaukee not much to write about, although it in one of the big lake. My ex husband was from Madison Wisconsin and it is a very pretty town, but the winters are brutal. In this area I have lived in the City, in Marin, Peninsula, Benicia and here in Concord. I really liked Benicia and wouldn’t mind living there again. I love the Gold Country and could probably live in some of those towns up there, Sonora, Placerville etc. Although I like being close to water, guess that is the viking in me. I have spend a fair amount of time in both Arizona and Florida, both nice states with lots to offer, but I come back to the California weather and the diversity we have in nature, cannot beat that.
My husband lived in Denmark and loved it. We have visited and it’s wonderful! So much to see and do, and the people are wonderful.
He’s from New Orleans, and we went to grad school, lived there for 6 years. Still have family there. Would like be to have a small place there, but alternated over the summers elsewhere, maybe Hawaii.
Wouldn’t you want to go back to Denmark?
The hubby was born and raised in CA. I was born in the Philippines, but was raised in CA since I was three years old. Our almost 19 year-old daughter was born and raised CA. Because of CA’s bad politics, high standard of living, yada, yada, yada; we are so ready for a big change. We (except for our daughter) have lived here for over 50 years. It is sad to see the state go from golden to not-so-golden. The reason we are still here is our mothers are still alive and living in CA. His mother is going to be 97 in a few days. My mother is 88.5 year old. When our mothers have passed, that’s when we move out of CA. We are debating between Idaho, Nevada, or Utah.
I am seriously looking at the Gold Country-gated community on a lake-or something similar. Retirement-style. And still in California.
Was considering Oregon, but not anymore due to their liberalistic mentality and practices.Yes, I could move to the rural areas, but Id be under the governor’s control and thats a “no thanks”. South Carolina/North Carolina are pretty tempting. I havent ever been to either state, but will in the next year or so to check out the people, weather and food, we all know food matters most…
We’ve been to Charleston SC twice in the last four years and it is one of our favorite cities. Beautiful city, friendly people, and a great foodie town. However, the weather in late spring and summer can be brutal with high temperatures and humidity and they also get hurricanes. I’ve been to NC several times and it is also beautiful, with great beaches, beautiful mountains and friendly people. However, it’s the same weather as SC. The first time I was there many years ago was in August and after walking about 75 feet from the rental car to the hotel lobby I was ready for a shower.
To those on the fence, I say stay and fight. I say let the irregular Americans leave California and let us, the regular Americans, stay. Why should we concede the beaches, the coastal Redwood forests, the Gold Country, the bountiful Central Valley, the Wine Country, the grandeur of Yosemite, this beautiful, amazing Golden State? Those places are ours, not theirs! Stay and fight!
If the Governor Newsom recall is successful perhaps staying in California will be viable. If the recall is not successful, that tells me there are still a bunch of nimrods out there that think he is doing a good job. Pro-homeless, pro-crime, and pro-illegal policy will never allow California to properly rebuild. He offers no solutions, only band-aids. We need a leader, not a sneaky agenda guy.
Working on our escape – new location not disclosed publicly.
Kapaa! 🙂
Not sure where but out if state in 2 years.
That should read out of state.
I moved to Grants Pass 11 months ago and I love it up here. Josephine
county has had 2 deaths from Covid, Population of county is 87,000……
I love this state but would consider leaving it to escape these first overt sign of climate change – heat, fires and drought will become the new norm for much of the state. Maybe Oregon, Washington or Canada…they’ll have water for a long time still.
Richmond bc canada
Near Vancouver. Mom lived there, perfect weather! Nice walkable town nice people. Public transportation convenient.
I’ve traveled to several states east of the Rockies and don’t care to live in any of them, although Providence was not bad, kind like the Bay Area 20-30 years ago. I travel to a small town in Oregon every year, love the feel and the wonderful attitudes of the people. I used to travel every year to a town near Boise, uninteresting landscape, winters a bit colder, people inherently honest, teenage fashions, attitudes 5-10 years behind the Bay Area. Would like to see more of the state. Locally, I like the gold country.
I am 11 months away from leaving this morally broken and corrupt place. It is a far cry from what it was in the 70s and 80s. All I ever hear are people screaming in languages I do not understand and businesses with foreign names everywhere. Taxes are predatory, gun laws are horrible and politicians care more about pandering to illegals than taking care of their constituents. Now with dangerous criminals being released from prison early due to Covid, we are at their mercy as well. I am gone.
I used to be proud to say I was from California, not anymore. But I still hold in my memory the good days from the past.
I have also lived in the Bay Area my whole life. My problem is the traffic and so many people. You can’t be a sanctuary state to illegals and expect it to all work out. Fires and taxes and lawlessness have left this state undesirable. I have been looking else where to live where Republicans rule . Being a former democrat for 40 years, voting with the herd and finally pulling my head out of the sand I just want to say I am so sorry.