My great grandparents moved to California from the east coast when they were in their early 20s. My grandfather and father were born in California, as was I. My children were also born there. But we all moved away. The whole family is gone, other than my two siblings.
California is a beautiful state, and I feel lucky to have grown up there. I have many great memories of both Northern and Southern California. I lived in Santa Cruz, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. There are so many beautiful places there.
But the state has gone to shit. Two bad things happened, imo. First, people moved there from all over the country because of the weather and the landscape. It is now far too crowded for comfort. And because of the millions of people who moved there, and all the real estate speculation, prices are absurd. You can only afford to live well if you make a shit ton of money or you inherited money and/or property. It has turned into a state of gross economic disparity. The poverty is stunning, depressing, inexcusable. This is happening all over the US now as the middle class vanishes, but California is among the worst. Not because it's a blue state, but because there are too many people there, and there is too much greed and corruption (regardless of political party).
I am very glad to be gone, and I am glad I don't have to go there to be with my kids. Fuck American greed. Fuck California.