I didn't want to leave California, which I consider my real home state, though I was raised and spent the first quarter century of my life in Michigan. But I also have mixed feelings about moving back. Victor Davis Hanson, a true native, explains why:

At some point we Californians should ask ourselves, how we inherited a state with near perfect weather, the world's richest agriculture, plentiful timber, minerals, and oil, two great ports at Los Angeles and Oakland, a natural tourist industry from Carmel to Yosemite, industries such as Silicon Valley, Hollywood, and aerospace—and serially managed to turn all of that into the nation's largest penal system, periodic near bankruptcy, and sky-high taxes.

He understates the tourist industry, or at least the beauty of the place. There's a lot more than Carmel to Yosemite.

I weep.

As a current resident of the Peoples Republic of California I agree.

I lived in Orange county 1984 to 1987.
I lived in San Diego from 87 to 91
I lived in NH from 91 to 2001.
On return to San Diego in2001 I see that San Diego is going the way of Orange county it's just 10 years behind. It will become an overcrowded unpleasant place.

It's like Italy, unrivaled beauty and completely ungovernable. I lived there for only three years (Bay Area) and in the since seven years since I left, neither of my new homes (St. Louis [in my home state] or Chicago) have felt as truly as being home as California.

I've only visited SF, but Zillow and Google Earth seem to show moderately priced housing east of Sacramento, in the western Sierras. Also, on the eastern edge of the Sierras there seem to be nice small towns. Is any of this true?

I was stationed at 32nd street in San Diego when I was a squid. That was in '79 to '81. I was born and raised in Kentucky and I've lived in 5 others since California.

I still miss it.

There's just something about being able to drive from the beach to the desert to the mountains above the snow line, all in a few hours. And I miss the weather. Ah, the weather.

I especially miss the weather on nights like this. My local weather people are calling for, rain, possible sleet, then snow, up to 4". Then, for a little topping, the bottom drops out of the thermometer. 21 Saturday night, 13 Sunday night.

A Sunday drive out to the Anza-Borrego Desert wouldn't suck. Or up to Scripps Park. I'm drooling.

If I win the Power Ball, I'll buy a house out there somewhere. I miss it.

>I especially miss the weather on nights like this.
We are going all the way down to 42F Burr....
about as cold as it gets. In the summer it rarely gets above 85. I'm so dammed spoiled.
San Diego is the only place I've lived where the Weather man can prerecord the next two weeks and go on vacation. No one would notice. when I lived in NH the local weatherman was a celebrity. I haven't watched a weather forecast in 5 years.

As per Paul credentials

I was the ONLy child in my 4th generation CA family to be born outside of CA

I lived in the East Bay 1969 to 1979

I lived in Orange county 1979 to 1990

I lived in Northern CA from 90 to 2008.

I am CA to the bone and I can say that it was depressing on the one hand, and very refreshing on the other to read Mr. Hanson

Too many progressive nuts have ruined this once great state.

I'm a California native and still manage to live here, even though it gets worse every year.

The milestones to California hell were
1. Governor Pat Brown.
2. Governor Jerry Brown.
3. The massive influx of out of state immigrants in the Reagan defense boom 80s.
4. The massive influx of out of country immigrants in the 80s, 90s and 00s to get in on the free welfare state gravy set up by 1 and 2.
5. The silly attempts by the Republicans to de-fund the Mexican colonization - 10 years too late.
6. The subsequent politicalization, polarization and integration of the Mexican colonists into the native enfrancised citizenry, turning California permanently and solidly blue.
7. Governor Grey Davis - The first result of 6. A certified idiot is elected for no better reason than being a Democrat.
8. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger whose motto must be, if at first you don't succeed, join the opposition. The RINOnator.

Hmm, K, maybe you should cut the governator a tiny bit of slack... he IS sleeping with the enemy after all, that's bound to mess up any man's mind a bit... ;)

RH

RH: Then maybe he should just turn the state over to his wife. California is near bankrupt and he's talking about instigating a universal health care system? Someone needs to pull and reprogram his brain plug.

I consider myself a "native son" in as much as on the day I arrived in CA in 78 the state pop was maybe 22M and when I reluctantly left on 90 the pop was in the 30's. Along the way I married a "native", had a couple of "natives" and relocated all of us due to business options.
I still miss the place, but my 3 natives nearly burst into tears every time we had opportunites to move back.
I still did CA business regularly until 2 years ago, so I have seen the incremental changes, but barely recognize the place anymore. I would polk fun at my SD area business partners by saying "I think SD is my favorite part of Mexico". They assured me it was not far from the truth.
I drove myself to CA with under $700 in a 15 year old car under the "Go West Young Man" school of thought. Now, unless you just got done spending your last 18 months working on code for the "hottest" video game, I can't think of a reason to suggest to a recent college graduate to head west. The Golden State has lost its 49er spirit.

PS. The moonies tried to recruit me up to their ranch in Clear Lake on my first morning in California.
Once in a while, I wonder what path my life would have taken had I taken up their invitation that morning by the BART station?

This is what we can expect of colonists on the Moon and Mars in 150-200 years. They will be the richest, loopiest, most overtaxed people in the solar system.

I grew up in Lost Angeles. I miss the Sierras.
There is something about California that tugs at the soul. I live in AZ now, but due to a recent life change I am moving away and am looking for a place to live and work (Building Inspector).
I have looked fondly back over the border to California, but I can't live there.
Bottom line: It's the traffic. Unless you live so far out in the boons that going to Wal-Mart involves a hotel stay, plan on spending huge chunks of your life on the freeway.
I can't do it. When I visit anything south of Lassen National Park I sit in traffic and torment whoever is riding along in the car with my protestations of disbelief. What boggles my mind is that folks are used to it, ignore it, and are content. I would end up in the looney bin in less than a week.
California is one of the most beautiful states in the Union. There are just too many people.

Born in the Bay Area, grew up in Sacramento. Moved away in 1994 and have been back to visit four, maybe five times because I have family there.

Watching it go to hell in a handbasket from up-close is one thing, but seeing how bad it's gotten over a period of years was gut-wrenching.

Rand and I grew up within a few miles of each other in Michigan and moved out to California after college. I used to miss Michigan, but now as I visit my home state I thank God I'm not there anymore. California has a culture of innovation and creativity that I can't find anywhere else. My experiences in aerospace and now at a think tank let me be near people who love to create concepts and machines, and love to talk to others about their creations. You may find pockets of this culture elsewhere, but none so broad and deep.

I was concerned about raising children in "the big city" (Long Beach). Then my eldest got into a magnet high school program that has been called "the best public education program west of the Mississippi", with a music program that's won 5 Grammies in a row, and is the number 1 sports high school in the country. Had I raised my kids in Michigan, they would not have had the chance to sing in cathedrals in Italy, to dance in New York, and to attend summer programs at Yale and Georgetown. Sure there's problems in California, but for me and my family, they're small compared with the upside.

Lynne, I moved out of Long Beach and back to Ohio a couple of years ago. With the extra money it takes you to maintain your standard of living in Long Beach, you could send your kids to the fanciest, lacrosse-playing, Elie-Wiesel-seminar-attending, Venetian-field-tripping, private school in Cleveland - and not have to worry about whether your younger kid is going to miss a spot at that magnet school and wind up at Jordan getting picked on by Cambodian gangsters.

Many of the adults in California reminded me of bratty kids - no responsibility, inconsiderate, living in their own little fantasy world. The more powerful they were, the worse they acted. Which makes it all the more ironic how California treats the actual kids so badly.

Agree with Artemus- Both my CA born kids went to the same elementary, middle and High Schools, graduated and went on to degrees (in classic 4 year style) at Big 10 schools. I won't deminish the hard work each of them put in, nor putdown Lynne's happy outcome, but a majority of my CA business associates with talented children the same age as mine have gone for "alternative educations"-study at home, GED - early out programs and every configuration possible excluding the "4 year HS experience" that one generation ago was the norm for my wifes California education.
In one generation the California educational system has gone from the "best in the world- yes WORLD" (Think Rydell High) to the system today were small subsegments can do well- the brainiacs, the highly motivated, even special ed opportunies are much stronger today- hovever its the kids in the middle 80% that are being cheated.

There were some good programs at Lockheed, but recent decisions have killed them off. Everyone likes the weather in Denver better.

Indeed, I'd look to Denver to become the next Bay Area. A big influx of defense money brings relatively young fresh-out engineers to the area; they stay there and have kids, and the infrastructure grows from there on out. Meanwhile, the Bay Area turns into Philadelphia: the mess left over from people getting rich.