The Golden State – California has seen a number of its residents making the move to other states. Not to mention the exodus of the tech giants like Hewlett Packard and Tesla to another state due to Covid-19 restrictions. It’s the home to beautiful beaches, scenic roads, and a gorgeous sunset, so why are people suddenly wanting to leave?

It has been seen that most middle-income people are leaving the state in favor of other states like Texas and Idaho with a lesser cost of living and more relaxed tax regulations.

Whatever the reasons, the people leaving all need good California movers USA services to ensure the move is super smooth. Anyways, back to the topic at hand, why are celebrities and the general public leaving California and opting for new homes in other states? Why is it that nearly 700,000 people moved out of the state during the last year?

Reasons Why People Are Leaving California

1.   A Worsening Housing Crisis

Only 2% of houses in the state are available for viewing. That and the fact that owning a house costs a whopping $600k. Whereas, renting a 3 bedroom home or apartment costs $2800 which is way higher than the national average of $1600. So unless you’re rolling in money or crashing with friends, you really can’t afford living costs in the state. This is one of the reasons why middle-income residents are choosing states with lesser costs associated with housing.

2.   Booming State Tax Rates

The current top marginal tax rate stands at 13.3% but it has been proposed to change it to 17% which will adversely affect the rich and the small business owners who are still recovering from the damage caused by the Covid-19 crisis.

On the other hand, the sales tax stands at 7% and the gas tax is 50%. Most Californians are unable to deduct these from federal tax. California is one of the only two states in the US that has a tax rate of over 10%.

3.   Political Issues

California state residents feel very strongly about their politics but quite recently they are claiming that the state is swaying away to the left. Not only this, the Covid-19 closes 19% of the workforce out of employment. California has very strict restrictions as some areas of work are still closed. Whereas, other states are practically open for the same workers who are now moving. Moving between states? Here’s what you should know before the move.

4.   Rising Crime Rates and Insecurity

People are now seeking security and stability from the rising violent crimes in the state. The fact that the state doesn’t allow citizens to do much in case of a crime is a reason why people are frustrated and want to move away to be secure.

5.   Socio-economic Issues

California is home to the largest number of homeless people in the country as compared to any other street at 150,000 people. These people are drug addicts and often defecate and expose themselves wherever they want and are visible to minors.

People feel that the state government hasn’t paid much attention to the issue as homeless encampments are only increasing across the state, even in the richer areas of the town.

6.   The Wildfires

California has been in the news for catastrophic wildfires across the state. In October 2020, the biggest wildfire season of 8500 fires in the history of the state burned down 2 million hectares of land. People are tired of the building and re-building and simply want to leave due to it.

It’s not just the rural areas, the urban areas and the cities are engulfed with thick smoke due to the fires which cause issues in carrying out day-to-day activities like going to work or sending the kids to school.

The situation isn’t really as bad as it seems, but the population growth has come to a halt in the state in the last year, which can be a little alarming. The state is still one of the most beautiful places to live in but it has its vices that the residents have to deal with. Most of the people moving to the state are high-income individuals or young graduates that need jobs. After all, the state does require college graduates to feed the silicon valley belly of tech giants from time to time.