Is California really as bad as Reddit/Americans makes it seem?

44 comments

1. Nothing is bad as Reddit makes it seem.

2. It’s got a long list of pros and cons vs. the US that it acquired by being separated by 2500 km of mountains & desert from most of the US’s people. It wasn’t for me so I left, but hot damn I know a lot of people for whom it’s fantastic

3. Bad in what way?

4. A lot of people like living here. The cost of living is very high, and many people are leaving because of that, though the cost of living being high is partially because a lot of people do want to live here.

5. California is great.

6. Not at all. A lot of Redditors, including on this sub, like to grossly exaggerate bad things about a place they don’t like (and California tends to be disliekd a lot on Reddit), and blow it out of proportion. Every place has its share of good and bad, and it is foolish to only look at one side of a place while ignoring the other.

   “Commifornia is a liberal hellhole nanny state that hates guns, and they are invading my beautiful city” – Such a comment probably explains more about the person saying it than it does about California.

7. No. This may be a hot take, but Reddit isn’t a good representation of anything.

8. San Francisco Bay Area. It’s deteriorating with a speed. Here are from my personal encounter or people which I know very well. My coworker which sitting next to me got his license plate stolen. Another coworker, both cars were butchered with stolen catalytic converters. I always thought my place is safe, lived in a not drive through area, still catalytic converter was stolen, and I cannot repair for months. Another personal friend had an emergency to go to a hospital and as soon as started his car discovered no catalytic converter. We had a team event around 10am and when I arrived at a parking lot, something like ten cars had broken windows. All this happened during last six months.

   Number of homeless just exploded and expanded on new territories.

9. Nothing is as bad as reddit makes it seem

10. No, some Conservatives would have you think it’s a totalitarian 3rd world country with needles and poop piled every 3 steps while people desperately run to the paradises of Texas and Florida. In reality it’s one of the most powerful, well off states with a thriving tech and film industry. It’s experienced some mild population loss because the state can’t get a grip on it’s housing crisis.

11. lol. Largest economy in the US, 5th largest economy in the world

    Yeah, it’s a real hellscape.

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    They have their problems, just like every place has, but the quality of life there is higher than most places on earth.

12. There are some really great areas in CA to live but you need to have the income to afford it. As much as I complain about the metro DC area it’s strangely more affordable than CA

13. People like to hate on overrated states (Ex: NY, IL, TX, FL) a lot of people choose California because of the CoL crisis there and how the state is too crowded, same thing is happening in Florida right now.

14. I love it. Everything people whine about is exaggerated.

    Crime? Not even in the top 10 rates for property or violent crime.

    Cost of living is a real issue.

    I grew up in New England and when I go back I hear a lot about how California and Los Angeles are terrible. All from people who have never been there and live 15 minutes from where they were born.

15. I think it says more about the areas of Reddit you visit because in real life and even on Reddit I don’t see much California hate, but on this sub I see a lot of people asking this question.

16. CA is great! But it is expensive. As most things in life though, you get what you pay for. Ain’t no such thing as a free lunch.

17. Of course

18. Only certain parts

19. I may be stripped of my Texas residency for saying this, but no.

    In general, places are not as bad as the internet makes them seem. Don’t get me wrong, California ain’t great there’s a reason so many people are leaving, but reddit would have you believe walking to the end of your driveway to get your mail requires stepping over multiple drug addicts.

20. No, I moved from there twice and have regretted both times.

21. I didn’t even think Reddit made it seem that bad.

22. People who talk about California as if it were some monolithic entity have never seen much of California. It’s a huge, incredibly diverse state with an enormous population. Places like Happy Camp and Shasta have little in common with LA or even San Francisco besides a license plate.

23. There are parts of California that are incredible and some that are horrible. The truth is somewhere in between.

    California has seen the highest rate of departures of any state. A lot of that has to do with the cost of housing.

24. No not even remotely, California is great overall. Of course it has its problems, and there is some truth in the over the top versions of those problems. For many people of particular political views California is a punching bag used to score political points, that naturally means that you will get disingenuous POVs. Some people might also go too far the other way and make it seem like all sunshine and rainbows, that would be wrong too of course.

25. Huh? I can only speak to the Bay Area but people think life in California is bad? It’s better than any other place on earth I’ve visited

26. What? Reddit is overwhelmingly California positive. One time I dared to suggest I preferred the beaches where I lived for a few reasons and I got notifications for weeks from people Cali-splaining why I was wrong and my opinion was wrong.

27. Not if you believe in gender equality and separation of church and state.

    If you’re a homophobic evangelist it’s Babylon.

28. No one lives in coastal California anymore, it is too crowded.

29. The worst part of CA (as a native) is the high cost of living. Yeah, it’s real expensive, but the reason it’s that bad is because so many people want to live there. The same can be said about the amount of traffic.

    There is a reason so many people want to live there, though, so no, it’s not a bad place to be like Reddit may claim. The weather is phenomenal, there’s tons of stuff to do close by, there is high diversity and you’re exposed to a lot of different people. Some of this depends specifically where you live. I tried leaving because of the cost of living but I miss SoCal too much and will be moving back.

30. If you like the politics and can afford to live here then it’s great.

    If you don’t like the politics and it’s a struggle to afford living here then it’s hard not to look for greener pastures.

31. No. The biggest negative about California is it’s truly very expensive to live in. Especially in the coastal cities or around anywhere desirable you have to be a top earner to live comfortably.

    But otherwise it’s overall a beautiful state. You have a gorgeous coastlines, some mountains, desert, tons of world famous state parks.

32. Nah. California is pretty awesome. We export the most food, entertainment, and tech. The cuisine is easily top 3, we have the most diversity in culture and natural beauty, the most state parks, world class zoos, beaches, and museums, some of the best universities in the country

    Plus we do cool shit like disrupt the insulin game by making our own affordable insulin, free school lunches for every student, legalized weed, free community colleges

    Everyone loves to hate the guy at the top

33. I have lived in California my entire life and I love it! Obviously the state has its problems, but so does every single other state. The problems are massively overstated, almost every other Californian I talk to also loves their state

34. California is like a very beautiful woman. And the beauty is stunning and worthy of praise.

    But that beautiful woman has genital herpes and is slightly schizophrenic in her political views and really doesn’t understand how money works.

35. If you can manage to bury your head in the sand on the politics and move to a more rural existence, California is fuckin mint.

36. No. I live in Arizona and the real life California hate here, especially with trumpers and boomers, is insane. Other than a lot of them, just hating anyone they perceive might be liberal, the housing market here has been very significantly impacted by people in California, selling their homes for the insanely high California rates and then moving to Arizona with the massive amount of cash they just got and buying houses with cash instead of getting a mortgage from a bank. Which means they can pay over the appraisal value and beat out any other non-cash offers. It’s made the housing market here extra inflated, and extra competitive, and I get why there’s frustration about it although let’s be real anybody of the people pissed would do the same thing if they had the chance.

    California is a nice place and that’s why so many people live there and why it’s so expensive to live there.

37. Cost of living is high and the gun laws suck but other than that it’s tolerable.

38. California like all other places has good and bad parts. It is actually an economic powerhouse for the country and has some of the most beautiful landscapes you can find in the US. There is a reason that they have their own tourism commercials on TV. It also provides way more tax revenue than it uses

39. California is a beautiful state and the most bountiful part of the union. It has a lot of problems though.

40. Reddit is the real hell scape if anything

    California is great, if you can afford it

41. Yes, it’s horrible here. Never come here. Save yourself.

42. It’s beautiful, except where it’s not.

    The homeless situation is out of control. All the policies of the last 6-8 years seems to have done little more than enable what’s become a lifestyle. It’s **bad** in many cities, not just a couple large ones.

    Housing costs are insane, and the costs to build are such that the only standalone projects that make any fiscal sense to developers target the upper middle class and above.

    It’s an unfriendly business environment. Very unfriendly. I’m at year 3 of moving my company to Nevada, about 70% done – basically any time a CA employee leaves, their replacement is hired in NV. Looking forward to being completely out.

    I stay because it’s got a LOT to do, the weather is great (even a bit north of SF, where I live), and I’ve owned a home for a while now so the terrible housing has been a (on paper) boon for me – though I expect a harsh downturn soon. CA is pretty great for me thanks to my circumstances. Why any 20-something in a non-tech field stays here, bashing their head trying to survive, is beyond me.

43. Oh, it’s terrible living in a state with the 5th largest economy in the world. And the place where the internet, Apple, Google, Uber, etc. we’re invented.

    And we really hate our six national parks, multi-cultural food and arts scene. And forget about our climate and gorgeous coastline. Who needs it?

    And it’s awful living in a place that’s always been in the vanguard of civil rights and is now leading the charge fighting climate change.

    Forgive my sarcasm, I’m a fourth generation native and I get so tired of people perpetuating negative stereotypes. Seriously, I’ve traveled to 37 U.S. states and the truth is all states have their pros and cons.

    California has a lot of faults, but I truly would not live anywhere else. Believe me, I’ve considered it because of the cost of living here. But I can’t leave this climate or culture.

44. Contrary to what social media would have you believe, California isn’t run by marxists who form lynch mobs and kill people for not being poc.

    Contrary to what social media would have you believe, Texas isn’t run by nazis who form lynch mobs and kill people for not being white.

    Florida isn’t full of crazy alligator-wrestling methheads.

    Alabama isn’t full of incestuous cross burning sister lovers.

    New York isn’t full of Jews who participate in a secret Jewish cabal that runs the world behind the scenes.