Posted by
Wil on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 5:30:52 PM
In the last post, I discussed my trip to the states of Nevada, Idaho, and Montana. I did so to share it with anyone interested, but also to provide a background to my next two posts. My next post (tonight or later this week) will discuss the odd senate race in Montana that ended up with a former member of the Green Party winning the Republican nomination. This post is going to discuss something I came to call Californiafication.
Throughout the western states, since the late 70's especially, it has been common for residents of Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Colorado, and probably other states that I have forgotten, to recieve an influx of the residents of California. These Californians leave for a variety of reasons...Overcrowding, high prices, bad state government, dislike of the volume of immigration, pollution, and a myriad of other reasons convince Californians to leave their "Golden State", and seek their fortune elsewhere in the West. Most of them are good people, but many of them stand out in their new surroundings and are shocked that they are greeted often with dislike, sometimes with rolling eyes and sarcasm, occasionally with outright hostility. As a 25 year resident of Oregon and Idaho (20 years in Oregon, then 4 years in Idaho for college, then 1 year back in Oregon before joining the Navy), and more recently a 6 year resident of California since ending my time in the Navy, I have a perspective on this issue and an understanding of both sides. My inlaws have been Californians most of their lives. My Father in law moved here for his dads last duty station in the Air Force, and has lived here since he was 16....38 of his 54 years. My Mother in law moved here from North Carolina at the age of 7, and has been here for 48 of her 55 years. Both seemed genuinely confused about why Californians face crankiness if not hostility when they move elsewhere. Since they intend to retire to Montana in 3-5 years, I decided to write this blog post about the issue.
Californians leave their state for a number of reasons. Here, I will outline a few of the "typical" Californian Transfers:
1) Retirees: Many people who work their whole lives in California move out of state to retire. Why? A variety of reasons. First and foremost, the big cost of living in the state makes it hard to live well on a retirement income, even a generous state pension. When a house in the Bay area still costs over 600,000 despite the housing downturn, selling it and buying a home outright for less than 200,000 elsewhere both provides money for retirement, and saves tax money and mortgage payments. Also, as you get older, you want more time to enjoy things like free time. Few people want to spend that free time in traffic or waiting in line. The crowding of California cities is horrible, and after a lifetime of that, to many retirees, part of retiring includes going to a place with smaller crowds. Also, as you get older, noise, extreme lifestyles, and other such things are more irritating. Leaving them behind is a blessing.
2) College Kids: 18-25 year old kids looking for adventure away from home will often seek out colleges in other states when they can. In Missoula, I saw many California plates on college kids cars. Many of these kids, coming from different environments than local kids, bring more extreme views, more extreme activities, and lead to a more extreme atmosphere.
3) Young Families: Many young families are leaving California, some to escape the violence and gang problems of their California towns, some to start their family in a less expensive place, some to raise their kids "closer to nature" while some leave for a combination of reasons. Many talk of leaving but never do. Many leave but soon return. And many of those who do leave remain homesick and complain about their new location and how it is not like California.
4) Rural Idealists: Many people love the idea of a farm, the idea of living along an isolated stream or near a scenic mountain or ocean scene. Many want to be like "The Horse Whisperer" or "Laura Ingalls" and think isolation will be great, and by themselves or with a family decided to "pioneer" to a small town or outpost far from the bustle of the "rat race". These idealists can be the most annoying of all.
So college kids, retirees, young families,and idealists leave the Golden State, setting out for exotic locations like Portland or Pocatello or Sedona or Sun Valley, hoping to fulfill whatever lack they seem to feel in their California lives. And more power to them. There is much to dislike about California, much reason to leave. But sadly, for many of them, they are not welcomed into their new homes, and most of them have no idea why: THEY BRING CALIFORNIA WITH THEM!!!
1) With the Californians, if there are enough of them come the crowds, the lines, the traffic, and the noise they thought they left behind. I saw it especially in Twin Falls, Idaho and Missoula, Montana, but it was evident too in Helena, Idaho Falls, Elko, Winnemucca, and Pocatello. All these places had evidence that they had grown a lot, and the two towns in particular had major traffic and crowding.
2) With the Californians come higher prices and higher stress. I saw it as a kid, and heard it again and again on this trip. Californians come up with their fat pensions, their severance packages, the proceeds from selling their overpriced real estate, and they drive up prices, driving locals out of the market when they look to buy a house, or even smaller items. They buy acreage and build "mansions" no one local can afford, their kids come into the schools and teach the local kids the "worldly" ways of California, and sometimes even introduce gangs or new drugs. Along with the issues above, they change the appearance and the feel of a community.
3) With the Californians often comes arrogance. The idealists come in and want everything left pristine. They change laws once they have built their own homes adding strict new building codes. They try to change the farms, mines, fisheries, or timber operations that have been in place for generations to make them more "green". They change everything from mascot names to street names to imply diversity and worldliness. The families come in and want California. They complain about the weather, the lack of Old Navy stores, the missing In-N-Out Burger franchises, and they fight to bring these in. They fuss about the backward health care and schools and try to force political and social change.
4) With the Californians inevitably comes a change of pace. California is all about now. Its about immediate service, immediate access, immediate convenience. In other parts of the West, the pace is slower. Some Californians embrace this, many want to change it. They complain, they pressure, they push, and they eventually speed things up. Many of the locals do not like this. They like the slowness and smallness of their communities.
The most important change Californians bring is Liberalism. A woman from Missoula who worked in our campground explained it best. My mother in law asked in a semi hurt voice after a few instances of disdain, "Do you really hate Californians up here?" The woman paused, looked a bit uncomfortable, and said: "Well, you seem nice, but most of the Californians coming here want to make us change." Later I asked her what changes she had noticed. The first thing she had said were liberal politics. She said that she had lived in Missoula for 50 years and she hated hearing from people it was the liberal part of the state. She went on to complain about the noise, crowding, traffic, and higher prices, but first and foremost to her and I suspect to many others, the worst aspect of Californiafication is the liberalism of a community. It has happened to the once conservative states of Oregon and Washington, It is happening to the barely conservative states of New Mexico, Montana, Nevada, Colorado, and Arizona. And given time, it can even happen in the conservative stalwarts of Idaho, Wyoming, and Utah. So as a Californian who plans to move on sometime soon, I promise to whatever state I enter not to califoriaficate your state.