Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Imagine a sun-soaked utopia, where the beaches are as plentiful as the diploma holders… except, wait a minute, neither of those are sticking around anymore! Yep, that’s right, we’re talking about California, the land where dreams are supposed to come true — unless your dream is finding a place you can actually afford to live in after spending half a million on an education that teaches you more about vintage wine than basic economics.
Let’s break it down: California, a state known for its higher education, innovative tech hubs, and an economy the size of a small country, is witnessing an exodus. Not just any exodus, but one specifically made up of individuals armed with college degrees. That’s right, the ones who should know better are packing up. You might ask, why? Well, if you ask the state officials, they’d likely say something diplomatic like “people are exploring a variety of locations”. Yeah, right.
But here’s the scoop — these educated folks are leaving the so-called promised land to find themselves some actual promises, like affordable housing, lower cost of living, and perhaps a traffic scene where rush hour doesn’t resemble a sit-in protest that nobody signed up for. I once thought rush hour was named for the adrenaline rush you supposedly got from driving fast. In California, it’s the rush you get from finally moving an inch after sitting for an hour!
Now, if you’re a postgrad in California, you have to make a life-altering decision: buying a house the size of your old dorm room or moving to a place where the weather might suck, but at least you can own a living room big enough for a couch bigger than a cereal box. It’s like choosing between living in your parent’s basement or being the lord of your own Midwestern manor.
And taxes? Oh, please. In California, they love their taxes like they love their organic, non-GMO, avocado on gluten-free toast. Except these taxes aren’t as delicious and certainly don’t go down as smooth. So when the tax bill comes, it’s often a toss-up between surrendering your firstborn or your left kidney. No wonder people with degrees in finance are hightailing it out first; they can add up the savings just by crossing state lines.
Let’s not forget the business environment. The crippling bureaucracy is like that one relative who just won’t leave your house and insists on managing your finances while draining your fridge. If bureaucracy was an Olympic sport, California would have gold medals coming out of its vegan leather wallets.
And the cherry on top of this farewell cake? The culture shift. People are looking for community, for a connection that goes beyond which startup makes the best espresso. They want to live in places where a trip to the grocery store doesn’t require a strategy meeting and a potential line of credit.
But hey, California will always have its sunshine, its beaches, and for what it’s worth, its beautifully educated populace… albeit one that’s viewing the state in its rear-view mirror. Is it any wonder why? With the country opening up, options spreading out, and telecommuting becoming the norm, staying in a high-cost, high-stress state seems more masochistic than pragmatic.
So, here’s a tip to all those fleeing Californian degree holders: don’t forget your sunscreen because wherever you go, at least you’ll have enjoyed the California sun. And for those staying behind — maybe it’s time to convert those hefty tuition bills into something useful, like lessons in survival economics or perhaps a seminar on how to convince the rest of us that staying is a good idea.
I mean, come on, if you can convince herself that paying more for less is good, you should be in sales, not sitting in gridlock questioning your life choices while trying to decipher whether your latte will cost more than your utility bill.
In the end, whether fleeing or staying, Californians are anything but dull. They’re educated, they’re entrepreneurial, and they’re bold enough to chase the not-so-impossible dream, even if it leads them away from the very place that taught them how. Cheers to them, and may their travels bring them spacious living rooms and significantly smaller tax bills!
Source: California Cities See Exodus of College-Educated Americans
