California Butthurt

So Phillip and I released a video for our YouTube channel on the new trend (meme?) of "Leaving California" where we amusingly (if I can't say so myself) explained that were were moving to California in order to leave California so we could leach off this meme. I then followed up with a BiggerPockets post asking whether real estate investors should leave too. It was one of my all-time most popular posts with 141 comments so far. And while most people agreed with me (probably two or three to one), there were a lot of butthurt Californians to say the least.

I try not to be petty and I do hope California pulls its act together and reverses their downward trend. But given how many Californians (and "coastal elite" types) love to mock "Flyover country" and particularly the South, it's awful hypocritical to get so upset when someone makes fun of you back. And furthermore, I wasn't making fun of them. I was pointing out the many problems the state has and asking whether investors should flee. (My answer, by the way, was they should not, but of course that was ignored.)

There were a few that actually made rational arguments. Most notably they mentioned the large GDP of California (that I discussed) or high returns from the past (which I discussed) or the continued population growth (from mostly poor immigrants, California has had seven straight years of internal outmigration).  

Some just merely asserted it, like this comment on our video, "As a California Real Estate investor who's selling their out of state properties to buy more properties in California I'd love to debate some of the misinformation you've stated." My request he start of by correcting us where we went wrong in the comments, of course, went ignored.

Others went something like this,

Blah, blah, blah. If I had a quarter for every article regarding California's demise. Even as far back as the early nineties, Time ran a headline regarding the shine coming off the Golden State. My investments in LA and SD have yielded 500%+ appreciation in the last 20 years, and my CAP rates are double digits. I'm not even going to get into the glaring numerical errors in the article. Stay in KC, I'll remain in Cali.

Sorry, I couldn't help myself...

But I must note that again there are the "numerical errors" (with something like 80 links for citations) that are not referenced. Of course, I don't say he should sell and mention that California had had great appreciation in the past so the comment belies an ignorance of the article's contents. It's almost like when you assume an article says "blah blah blah" your reading comprehension goes down.

Regardless, because of California's extraordinarily strict building codes and increasing population (due to immigration), prices will likely rise. It just means the middle class will get shredded even more so. (Although probably not as they have in the past as affordability has become a huge problem. And cash flow is bad in California, so it wouldn't be my first spot to invest.)

Or this, "This reads as merely anti-California propaganda. California leads in new job growth." (Well, not per capita. Indeed, it's not even in the top 10. And the problems of poverty, inequality, homelessness, commute times, a stifling political environment, housing affordability and inequality and just filth aren't going to be fixed by a large GDP (nor bans on plastic straws.)

There's a bunch more like that, but I shouldn't be too harsh, though. I would say there were three agreements for every disagreement and two agreements from Californians or ex-Californians for every one disagreement. For example, comments like this,

Great analysis. As a resident of the state, our family has seen many friends leave the state over the past few years and know many others who plan to leave but are waiting for their opportunity

And of course, we should hope California's politicians right the error of their ways. Perhaps with Trump out, the hyper-liberalism of the past few years will subside since there's no super villian to oppose. Hopefully. California had the benefit of huge industries (Silicon Valley, Hollywood, the Cal Tech university system, tourism, etc.), near perfect weather, great amenities (beaches, mountains, Yosemite National Park, Napa Valley, etc.). 

It really would be a pity if they pissed it all away.