Yes, California is neoliberal hell. Yes, California is part of the United States and the US is evil, so by extension so is California. The state was built on stolen land and genocide, just like the other 49.
But I've been in the weird position of defending California on this site not because it's "good", but just because I think for those of us who have no choice but to live in the US, it's the least bad option.
I think the issues around homelessness are a good microcosm to look at. Yeah, CA is really shitty towards our homeless population, no doubt. But at the same time there are quite a few people here who actually want solutions that help homeless people and there are programs at the state and local level - feeble as they may be - that try to do this. Meanwhile, since I'm a transplant I can compare CA to my native Midwestern state. Back there, they are only a couple steps below "just fucking shoot homeless people we don't care". Literally every person I know back home sees homelessness as a "problem" that just needs to go away. If I was homeless I would never even consider going back to where I grew up, I'd stay here.
So yeah, I would sorta defend CA here. And now I feel like over the last year you've seen how absolutely christofascist the red states are going w/r/t abortion, trans issues, even gay marriage, you all are starting to see just how awful most of the US can be for anyone who isn't a well-off cishet white guy.
Fun CA fact: if you can land a job in CA state or local govt (including in the massive UC system), your health insurance is required by law to cover all gender affirming care, including expensive surgeries.
I think the issue is that people act like California is the only progressive state in the country, and those of us who live in other areas get annoyed because it comes across as a superiority complex.
Like, you say
But by doing this you're lumping in states like Iowa and Indiana with much more progressive states like Minnesota and Illinois. I would argue the latter have comparable protections for minorities as California, and can even be more progressive in some areas.
And obviously there are massive issues with those two states, but the same can be said of California. I just think there's a level of resentment that comes naturally from asshole Californians acting like everything east of Nevada is a homogeneous blob and the vitriol towards California comes from that.
And not at all saying you're engaging in said asshole behavior OP, I think your post is totally reasonable. Just giving my perspective.
As a Texan, every California transplant here in Texas I have spoken to for more than five minutes ends up telling me about how fucking great California is. Why the are you here, then? Fuck off already.
Saving on rent, probably
They sure fucked up in that case, the "low" rent in Houston isn't so low any more and they get the joys of nine months of aggressively hot and humid weather with mosquitoes the size of gumballs and some of the worst drivers on the planet
We desperately need a :mao-aggro-shining: to end the vicious American urban cycle of high rents making people move to low rent areas, driving the rents there right up to the level they left behind.
I sure as hell wouldn't move to Texas, for all the reasons you said.
There's a lot of disparate environments in Texas, so the sweaty, unbearably hot life experience is mostly an East Texas thing. If you want to live like an Oklahoman, check out Dallas, and if you like desert scrubland West Texas seems nice. I really need to get the fuck out of the humidity zone.
edit: but in all those places you're only a couple of white guys away from hearing chud shit, so... :deeper-sadness:
Right, like Oregon's Union movement grew way faster than California's in the past few years, has the strongest IWW chapter in thee country, legalized psychedelics, went hard for George Floyd, kept anarchism alive in the US between the New Left and WTO, and has a strong permaculture scene. Like, even in the suburbs you can find yards covered with dead-fall, cedar leaves, and huckleberry.
Oh, and the rent's cheaper in Portland than either the Bay or Seattle. If we're having a progressive clit-swinging contest, Oregon wins.
(please don't look at the Nazis)
Right, fair point about those upper Midwest states. I was giving the geography just for a sense of orienting to what I was talking about. My home state is much more like Indiana than Minneapolis (not trying to be too doxxy).