My only real issue with Cali is the insane capital gains tax which is why I cashed out most of my gains before becoming a California resident. Now that I'm here my salary went up by 1.6x.
I work remote so the gas prices don't bother me. Car registration is a write off so it's really 66% of what it actually is.
I could have retired at 34 almost anywhere else in the country but decided I'd rather ride the tech salary bubble for another 5-10 years in a place where the jobs are super plentiful.
I don't really mind what this article is saying. Just means less traffic. When the bullet train from LA to SF is complete in 10 years I'll be able to get to SF in 3-4 hours.
The thing I learned about living on both coasts and Hawaii is that corruption exists everywhere. You'll never escape it. The people that go into politics are largely grifter psychopaths and you'll never escape that.
In many ways living in Cali lets me completely ignore politics because my vote on a national level is largely irrelevant.
If you care about taxes so much why did you pay 18k to move instead of just renting a UHaul for a fraction of the cost and driving yourself? I mean jeez my 300 cubic foot container from the east coast to Hawaii was only 4.5k.
For the record my withholding on a W-2 went from 29% to 33%. All in all with the salary bump I don't even care about the slightly higher taxes. My healthcare plan here is already better (lower deductible for same price) and from what I can tell unemployment in California is better so if I do lose my job or something happens I feel like I get a better safety net. I really don't know what you're talking about as far as infrastructure goes. The state is the only place in the country building new train lines right now as I type this.
You should see some of the bridges in Philly. They are falling apart.