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7 Out Of 10 Californians Think We're The Best State
Surfer at Manhattan Beach, CA (Photo by David Carstens via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr)
While living in California has its perks (year-round sunshine), we are well aware of the that things aren't perfect (ahem, traffic). But according to a new survey, it turns out that more than 7 out of 10 Californians think the good outweighs the bad, and would choose to live in the Golden State over any other place.
USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and the Los Angeles Times teamed up and surveyed 1,505 registered voters in California from Feb. 18 to 24 about the quality of life in California, the Times reported.
They found that the things we could do without include the sea of commuters and overcrowding; that's followed by the cost of living, taxes and business environment; corrupt politicians and big-spending government, and the cost of owning a home. The way the state handles income inequality and immigration also weren't viewed favorably in the poll.
On the flip side, what Californians love most about the state is its sweet weather, followed by the people (friends and family included), diversity, progressiveness, and the chill Cali lifestyle, according to USC News.
"Most Californians have decided that they are willing to pay a ‘weather tax’ to live here,” Dan Schnur, director of the USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times Poll and executive director of the Unruh Institute of Politics of USC, told USC News.
Not all Californians are on the same page. There's a difference between conservative and liberal groups: more Republicans than Democrats are pondering a move out of California. Minority groups are more gung-ho on the state: 25% of white voters have considered leaving the state, versus 17% of Latinos and 14% of Asians with the same thoughts.
“This poll illuminates the cross section of the fading optimism of aging white Californians and the youthful exuberance of young Latinos,” said Michael Madrid, an Unruh Institute fellow and Republican strategist. “At the same time the growing divide between these two California groups is becoming more apparent on issues like crime and public safety, housing affordability and the ability to secure a good paying job. While there remains a generally optimistic view of life in the state there are undeniable elements of growing concern that policy makers should pay attention to.”
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