While I won't get into some of the more "interesting" political themes in this thread, I will say that we're leaving CA and it's almost entirely due to cost of living and more specifically cost of real estate. Every place has it's problems, there is no such thing as the "perfect place to live", and we LOVE living in CA and especially the SF Bay Area. But... I want more space, I want more room, and I am tired of my neighbors being so close to me that I feel claustrophobic... So we're moving to CO where I can get all the space I want with property taxes a fraction of what I pay now (like literally 1/4th the property taxes).
Jeff