I left california 13 years ago and moved to new zealand. I was a third generation Californian and was well off but I just got tired of the crowds and traffic.
I'm happy with the move!
What gets me about taxes is when you can't see any value from it and dollars get sucked up in a black hole. I make my living now basically looking for efficiencies in government. I would LOVE to have at it in California. Happy to do it on a no fee basis only taking a little tiny percentage of what I identify in savings