Goodbye, California

The 1978 thriller is about a terrorist threat
to the San Andreas fault. The next Big
One, back to the subject,  might precipitate
an exodus from the State, just as the 1908
quake moved the population center south.

A few days ago I wrote:

The warning signs are widespread. I don't know what may trigger the fall; perhaps it will be rising interest rates, dropping tech stock prices, or fed-up tourists, but it would not be surprising to see a collapse, and an exodus of individual and business taxpayers, in San Francisco's near future.

The data now confirm what reason says should be happening.
Thursday CBS Headline: San Francisco Bay Area Experiences Mass Exodus Of Residents [bold added]

The number of people packing up and moving out of the Bay Area just hit its highest level in more than a decade...Of course people come and go from the Bay Area all the time, but for the first time in a long time, more people are leaving the Bay Area than are coming in. And the number one place in the country for out-migration is now, right here.

Topping the list is the high cost of housing.

“You can’t even contemplate getting into the housing market here,” [Joint Venture Silicon Valley's Russell] Hancock said. “And I don’t mean just service workers, I mean highly skilled professionals. The tech elite are having a hard time affording reasonable housing in Silicon Valley. So this is difficult, this makes it very difficult for employers trying to recruit.”

[Retired engineer Carole] Dabak cites crowding, crime and politics as the reasons for her own exodus...She plans to sell her home for about $1 million, buy a much larger place near Nashville for less than half that and retire closer to family and friends.

During my career I turned down transfers out of California from two different employers. Given the same circumstances today,  I would make a different decision.