5 reasons to avoid moving to California
You will need a car for almost everything
You could be tooling around the city or throughout the state, in both cases, your trips can’t be done with public transit. For instance, if you plan on visiting San Francisco, you need a car. And what’s even worse is that in most cities, the traffic is always congested.
The cost of living is very high
The overall cost of living is a bit more expensive than the national average. Besides housing costs, which are probably the most important and influencing factor, groceries, transportation, but also utilities marked an all times high.
State taxes cost a lot
The state sales tax is 7.25%. We can’t really say it’s the highest in the country, but it’s not the lowest, either. There are other local jurisdictions that might add to the same percentage. State income tax usually ranges from 1% to 13.3%, but it solely depends on your filing status and the income level you declared.
Even if other states benefit from a graduated rate for income taxation, California is currently on the higher end. It’s worth mentioning that the highest income tax rate kicks in when the income reaches that $1 million mark or even beyond that.
You’re at risk for some of the man-made and natural disasters
Depending on the location, it’s highly possible to experience all kinds of threats to your safety, like mudslides, earthquakes, and especially wildfires. For instance, Southern California marked around 10,000 earthquakes on a yearly basis, but luckily, most of them are minor, so you won’t even notice them.
Even so, aftershocks of earthquakes could be felt for months after the incident. Since you’ll be experiencing a Mediterranean climate, California is also at risk for wildfires.
There’s a noticeable housing shortage
The state lacks affordable housing options, especially for those who are only interested in renting. In fact, some people reported spending hundreds of dollars a year only on rent. As for home purchasing, the average home price in California goes beyond $800,000, which is a lot higher than the national average.
The status of public schools is worth giving a second look…and a third one
If one of the things that bother you when it comes to relocating is whether or not the state has good public schools for your school-aged kids, then you need to research more about the public school system in California.
According to the most recent ranking, California Public Schools ranked 41st spot out of 50 states, and one of the reasons for that is that the state has a higher teacher-to-student ratio and some of the highest percentages of high school kids with injuries.
