There have been some high profile moves out of California recently including Ben Shapiro, who moved his company to Nashville, and Joe Rogan, who recently moved to Austin. They are just part of a growing exodus of people, especially conservatives, who have had enough of the state’s high taxes, high cost of living, far-left politics and endless problems including homelessness, wildfires and self-inflicted blackouts.

Last night CBS Los Angeles did a story (video below) on the Sheratons, a family of five that is moving out of California after the husband lost his job and was unable to find another one. He and his wife love the California weather, but the high prices and congestion are squeezing them out. After 11 years, they are moving to Delaware to start over.

The story goes on to highlight a moving company based in Pasadena whose owner says that in the past only about 5 percent of their work involved out-of-state moves. However, out-of-state moves have now become about 40 percent of their business, so much that they can’t keep up with the demand.

Last year NBC Bay Area reported that tens of thousands of Californians were leaving the state with a majority citing the high cost of living and high taxes and a substantial number also citing the far-left politics in the state. And that was before COVID hit.

Politics has become a significant part of this for many. There are now several companies that cater to conservatives looking to move somewhere where they can feel more comfortable:

Last month Gary Cook and his wife packed their three rescue cats into a rented SUV and drove from Napa to Idaho, to build a new life after 18 years in Wine Country.

Cook says it wasn’t the fires that drove them out but the high cost of living, high taxes, power outages and politics. He said that as a conservative, he felt he no longer had a voice in California politically.

‘There were significant changes going on that changed our outlook on the whole California dream,’ Cook said.

Scott Fuller, who runs a real estate relocation business, says his business is booming as locals flee for a new life elsewhere.

His company called Leaving the Bay Area and Leaving SoCal helps people move away, sell their homes, and find others…

‘For a lot of people, [California’s] losing its luster. For the average person who maybe came out here for the weather, I think they’re saying the trade-off is just not worth it any longer,’ Fuller said to the Post.

A realtor in Idaho started a similar site called Exit California which helps to guide people out of the state:

Scott Shepard has watched these forces collide from his new home in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. The California-bred realtor started relocation website ExitCalifornia.org and a namesake Facebook page early last year, when he saw a business opportunity in the endless stories of friends and neighbors moving out of state. Now, during the pandemic, the site is so busy he doesn’t even have to pay for online ads.

“It’s starting to kind of take on a life of its own,” Shepard said. “I would be straight and say that it is primarily political. Then it really does come down to the cost and taxes.”

Of course not everyone on the receiving end of this California exodus is thrilled about it. Last year a mayoral candidate in Boise, Idaho suggesting building a wall to keep Californians out.

The official numbers released by the state for 2018-2019 show the population is still growing. The number of births in the state (minus the number of deaths) is still high enough to offset the number of people leaving every year. At least that was the case prior to the pandemic. We’ll have to wait and see how it looks for 2020. But it’s clear that this is a growing trend. A lot of people have had enough of California and are looking elsewhere for a better life.