Today was a busy day as far as my email inbox went on one of my three accounts. I use one for "social', one for "business", and one for ham radio. The inbox for the business account brings in emails every day for recruiters looking to fill engineering positions, but one recruiter found a way to my personal inbox to ask me to apply for an engineering position in California.....Northridge, to be exact. That employer has a presence in several states (including Arizona) but they, like a lot of employers in California, are hurting for engineers.
I'm somewhat tempted to troll for some information (I've been known to do that), but I don't see myself doing that this time. One, I already know of the incentives they are offering. A $20,000 signing bonus. Relocation assistance. Buying your house out from under you. A one week househunting trip.
Although I could use twenty thousand smackers, I'm not biting. One, the job is in California. Two, 20K doesn't go very far in California. Three, California has some serious problems and I believe it will get much worse there.
Now some Californians will brag online about how great their state is. World's 5th largest economy. Great weather. Great places to visit. Beaches. Mountains. Sand dunes. Redwoods. Wine. Skiing.
I can't argue about the weather and most of what I listed. But world's 5th largest economy? It appears that way, when you look at it strictly in the volume of dollars that are spent there, but does that mean things are golden in the Golden State?
Prices and cost of living are MUCH higher there than elsewhere. The dollar volume, in my estimation, is inflated due to dollars not being worth as much there as they are elsewhere. Sure, I can get a higher salary there, and I might even realize a 30% raise, but what good is that going to do if I don't get to keep it?
I am paying less on a monthly mortgage for a nice house in Tucson than what I would spend on a third rate one bedroom apartment in the Los Angeles basin. I pay anywhere from $1.50 to $2.00 less for a gallon of gas here in Arizona. My property tax bill is about 25% of what that would be for a similar house in CA, I would be in much worse traffic, and I would be in a higher tax bracket. In a per capita sense there might be more dollars available, but what good is it if you have a lower standard of living?
There's more.
I've read where California now has one third of the nation's homeless and one fourth of the nation's illegal aliens. This thing called Proposition 47 has sent property crime through the roof. Photos that I see on the net's top news sites depict rows of tents along the sidewalks of Los Angeles, and I've seen those rows of tents in San Jose.
The state also has trouble keeping their lights on. PG&E has cut off power to tens of thousands of customers so as to prevent their aging infrastructure from setting off more wildfires. There is a convincing argument that they can't replace that infrastructure since the environmentalists won't let them. (There is also an equally convincing argument that PG&E has some corruption amongst their top management). If you do get electricity, you're going to pay a lot more for it.
I will be responding to that email with a thanks, but I will be declining invitations for discussions.
I may not be living in the world's 5th largest economy, but I am living very well.
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