I was out in Los Angeles and San Diego for a few weeks back in 1987, and it was the only part of the country where, as a white American, I felt like an unwelcome foreigner in my own country.
There's a large Hispanic population in Florida (mostly Cuban, Puerto Rican, Colombian, and Brazilian) but they are not rude to non-Hispanics the way they were in California. But somehow in California the Hispanic/Mexican locals acted like it was their country, and were unfriendly to whites. As if we were the illegals in
their country!
I also didn't like the smog. In the L.A. part of my trip, I went to see my aunt (a professor at California State University, Los Angeles) and something she pointed out to me was that despite there were mountains surrounding the valley, on many days you couldn't see the mountains on the horizon because the smog was so bad.
I was also surprised how high the cost of living was, even in suburban Pasadena. My aunt at that time rented a two-bedroom apartment for $1,200 a month. At the same time in beautiful Boca Raton and the rest of South Florida, a two-bedroom rented for about $600 a month. Now, after decades of inflation, it's about $1,100 a month here.
Needless to say, the taxes are very high in California relative to other areas of the country as well. And while California is notoriously Democrat/liberal, there's a very large Conservative presence there too, and I know many of them.
An idea I hear is for the more conservative regions of California (mostly the Northern counties) to break away and form a separate state. From what I understand, there aren't even many presidential campaign ads run in California, because it's such a sure thing CA will go Dermocrat in every election.
It must really suck to be overtaxed and have no representation, while they continually raise taxes and use it to provide for illegal immigrants, despite a
Proposition 187 popular vote in California expressing will of the people to cease providing for illegals.
Likewise with
Proposition 8, where the majority made their will known, and an appellate judge arbitrarily threw out the law, despite it being a law passed by an overwhelming majority.
Which is why 100,000 families a year are fleeing the state for places like Colorado, Utah, Nevada and Arizona. Their votes don't count in California, so they're voting with their feet.
The closest equivalent I've experienced in Florida is Miami. While not an unfriendly place, it has the feel of being in a foreign country, and it's often difficult to find someone who speaks English. It also has a very high ratio of crime and violence. And at times has been the murder capital of the United States.
There's a bumper sticker: "THE LAST AMERICAN TO LEAVE MIAMI... PLEASE BRING THE FLAG."
