Want even MORE geography? Be sure to check out my Substack where you can read more of my articles, find maps I create, or listen to my podcast! Check it out right here: geographyiseverything.substack.com

As a New Mexican, here is my advice for people looking to keep people out of their state, we've been successful in creating a shield against from any Californian or... anyone in general looking to resettle in this state, it's called *lack of opportunities* and a *poor economy.*

As a Geography student in the 1970's we were taught that during WWII virtually everyone that fought in the Pacific came through California and that many who left the service at the end of the war simply stayed. We were taught that the pleasant weather was new to many exiting GI's. Also, the weather allowed year round testing of aircraft so a lot of aircraft manufacturing gravitated there. Naturally, your assessment is about fifty years newer, and with better data.

Up until COVID California’s Central Valley was still completely affordable. I was working a warehouse job in the Fresno area. I was single and was able to afford an apartment and a fairly okay standard of living. COVID and the response by the country as a whole ruined all that. My rent went from $680 for a two bedroom to $1,100. It’s not longer affordable and I am seriously considering moving. It’s sad because our culture is undefeated. Moving away just to survive is gonna be the most life altering decision I’ve ever had to make.😢

Another thing you gotta know is California's Geography is buffed by the central valley which grows a TON of food.

“Living in Paradise is quite expensive.” *Hawaii has entered the chat*

California is a beauty. I have lived in other states and this state has the most spectacular landscape, geography and climate.

The invention of air conditioning allowed Arizona to thrive. Same can be said for Florida. Pretty much nobody lived in Florida prior to 1950.

Apparently, Nevada has three pockets of population: Las Vegas, Reno-Sparks-Carson City and Elko.

I’ve lived in pretty much every western state but it’s hard to beat California living Good weather good wages good scenery good vibes

Not all Californians are moving out. I was born and raised here and have 3 other siblings. We're all over 60 years of age and while we have travelled, we still think California is a great place to live.

California is unique, I love California.

You could say the Spanish were on a mission to settle the area.

I moved to Washington at 12 with my family. Dad was in the Navy. The family went to Florida with the Navy. I tried Washington as an adult but the cost of living had became out of control. I like visiting California but the cost of living there would mean a big drop in my disposable income if I moved there today. That Mediterranean climate is awesome. Even Oregon, Washington and British Columbia have the Med climate although cooler and a bit wetter. The west coast of every continent has the best weather. Compare Alaska and Norway with eastern Asia. The Mediterranean area with the humid southeast US. Argentina and Chile. West is best if you live on a coast.

In addition to factors you've mentioned, we got many people forced out of Kansas and surrounds due to the Dustbowl. WWII also a factor as many military folks came to San Francisco prior to shipping out to the Pacific War. We also built many warships and munitions for WWII (WWI also actually). This industry brought many people to the state as well. Our state was not ridiculously expensive until the 1980s so people could come here and buy a decent home. (Good luck doing that today.) in the 1960s we got great free or cheap university education made available, which led to a high level of education in the workforce. Anyway, I'm sure there are many more major factors, and if you'd tried to cover them, your video would have been excessively long! But, thanks for an interesting video.

I always wondered what live is like in Arizona, I'm from the Netherlands and the weather here is very cool, cloudy and humid so very polar opposite weather wise from were i'm from but i think the state and nature is very beautifull!

Astoria, Oregon is the oldest American settlement west of the Rocky Mountains. In 1811, New York financier, John Jacob Astor, sent fur traders to the area establishing the trading post of Fort Astoria.

Mr. Beat mentioned that President James Polk wanted all the land bordering the Pacific Ocean (then called the "South Sea"). The Most Underrated American President: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/epmhdq2E16q5n3U.html The James Polk Song: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/Zqegf5ByvZ-ck3k.html

Love your very informative and well presented videos Geoff ! As a fellow Geographer in the PNW, I always find your topics interesting !

As an Californian I can only say please move faster the traffic is out of hand haha

fantastic video, keep up the great work!

Great video. Thanks!

I was born in WA, but grew up in the Bay Area and have lived in both Vegas and WA as an adult.. WA is the best, at least for me.. No state income tax, lower cost of living than CA, and much cooler weather (which I prefer) compared to Vegas.. Vegas is a good spot if you want to be close to SoCal, but not pay insane CA taxes.. WA is good if you want to do stuff outside more than just 3 months of the year.. Yes it rains, but from my experience of dealing with torrential rain in FL for 10 years, the constant drizzle is nothing in the PNW.. You can still do stuff, just need a jacket.. No one uses umbrellas up here lol.. That's how you know someone isn't from around here.

I love living in California; but there are now too many people. It wouldn't be a bad thing if the population stopped growing.

The ocean, Hollywood, fun, excitement That's why I moved there by myself at age 22 in 1985. I stayed for 15 years and wish I had stayed. I will always be grateful to California.

You have awesome geography videos.

This explosive growth RUINS everything in its path. I am a 6th generation Texan. Everything about Texas that was good has been lost. One must remember 2/3rds of Texas is a Desert or near desert. In the "green" part of the state is where the population overgrowth has occurred. It is no longer possible to own AFFORDABLE MEANINGFUL LAND. I was raised in Agriculture, as were ALL of my ancestors. Now there is no way an ordinary citizen can own meaningful land. You cannot farm $35,000 per acre land. Well, unless you grow dope. We have a LOT of people in the illegal drug trade now. The air is bad here. We have ozone days that stretch from Houston to Oklahoma City. Our roads are awful, every new highway they build is a TOLL ROAD. The TRAFFIC is AWFUL. Eight lane freeways come to a COMPLETE stop many times per day. Used to we had the best roads in he nation except for California. Now, if you head East on I 20 as soon as you enter Louisiana the roads INSTANTLY IMPROVE and are great all the way in to South Carolina. Our CULTURE has been LOST. People just do NOT know when to QUIT. All the arable land in Texas is being covered in Concrete and Lakes for water so all of the people moving in can flush their toilets and water their grass on their one sixteenth of an acre. I would LOVE to get out of here, but their is no place to run to. This is a Disaster. Malthus was correct.

i recently found y our channel and been watching a bunch of your videos. its a great interplay of history and geography. well done

California's attraction to live: Job and business opportunities in Hollywood, Fashion and Hi-tech industries, agriculture, nature relaxation, proximity to asia and latin countries among multicultural people living in temperate weather.

Great video 🙏

Thank you for mentioning the massacres of indigenous people that is often downplayed or outright a taboo in public education.

The difference would be even more extreme if you excluded the west side of Oregon and WA, plus Colorado to the east of the front range.

outstanding video. your videos are all so well done. keep it up

Great video I went to Santa Cruz last summer and I will be back this year ☀️😎

Thank you Geoff

As a native Californians ( from SF....now in LA), i'm not surprised. CA has it all.

Thanks for the history lesson. As a fifth-generation Californian, I have mixed feelings about the number of people leaving. But, because I think we as a country need to look at new methods of creating a sustainable environment and economy I'm okay with some reduction of people in Calif. The basis of our economy, of growth and constant consumerism, is just flat-out unsustainable. We have to invent a new economy that's not based in either.

My friend recently moved back to California because realized how much better he liked it here, I wonder how many others in the exodus will join him

Thanks!

You give the reason for leaving as cost, but many places within the West are expensive, not just California.

people are usually following where the money is, a lot of opportunities in CA than other western states

You have totally skipped over Asian immigrants to California in the 19th century! Chinese came during the gold rush and to build the pacific section of the transcontinental railway, Japanese as farmers. This is a big and important part of California history!

Even in the 90s and early 2000s, it seems like it was still more popular to move to California than move away from it. There was still a sense of that "California Dream." It was expensive back then, but I don't think it was as prohibitively so as it is today. I think the more authoritarian politics get in the red states, the better chance California has at making a comeback. The state should really figure out how to prepare for it and at least attempt to do something about the cost of living problem. There are solutions, just not sure anyone has the political will to do it.

Thank you for maps

As a CA native, I miss the geography and weather, but I could never move back there in its current state. It's worse than when I left 20 years ago. A lot of people I know have left CA and have found a much better quality of life. Only rich people can live "the good life" in CA.

Its really just the housing that is too much! too many single family homes

I'm gonna go with more money. And, near perfect weather year round doesn't hurt either.

I will say, arcata was one of the coolest places ive traveled in the US! I just really didnt like all the mosquitos in the hills

Geoff looks a lot like Daniil Medvédev, the tennis player.

Left out the people immigrating from China to California during the Gold Rush

Please do a video on the Gadsden purchase!

its because CA has mildest sunniest most human friendly climate in us?

The weather.

California is a beautiful nice place but the cost of living is insane.

2:33 San Diego is actually the first city/birth place of California, “founded” by Spanish explorer Juan Cabrillo in the 1700s i believe

Whatever you say about California. It will always be the most popular and populous state. For better or for worse.

And that’s not a bad thing. Stay in California don’t venture into the south west or northwest

Well better job opportunities and better climate. By the way, cool hairstyle you have there Geoff.

Born in Cali…Love the Food, Lifestyle, Diversity and Culture here. Beautiful Scenery and Landscapes! I would not pursue a higher education here, for me it felt like a Mental Institution. 34 years old, I’m glad I don’t own a home here, I have a feeling “ The BIG one “ will hit California soon. Most of all, I love the Skateboarding, Surfing and Driving on the Scenic Roads here!

One good thing about Californians that are moving to other western states is that at least they’re bringing In-N-Out Burger with them

My family has been here for over 102 years, and only recently, a few of my cousins started to move out of the state (utah,Indiana). I may be the first to move out of the country soon 😄

I'm from New England but spent a huge chunk of my life in California beach towns and Lake Tahoe. Got squeezed out by rising expenses, and moved to Washington state and Reno, respectively. Reno now feels like an extension of the Bay Area. Not judging, just observing. I'm planning to return to Washington state if they'll have me!

Not so much anymore as California is now shrinking in population and states such as Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and Utah are exploding in numbers.

Great! I'd love it if you could also do a video on megalopolis in the United States.

I'm 4th generation Californian and I never realized Of Course the Spanish were building up CA population in 1776, building The Presidio in SF and The King's Road up the coast from Mexico. My Irish ancestors arrived in San Francisco about 1850, and others from Boston after the Civil War.

The population of California peaked in 2020 and has since then dropped by 1%. I wonder what happened in 2020 that allowed so many people to move somewhere cheap to live and work from home?

California was a state before most of all the rest of all the western states (not reflected in your animation) ... you focused only briefly on that fact that it had water ports ... a main reason there were people there before any other states. Easier to get to than over land for supplies etc... pianos, bar backs, large structures all came around Cape Horn in South America from places like New York.

Albuquerque has had a continuous population for 12.000 years and New Mexico was named after the Valley of Mexico, not the country 250 years before Mexico became a country.

Weather. Period.

California is a border state and a sanctuary state so it doesn't matter who leaves California or who comes someone will replace them from another country who is happy to be in California also its still very expensive to live in California they have houses in the ghetto for a million dollars in California so maybe more people need to leave California lol 😆 I love California i will never leave ima Californian lifer

Fun fact uhaul can’t keep up with people moving out

Now people are moving out from California. Texas and Florida seems a better place now.

I live in one of the other Western states. I grew up in Idaho. It always kind of irked me that California got more media attention than any other western state as if California was the only state west of the Rockies. The rest of the west is catching up to California now because California's population is beginning to stagnate or not grow as much as people leave.

Technically i’m “Californian” because I was born in California, but I hate being labeled as a rich migrant from California who goes to a different state with my “California money” and liberal millennial POV. Firstly my parents were poor immigrants so I’m first generation American, Secondly my political standpoint is more of a classic liberal, I don’t consider myself a die hard far Right because i’m Atheist and religion doesn’t influence my opinion and I also disagree with the Left on a LOT of topics. Not everyone from California is a Rich Valley person, California is so massive there are probably more farmers and people living in rural parts than some of the other Western states combined

I once heard that the Gadsden surveyors screwed up and were supposed to go west from New Mexico and then southwest to the gulf of California, not northwest like the current border is. And the western border of Arizona would have been the Colorado river all the way to the gulf of California. This would have given Arizona a substantial coastline on the gulf. Any chance you could either confirm or debunk that notion for a video topic?

California is expensive but only in expensive i.e. urban areas. Nearly half of California is state or federal parkland and property surrounding this rural land is about as cheap as any adjacent cheap state.

I plan to only have kids in California, Arizona/Sonora would be too hot. Rosarito is my ultimate goal. Best weather.

I am moving out of Cali.

Colorado, Arizona, Washington, and now Utah & Idaho. This is going to change a lot. People need to stop moving to Arizona Nevada & New Mexico. We don't have the water to sustain growth in thos states.

Short answer: the gold rush of the late 1840s

I like to know what do you think of the Inland empire in California

A friendly, nonjudgmental FYI: "en masse" is prounounced like "on mass" and not "in mass"

the New mexico we know today, didn’t have 61,000 people, it consisted of the states of New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, western parts of present day Texas and parts of Colorado, much more than the present state of New Mexico, thats a pretty sparse number of people spread over a huge area.

The PNW area is still the best place to live in the country

Despite all of the outside migration, the population of California continues to grow. It’s predicted that the population will be 45 million by 2045!

It would be interesting to discuss the Mormons in context of emigration to the Western US. They settled many of the towns that have grown to be regional hubs. But mostly, you have lots of Mormons from Utah move to California for economic reasons, then move back to Utah because they either miss family, or they've already made their money, or they find California "too secular". In Provo, UT, there's a foothill area called California Hill, where all the Californians had to buy homes in Utah for the same value of their homes in California, which means they all got hilltop mansions.

So, I don't see anyone talking about it, so I will. At 2:25, you claim that Spain made those missions to "stop russian expansion through Alaska. That's wrong. 1- Russia, in the mid XVI-XVII centuries, was starting to expand in Siberia. They only got to the Pacific Ocean in 1689 and their first colony in Alaska was during the early XIX century, at a time when the spanish colonies were gaining independence. There was never a preoccupation by the Spanish crown about Russia. 2- those missions were done to convert the indigenous, not to exactly populate the land with Spanish settlers. 3- Neither Spain or the US knew Russia was colonizing Siberia, let alone Alaska. This kind of error can damage your video's reputation. Please, just research better.

Hi there Geoff, Do you use twitter?

The more relevant question today is why, for the first time in California's history, are more people leaving and going to the other States than are moving in? Yeah, we all know why.

Oddly enough a greater percentage of the alumni from my high school in New Mexico have settled in Washington State, rather than California. The relocation of Californians has been dubbed "Californication" by some in the affected Western states.

As a Californian, I am BEGGING people to not move here, but rather to turn to any other state because we have too many people here :/

And now the traffic is going the other way.

Have just visited California and the population pressures ( traffic jams on the ground and in the air) and the high cost of living made me realize that it's a paradise gone bad. It's a great place to visit but I don't want to live there unless its over the mountains & in the desert where there are few jobs for civilians. ( Palmdale & Lancaster) According to weather and population data I feel that central Washington and parts of Eastern Oregon would be more to my liking. I also felt that after WW2 the big industries in California where aircraft manufacturing and Hollywood as high tech didn't exist until the 1980's. In the 1980's S. California aircraft manufacturing started to die as high tech industries started to take over.

I love the videos you provide. I'll await one about Texas. Edit: Particularly about its historical/future demographics and its statistics.

Can you make a video on why Iowa is considered the best state to retire?

You do a great job of passing out good and true information. I really enjoy your KZfaq site. However, the "Why so Many Americans Move..." gave the impression that the Spanish missions of California played a big role and were the only missions in the Spanish lands at that time. You should know that there were around 110 missions that were built in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Baja California, and the Sonoran Desert, as well as 21 mission and 5 presidios in California (about 15% of the total missions). The mission period ranged over 250 years over 1589 to 1834. The thing that "made" the California missions was that while only 1 mission and 2 presidios were destroyed in California. In comparison, 66 of the missions in the other areas were left in ruins. So over 30% of the existing missions are in California. New Mexico has 23 still existing and about 10 in the American-side of Texas. Also Santa Fe has been the seat of government for the area for 425 years. Maling it by far the oldest capital in America. As well, there were several significant gold and silver strikes in the Western US (Colorado, Nevada, Arizona, and Montana). Why didn't they continue to grow significantly? Keep on, keeping on.

Demographics made easy. Very well explained. Population booms due to the Gold Rush and the Depression era migrants are generally well known. But you have filled in the gaps: the 80 years up to the Great Depression, and the 90 years since. As usual, the graphics make it crystal clear, short & succinct. Thanks again Geoff!

The climate is one great thing about California Nice but not to hot !

Love your videos, but you didn't mention the oil boom in LA!

The Beach Boys did it!