I recently moved to California. Before i moved, people asked me "why are you moving there, its so bad?". Now that I'm here, i understand it less. The state is beautiful. There is so much to do.
I know the cost of living is high, and people think the gun control laws are ridiculous (I actually think they are reasonable, for the most part). There is a guy I work with here that says "the policies are dumb" but can't give me a solid answer on what is so bad about it.
So, what is it that California does (policy-wise) that people hate so much?
I loved California. I just couldn't afford it anymore.
Also, their power grid has to be the only one worse than Texas. My power was ALWAYS going out there. Last time I visited my parents there, their power was out for 3 of the 7 days I was there.
I had PG&E. They were the only power company when I lived there. Not sure if things changed, but we didn't have a choice. PG&E was sued a few years earlier from a fire that was started due to high winds knocking down power lines, so as a "fuck you" they decided to shut down power any time the wind was blowing, which was all the damn time.
No PG&E still sucks. But I think that’s a PG&E thing, not necessarily a California thing. That said, they do deliver power to much of the state so it’s definitely an issue. They need to be broken up and ideally formed into municipal non-profit orgs in my opinion.