I've lived in California for many years, as in 3 other states, and I can say that while the opinion that California is a "paradise state" is common among Califo

I've lived in California for many years, as in 3 other states, and I can say that while the opinion that California is a "paradise state" is common among Californians, it's very far from unanimous, especially if you talk to people who don't live there. Personally, I disliked California quite a lot and I decided to leave it despite the (not too) negative impact on my career. California is fairly racially diverse, but isn't that ideologically diverse - election results will clearly show that. I have conservative friends (both Trump conservatives and anti-Trump conservatives) who very frequently complain about the lack of diversity in the state. It's great if you are a liberal, not so much otherwise. The weather in California is indeed good, but not for everybody. Its famed summers are very dry. If you like sun, you will love California summers, but you can get a LOT of dry days in a row. If you like a balanced mix of rain and sun, you will not like the summers in most of California. Also, because of this, a lot of the state's urban areas - especially in SoCal - is very brown and not really that pretty if you like the lush East Coast forests. California beaches are not that good depending on what you expect from a beach. It's easy to do fun activities at the beach, but the water is quite cold and the sand isn't to everybody's tastes. Parking and driving times can also be brutal in the urban beaches. Very many people would rather go to the beaches in Florida or in the Carolinas than California, not including of course beaches overseas. I personally disliked the beaches there and only went a couple of times over the years. Overall, I think the reason many people say California is a paradise is that it's a pretty unique state with a lot of personality (for better or worse), so if you are into the things California is good at, then California is the place for you because you won't find their particular mix anywhere else in the US. But it remains to be seen that this particular mix of traits would be considered a "paradise" for most people. What I'm saying above is somewhat obvious, as in "If you like California you like California". But when people make grand statements such as "this state is a paradise", one would assume that the vast majority of people who go to California would absolutely love it. But I'm not sure that's the case, especially if you include the enormous number of man-made problems we discuss so much. The grass can literally be greener elsewhere. :)