I left California thinking it would be temporary, but I made the move permanent after seeing how the state has shifted—economically, culturally and politically—and how those shifts affect young people and families who want stability and safety for their kids.
I’m not alone. A steady stream of young professionals is exiting the state chasing better jobs, affordable housing and a calmer environment to start a family. When rent for a tiny studio runs well over $2,000 a month and job prospects are uncertain, staying becomes a tougher sell. Add in a political and cultural climate that shapes schools and public policy, and the decision gets easier for many of us.
Being born and raised in California, it hurt to leave, but it wasn’t just money. The state’s embrace of identity politics and what many call “woke” governance under Gavin Newsom changed the everyday reality for families. It’s not only about policy debates; it’s the message those policies send to children as they grow up.
Parents who want to raise kids in a community with shared values face new challenges. Children as young as five can begin receiving age-appropriate sex education in public schools, and by middle school some districts now require classes that present contraception, abortion and gender identity in affirmative terms. Schools can even point students toward books like “S.E.X.: The All-You-Need-to-Know Sexuality Guide to Get You Through Your Teens and Twenties,” which contains frank material that many parents would prefer to control access to.
There are also laws that shift power away from parents and toward schools and providers. Recent legislation allows educators and health staff to support a minor’s gender transition without necessarily informing parents. By high school, sex-ed can be more explicit and, in some places, delivered by organizations like Planned Parenthood.
Opting out or choosing to homeschool feels harder every year, which makes private choices less practical for many families. Beyond access, the deeper issue is cultural: state policy sometimes endorses a worldview where life and parenting decisions are treated as matters of individual preference, rather than shared moral responsibility. That shift is especially visible in how the state handles reproductive policy.
Governor Newsom has positioned California as a national example on reproductive rights, and he’s used the state as a platform for a broader political agenda. Described by Planned Parenthood affiliates as a “champion” for abortion access, he’s backed funding and protections that make California a safe harbor for providers and patients. That posture includes blunt public moments, like when he told Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill to “go f— yourself” during an exchange over legal jurisdiction.
The state has poured resources into keeping abortion clinics open, announcing $140 million in emergency funds last year and more recently allocating an additional $90 million to support providers. Those policy choices have helped expand services and access within California, and critics say they signal a cultural tolerance for ending pregnancies that goes well beyond national averages.
Public data and estimates suggest California saw roughly 183,240 abortions in 2024, with about 31% of pregnancies ending in abortion. By contrast, national estimates generally range between 17 and 25 percent, which makes California’s numbers stand out and fuels worries that the state’s policies devalue unborn life.
That same willingness to normalize ending life shows up elsewhere. California’s “assisted suicide” program reported 1,281 prescriptions for aid-in-dying drugs in 2023, up from 293 in 2016, and concerns about rising suicide rates persist. At the same time, IVF practices have resulted in lost or discarded embryos while the state facilitates a booming IVF and fertility industry. For many parents and would-be parents, these trends create a moral and practical environment they do not want their children to grow up in.
When everyday public life—from what schools teach to how government treats the beginning and end of life—reflects values you disagree with, staying becomes harder than moving. For me and many others, California’s trajectory is reason enough to seek a place where raising a family feels more aligned with our beliefs about life, liberty and parental rights.
