They said, "Go west," but many Californians are going north and east.
For the fourth year in a row, more residents left the Golden State than moved here from other states, according to a report released Wednesday by the California Department of Finance.
The outflow -- last seen during the economic and social struggles of the 1990s -- started when it became too expensive for most people to buy homes in the state, and has kept going throughout the bust with the loss of so many jobs.
The trend underscores the state's sour economy as layoffs continue, the fiscal strain on government grows and home values continue to decline.
Though more births and rising international immigration helped boost California's population a modest 1.16% last year, the state continued its steady stream of domestic out-migration -- the movement to other states of people who live here.
During the last fiscal year, 135,173 more people moved out of California than moved in from other states. Though just a drop in the bucket for a state of 38 million people, the trend remains significant because such declines usually occur when working Californians decide better opportunities lie elsewhere.
"I just gave up," said Grace Bryant, a former Glendora resident who fled to Texas after 18 months without consistent employment as a residential appraiser. "California is too much of a struggle."
Like Bryant, many of those who left California went to Texas, according to truck rental company U-Haul International Inc.; other popular states were Nevada, Arizona and Washington.
The company said that, as of late November, 0.5% more rentals were hired this year to leave the state than to move into it -- 0.2 percentage points higher than last year's figure.
Before writing the state's obituary, however, critics might note that a study released Wednesday by the Pew Research Center bolsters the notion of California's high desirability, showing that most native Californians prefer to remain in the state.
Though California is often depicted as a bastion for the rootless, 69% of native residents 18 and over still live here -- showing stability exceeded only by Texas, North Carolina and Georgia.
Still, the departure for other states of so many residents is serious enough to concern policymakers, who worry about the drubbing that California is taking in the recession.
