As a 3rd generation Californian I thank you for the accurate portrayal of my home state. My grandfather was born in Los Angeles in 1913. Think of the changes he saw in his lifetime. Well done sir.
My grandfather and move to Los Angeles in 1920. They live at 111 South Norton. The house has been used as a backdrop in many movies starting with the Three Stooges. My grandfather had a book signed by Earl Warren, to my best friend. (Ie. Earl Warren showgrounds) Amazing times
CA probably has the most diverse climate of any state in the entire country. There are areas that get over 100 inches of rain a year and others that get less than an inch. You have areas that get over 400 inches of snow a year and other areas that get no snow at all. There are coastal forests, coastal grassland, open oak hilly woodland, dense forest with the biggest trees in the world, barren desert, open grassland, chaparral, coastal mountains, valleys, the highest and lowest place in the US, and oldest trees in the world
ya, it's pretty crazy. I've never taken for granted the only 3 states I've lived in are pretty crazy/beautiful/interesting geographically: Michigan, Utah, California. Utah goes from The Rocky Mountains to Moab, the Great Salt Lake is super weird and interesting. And Michigan with the Great Lakes is quite astonishing... I think all 5 of the Great Lakes are in the top 10 largest lakes in the world. The geology there is remarkable. A really weird place on earth that mother nature carved out from glaciers. And just a beautiful place with wonderful summers and winters. And then of course California for all the reasons you listed.
@@GeographyKing That's for sure, I've been collecting old books, especially almanacs and text books, with maps in them. I live in Missouri and one interesting feature is the St. Francois Mts. They're actually tall hills, but they are the second oldest (1.5 billion years) hills or mountains in the U.S. behind the Black Hills (1.8 billion years) of S.D. I really look forward to your videos.
California attracts the homeless because if their social welfare benefits and good weather. A bus ticket for $50. Las Vegas has homeless , you don't see tents and the city is pretty clean
You are so right. Columbia, SC (where I live) is part of a highway system that homeless people travel and many of them winter here. Just because they live in the woods, down by the river or behind a building doesn't mean they are not there. I have been to California and I found it to be wonderful. Here we have farms here and there but wow - California has miles and miles of one farm after another. People are people wherever they live. Most of us are just trying to work, take care of our responsibilities and help others when we can. California is no different. I hope one day to return to California. Maybe we should treat each other with kindness and respect instead of listening to media talking heads trying to drums up ratings and spread fear. ~Sherrie in South Carolina
I love your comment and I totally agree. People are mostly good wherever you go and the good or bad can happen anywhere. I lived in Columbia while in grad school and met my wife while there. She's from Lexington. I like SC and enjoyed my time there. I grew up in the farming-heavy Central Valley in CA so it's nice to see someone appreciate the farming. Whenever you tell people in the eastern US you're from California they assume San Francisco or Los Angeles. The town I grew up in is pretty similar in size and culture to Sumter.
@@GeographyKing I live in Lexington County and am buying some rural land out near Batesburg in Aiken County we hope to turn into a farm, so I do appreciate farms. I was fascinated by all the farm land in California. Miles and miles of farms. Such a beautiful and diverse state, I thought I'd love visiting San Francisco but it was the farms and coastal towns (Monterey, Half Moon Bay and inland all the way to Yosemite that stole my heart. Happy New Year to you and your wife,
The wide open farming land in California is running out of water. More and more water is pumped to LA from northern California and Lake Mead in Nevada. Suburbs of brand new housing is going in everywhere. They can't build the homes fast enough in California. Every immigrant to California has the potential to make another Californian homeless
@@flashgordon3715 I imagine that is horrible having to depend on others for your water. Sad that the potential is there for homelessness. I think many folks have bought into the idea that California has everything. Then they get there and find for some that is not true. California is not alone, it happens in other areas also.
@@starkusmc1981 The vast majority of the water available every year in California is in the snowpack north of the Tehachapi Mountains - ie, northern California has the water, Southern California has the people that use the water. Droughts cause a lot of problems if the snowpack is significantly below average for 2 years in a row. A significant chunk of the water comes from the Colorado River, and it's al moved around by a network of aqueducts.
@@kibashisiyoto6771 I understand that. I just don't understand how it's a situation if there's a water shortage in a desert, which a good portion of southern California is. It's not really a situation, but more of a reality.
I used to live 2 hours north of SD I. A city called Ontario. Our summers are pretty miserable for being only 35 miles from Los Angeles. It was 107 on most days in August .
Born and raised in San Diego. Have lived in coastal California cities my entire life. It would be very hard to leave after being spoiled by the perfect climate and beauty of the coastline. Just wish it wasn't so astronomically expensive but you get what you pay for.
Is that the intoxicating mental relaxation that I'm feeling? The warm rush of measured, thoughtful, and sensible information coursing through my veins? I'd forgotten it was even possible anymore! Do other people know about this . . . What's the word I'm looking for? . . . Oh yeah, "civility." It could be a real game changer.
95% of the people in California live in urban areas. Guess what? That means that only 5% of the people live in the rest of the state. I agree with lots of people outside California, that look at the state's cities and say they wouldn't want to live there. But, I don't want to live in any city, no matter what state it is in. Property values are lower in the southeast, but I call that the humidity discount! I've spent a little time in the southeast and the humidity killed me. I live in California's Sierra Nevada where anything above 30-35% humidity in the daytime of summer is muggy. As far as fire it is the climate, but what is not mentioned is the vegetation that exists in California because of that climate, it is the most flammable in the U.S. over such a wide area. I'm a retired forester and one of my myriad of duties was wildland firefighting. I've studied fire ecology since high school (I'm 72 so that tells you how long I've studied it) and California has many vegetation types that are actually fire dependant. The average time between the historical (prior to European man) is much shorter than in fire dependent ecosystems in the remainder of the country. For example, Yellowstone National Park has a long history of burning most of the park every 300-500 years. Data gathered after the 1988 fires there (I was there on the lines for 32 days) showed such 3 or more of these cycles in the soil layers there. To the trained eye, a large number of the firefighters I was with had the impression that nearly the entire park burned about 300 years prior, it was obvious to us. Anyway, California has been burning frequently for thousands of years. It has nothing to do with politics or one individual's statement that we need to rake the forests.
@@Matteger23 The short, soundbite answer is yes, absolutely. I will post a long version below, which outlines the reasons why the answer is affirmative. The longer answer is actually a summation of what I know and have observed over the last 54 years, since I was a senior in high school when I began to study fire ecology. Ecology is a complex study and the fire portion of that science is just a part of it.
In fire dependent ecosystems the answer is yes. What is a fire dependent ecosystem? Well obviously tropical forests and jungles are not fire dependent. Tundra and alpine ecosystems are not fire dependent, which exist closer to the poles and at high elevations in mountain areas. Elsewhere fires have burned periodically and naturally. These fires consume the dead fuels created by the natural death of vegetation, leaf fall and needle cast and branches falling due to trees naturally pruning themselves. In addition fires reduce the amount of green vegetation growing on the ground. If fire is not present thick new forest, often shade tolerant species take hold. The trees growing near the ground, underneath the taller trees are part of the "understory." Mature trees are called the "overstory." The overstory is fire resistant, as the foliage is high above the ground and the trees have developed thick bark, insulating the living layer of the tree, the cambium which is located just under the bark, which is like the arteries and veins of a tree, carrying water and nutrients from the soil to the foliage and other substances down to the roots for storage. If the understory grows for a period of time that exceeds the period of time that exceeds the intervals that the ecosystem experienced over long periods of time then a "fuel ladder is created." The understory trees reach the bottom of the overstory foliage. The fuels on the ground build up to reach the bottom of the understory foliage. When a fire begins at the ground, it has a path to the tops of the overstory. The fuels on the ground have accumulated to a quantity that produces so much heat that the radiant energy is sufficient to burn or kill the organic layer of soil and the ladder allows fire to be carried to the tops of the trees, consuming all living matter in a large area. The growth of vegetation in ecosystems is not even over large areas. We talked about fire burning at regular intervals in fire dependent ecosystems, this is called the fire regime. Over wide areas fires naturally burn at varying intensities, some areas don't burn as hot while other areas burn hot. This can result from topography, season, wind direction, sunlight angles (slope differential) and many factors of chance. This creates a mosaic of vegetation, so trees may be thicker in some areas than others. This availability of varying conditions is vital to wildlife. They need some open areas for grasses and forbs to grow for food, but they also need the protection of thicker trees for cover from predators. Natural fires tended to burn over long periods, sometimes the length of the dry season. This also created the variability of burn intensity, the mosaic. Putting out every fire for the last 100-120 years has greatly interrupted fire regimes. The more flammable shade tolerant understory and the thick dead and down materials, as well as thick brush has created a heavy fuel bed and that ladder. The solution to this varies depending on the ecosystem and the vegetation that grows in it as well as the time that has passed since the last fire. Thinning of the understory, if it consists of the same species as the overstory is one component. The trees may be useful for small dimension lumber, firewood or for pulp used to make paper. Some trees might be too small for these uses. When all the commercial material is removed then the fuels are stacked into piles, to be burned when the weather and fuel moisture are wetter, allowing the piles to burn slowly, often times when the first snows of fall/winter are on the ground. Then, typically in the fall, a fire it lit to burn on the ground and reduce other small fuels. All of this is an attempt to return the condition of the ecosystem to what is was when fire burned naturally. Natural fire burned productively and less intensely when it did so at its prehistorical and historical intervals. It should be noted that "thinning" rarely included cutting of the overstory. The overstory is the most fire resistant and most fire tolerant of all the trees in the forest. Cutting in the overstory is almost always called "logging." The fire problem is not created when an area has not been logged for a long time, it is created when the fire regime has been interrupted. Some politicians and commercial logging interests have tried to fool the public into thinking that if there are lots of destructive fires then logging is needed. Most often, logging creates more surface fires, in spite of agency requirements for timber sale operators to pile and the "slash" created by logging, which is the small and noncommercial material created by harvesting the trees, burned. On private lands the sale operators or landowners do this burning. On public lands agency personnel usually do this. The public calls these intentionally ignited fires "controlled burns." The forestry profession calls them "prescribed burns" or "prescribed fires." The "prescription" for a fire is developed considering how intense of a fire is needed, fuel moisture levels, weather factors such as relative humidity, length of day (season), time of the year, wind direction and speed, availability of fire resources locally and nationally, fire activity in other areas of the country and type and intensity of air pollution effects. The predicted wind direction is important as smoke blowing into towns and cities is not allowed in areas where air quality is intensely managed, like nearly all of California as an example. Prescribed fire is evaluated based on the factors of an entire ecosystem, these being vegetation management, watershed conditions, recreation use, wildlife habitat, grazing use, proximity to structures and towns/cities and public input. Specialists from each form an interdisciplinary team to plan every step that leads to a prescribed fire project. A management plan for a public land unit, will evaluate the overall conditions of ecosystems over a large area and is used to determine when, where and how prescribed fires will be accomplished. These units are national parks, national forests, wildlife refuges, and the planning units of Bureau of Land Management administered federal public lands. Fire management heavily relies on scientific research, which has been taking a long term look at the role of wildland fire for nearly 80 years now. The U.S. Forest Service has two "laboratories" dedicated to fire research. This in addition to the large group of research facilities the agency has all over the country. These are part of the three main entities of the agency, which are: Research, State and Private Forestry and the most well-known, The National Forest System. The National Park Service has a large research organization as well.
@@wannabetowasabe my goodness; thank you so much for taking the time to share with us this fascinating, detailed explanation. You have answered so many questions I have had about the wildfires in CA. We live in Northeastern LA County, and experience worsening fire conditions every year, which have become an existential threat for many Californians. Your explanation clarifies why fire is integral to the proper functioning of the CA ecosystems, and confirms to me that this is a normal part of California’s history. Thanks again for this informative explanation of so much as it relates to our land.
@@Iamthepossum You are welcome. I worked on it using Word, saved it and then posted it here. I'm going to be using it to answer friends and such on my Facebook page and the other sites where I participate in forums. I'm also thinking about using portions or all of it for a letter to the editor of our local newspaper. There is a lot of misunderstanding among the public regarding this issue. Anyone who reads the comment should keep in mind that I'm not well versed in southern California chaparral ecosystems. My B.S. Forestry degree did not include any study of it or any field time in them. I've gotten a limited amount of knowledge from U.S. Forest Service employees who have worked on the Los Padres, Angeles, San Bernardino and Cleveland National Forests. I've been on wildland fires on each of those forests 5-10 times, with some in explosive fire behavior created by major Santa Ana wind events. Anxiety is often a component of the experience. Jokingly I've told others that a chiropractor is needed after coming home because of whiplash. You are constantly, as a squad boss or crew boss, turning your head around to watch for things that might be the start of some very hazardous developments. That and the terrain is very rough and dangerous on its own. People might think that the L.A. area does not have difficult and potentially dangerous terrain, but then they probably have not been climbing or descending the San Gabriels in the middle of the night using headlamps with chainsaws on their shoulders or the various fire tools hand crews use. Heck, most people haven't walked those mountain cross country on a clear, sunny day. For lands I've fought fire on in California the Angeles and the Klamath have the most challenging terrain. One of my supervisors transferred to the Angeles in the 1980's, taking the position of the District Ranger on the old Saugus Ranger District, the west end of the forest. Later he took the position of Forest Fire Management Officer for the forest. He experimented with prescribed burning in chaparral. He was using his experience doing fuel reduction/prescribed fire in conifer dominated vegetation. He told me that it doesn't work in chaparral. He tried burns in vegetation that was 10 years and 20 years past a large fire. He said that he could not get fires to spread when the vegetation was more sparse. He tried some fires in fully mature vegetation under wet conditions and could not get enough fuel consumption to make a difference. His conclusion, keeping in mind he reached this 4 decades ago that the natural fire regime of chaparral vegetation is that major fires that burn everything burned intensely about every 30 years. He could not find any method of vegetation management that could bring about different results. Like I say, I'm not well acquainted with those ecosystems and there are hundreds of people in the south part of the state that know far more than I do. I just passed on some old anecdotal information above.
"If you're expecting to hear some right-wing crap or some left-wing crap, you've come to the wrong channel." ... And there was much rejoicing. *YAAAAY!*
This is probably the best video I have seen on California. It is an objective and factual look at what is causing some of the issues facing California. As someone who lives in downtown Los Angeles I especially appreciate it.
San Diego’s much better than LA and San Francisco. Nicer people, fresher air, more spread out, and less taxation and regulation. I’m still happy I moved, but San Diego will always be my home.
@@timslater566 North Park (where I live) was kinda rough around the edges in the '80s; now it's SD's hipster neighborhood (with matching house prices). Probably not as expensive as San Francisco, but it's getting there.
@@andyjay729 I remember back in the 1970's when I wanted to buy my first house/townhouse everyone said you would have to start out in North Park or East County. Houses were cheaper there than at the beach (Mission Beach/PB) where I lived then. North Park was mostly smaller houses (lower middle class area). Kind of a rundown area. Now it's full of brewpubs/taprooms, restaurants, night life, etc. What a turn around.
Thank you so much for making this video! This is one of the best ones that attempts to explain or at least describe the very complicated situation in California. I don't live in California, nor am I a Californian, but I frequent California, especially the Bay. I try to visit there annually and I absolutely love that state! I've been to the Redwoods and Sequoia, Napa and Sonoma, Tahoe and the surrounding area, Big Sur, Santa Cruz, Yosemite, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Death Valley, Marin County, LA, etc. It's such a diverse state in many ways: people, environment, characters, scenery, economy, socio-economic class, politics, etc. If you've never been to CA, it's really hard to grasp the whole situation there. And news stories and over critical people on the internet do not bring it justice. I highly encourage you to visit the state. I assure you there's an appeal to literally everyone. You can be an outdoorsy person, a nature lover, a luxury shopper, beach goer, film geek, a country person, a hunter, fisher, surfer, aspiring model and/or actor, wannabe vlogger, food enthusiast, etc. I think since I visit the state so much that I get to experience the "California experience". It's not a perfect place(but where is such a place). There's crime, corruption, crazy people, pollution, homelessness, etc. but tell me a popular and highly populated place that doesn't have those problems. Do you think Paris, London, Tokyo, Beijing, Rio de Janeiro, Mexico City, Abuja, Cape Town, Sydney, etc, don't have those problems? When a place attracts so much people, for whatever reasons these people have in moving to such place, it's gonna have issues in the larger scheme of things. When I lived in Paris, people complain that there's too many people wanting to move to Paris. Well, what can you do? It's the centre of politics, economy, arts and fashion in France. These places are like magnets and seen as a source of opportunities for many people. If you can't compete with many other people wanting the same thing, you're bound to fail. It is what it is. That's why I like visiting the place, not living in it hahaha
@@danielcarroll3358 the northern part of Northern California is closer to Canada than Mexico, and the southern part of Southern California is closer to Texas than Oregon. If that doesn't put into perspective how big California is, I don't know what does. San Bernardino County alone is bigger than the entire state of Maryland, and San Bernardino County shows up on the election maps red almost every year (despite everyone pushing the narrative that all of California is democrat)
Misinformation is not just an American problem. It's also about a bit of critical thinking ... reading between the (head)lines. cheers from Australia (we have a prime minister who used to have a career in marketing)
Thanks Kyle for this video. I am a California native who is proud to be one. Have lived here for most of my life (67+ years). Grew up inland (Riverside County), but have lived on the coast (San Diego) for almost 50 years. There is much more to California than the beaches, Disneyland, Hollywood, Golden Gate Bridge, etc. as you know. Anyplace that's desirable is going to cost more. Supply and demand, like anything else.
Kyle claims to be so many levels above cable news? He bashes Rachel Maddow for knowing nothing about California? I advise him and everyone to check her bio, for goodness sakes.
I stumbled across your channel after viewing your Fl vs TX comparison. Very informative video BTWI have been to both states (Metro Houston and Destin, Fl) Since I currently live in SD CA, I think I will stay here for a while. Those darn hurricanes scare the heck out of me after experiencing Harvey a few years ago.
Thanks for being so nuanced about the issues. Thinking about moving to Sacramento from South Florida and this makes it easier (when it's safe to do so)
I'm glad you found the video useful. Sacramento is pretty nice. House prices are above average but so are wages. When the media talk about how expensive California is, it's not talking about Sacramento. You can get a nice house in a nice neighborhood in the $300,000 range with pretty good wages. It's cheaper than a lot of cities in eastern US. You'd have pretty high income tax but you'd have lower property taxes and much lower property insurance than in FL.
As someone who has lived from the bottom of ca to the top, your analysis is correct. Also, my parents are from Ohio & I have been reminded my entire life that we pay a premium for better weather. They always talked about how the snow/weather seriously impacts your day to day life in other states (having to clear snow etc) & Ca doesn’t have that issue. I grew up in Sacramento & there have always been homeless groups in the Bay Area. The biggest change is the increase in fires & I think that has shifted a lot of people in the state. It’s a great state, but it’s expensive & big & we have a lot of citizens to make happy. It’s hard to balance a state this big. Great video!
As a local SoCal resident, born and raised (but who also has lived outside of Cali for 8 years in 3 different states), I really, really appreciate this video! I loved my time living in other parts of the country, but CA is my home and I get so sick of people bagging on it. We have our issues, but so does every other state! So thanks again!
Incredible video. Very accurate on most things, but I will say that I'm from Los Angeles and we really do have a huge problem with homeless people and drug addicts EVERYWHERE here...not based on the media but based on what I see day in and day out. It's gotten worse the past few years unfortunately. The needles and tents, etc are in most areas now.. Even the NICE areas. Absolutely love your video. So unbiased and educational. Seriously one of the best channels I've found. I would love to dm you. Do you have a fan page??
Thanks for the comment. I love sharing info with other nerds. Homelessness is definitely getting worse all throughout the US but the scenes are certainly worse in LA and SF. If you'd like to contact me I have a link on my channel homepage under "About". But no, there's no fan page. Maybe someday but for now I'm happy with the low key setup I've got now.
@@GeographyKing Just subscribed today, great content and very well done. I was born and raised in Los Angeles and I have to say aside from the weather ( I know, most important factor ) It really sucks now. You have to plan your day by the morning and afternoon rush hours if you are going anywhere more than 15 miles from home. The homeless situation is now spread throughout the LA basin virtually affecting all communities and it continues to worsen. I heard you say on another video that you don’t like LA and I totally agree, it’s decline is undeniable propaganda aside. I could go on with many other reasons but I’ve been long winded enough. Retirment will find the wife and I in Grand Juction, Co. We’ll forgo the better weather ( and it’s not better by much actually ) for a far superior quality of life. But hey, at any rate I love your channel and commentary, keep up the good work!
@@tony12345pl I feel you guys. Same goes for anywhere to be honest and the misinformation or the lack of information from people is frustrating. I live in Reno and people always ask about, "Do you visit Vegas all the time?", "Do you just gamble there?", "Must be a boring city if all there is to do is gamble and prostitution". Ok, most people in Reno don't even step in the casinos. Tourists are who the casinos target. The only reason we go to casinos is if we feel like eating at a buffet, or go clubbing. The casinos know this that's why they give locals discounts on dining. Most Renoites love the outdoors so we go hiking, go to Tahoe, skiiing and snowboarding, camping, etc. If we stay in the city, at least my demographic, we like going to bars and restaurants in Midtown and generally stay away from the Casino district in Downtown. Lastly, Vegas is like a 8-9 hour drive. 7 if you drive like a maniac on meth. Most of the people I know visit the Bay Area in California more than Vegas.
@Nic Lazzari come during the summer. Tbh there is def. some areas that do have crime but certainly not near tourist areas. Also check out more of Chicago than just downtown
What job do you have? How far to the nearest grocery store? How far to your work? How far is downtown from you? How far to the nearest amusement park? How far to the nearest stadium? How close to the nearest airport? How is healthcare there?
@@christophejergales7852 I do title research for banks. Nearest grocery store is about two blocks away. I travel for work, so anywhere between 9 miles(for a short job) or up to 360 miles in a day. Downtown is about 4 miles away. The college stadium is about 2 miles. Nearest airport is about 15 miles. Healthcare....well, it is the U.S. so that really depends on how much money you have lol.
@@travisrose7164 Healthcare depends on how much money you have? I have great health benefits from my job. I guess you clearly don't have that. I have 80/20 coverage for health, dental, prescription, and vision. Also speaking of money, I have a 401k that gets built for me, and three pensions. And I am a measly electrician. What does the bank you work for do for you?
@@christophejergales7852 oh I don't work directly for the banks. I get my work from a secondary business that deals with the banks. It's a weird system. What I do is, I do the research on the property, I find deeds, mortgages, fixture filings, anything pertaining to the property really, and then I also get any court documents on the owners that could interfere with the individuals paying back what they borrowed. I mainly deal with refinancing and foreclosures (thankfully none in 2020 due to state mandate against it).
Which is fine. Your state is the definition of boredom to a large portion of the country...but that doesn't matter because you like it. I wish folks would live and let live.
Before 1982 homelessness was so rare across the United States you needed a trained eye to see it. We used to have cheap hotels, $2 a night, $3.50 if you wanted breakfast. We used to have public housing. We replaced public housing with a voucher system that offers vouchers that will not cover rent. We kept the minimum wage to low. Minimum wage used to be enough for a 1 bedroom in a low rent neighborhood. Homelessness is a policy choice. Not just in California, but across the country.
I've lived in California for over 50 years and I can definitely say that the cost of housing and the homeless problem and the illegal immigration problem are much, much worse than they were more than 30 years ago. What happened? The climate was just as nice back then. Also, illegal immigration is not isolated to agriculture. Illegal alien workers are very common in restaurants and in the construction industry in California.
I think the fundamental cause of housing and homeless problem, as well as the illegal immigration problem is population growth. In 1980, CA's population is about 24 million. Today, CA's population is just a bit shy from 40 million, which represents a 66% increase. The main driver for population growth is big metros' population growth. LA metro's population grew 70% from 1980 to 2020, and SF bay area metro's population grew 67%. The inhabitable land is not going to grow in big metro areas...so, it's just a supply and demand problem. Supply virtually didn't change much, while demand increased 70%, pushing the housing prices to skyrocket. With all the gentrification going on throughout major cities in CA, the aggravation of the homeless problem is inevitable. Higher housing prices pushed living expenses higher, which means some jobs are just too expensive for citizens or legal citizen. Really, ask around, how many citizen you know are willing to be a janitor or a runner?
I don't think the illegal immigration situation was described here accurately. Kyle said that 98% of the people showing up to work the fields were illegals. It's not that the American workers don't want to do the work, it's that the growers don't pay worth a darn and only illegals are willing to work for such crap wages. California looks the other way when employers hire illegals.
Exactly. The real question should be why are our food systems designed with the need for cheap, immigrant labor? Make food production more local and maybe people wouldn't take it for granted as much as we do in the West.
So, the USA has 100 million more people than 50 years ago. The world has 4 billion more people than 50 years ago... so obviously, California has more people.
Good video and I am happy you mentioned we are the largest agriculture producers in the country but forgot that California is the 5th largest economy in the world... Behind the USA, China, Japan, and Germany. With our big economy comes issues that other states just don't have to deal with.
Hi, Kyle. This was a very interesting video to me because I did live 7 years ('06 to '13) in Norco, in the Inland Empire. It was on the edge of the desert, when I had lived in wet climates my whole life before. My favorite thing to do while there was ride Metrolink all the way from Norco to Oceanside going through San Juan Capistrano. Sometimes, you could change the weather 30 whole degrees during the summer and the scenery was gorgeous. I also loved Arrowhead and Big Bear. I also saw three concerts for free just for giving blood, just one example of how I benefited from the progressive systems out there.
I've watched a lot of your videos and this was the best! You took a topic that usually is immediately political, and plugged it into your channels theme perfectly all while remaining honest about the good, bad, and other. I've shared this on my social media accounts.
Excellent and fair description... thx! As the 5th largest economy in the world, and the largest economy in the U.S. ($3.2 TRILLION), with an annual net population INFLOW of 1.5 million, IMHO California has simply become a victim of its own success. And even in our daily lives, we see how one individual's success can often incur others 'resentment'.
As a 5th Gen. Californian, I hit the LIKE button 2 min's into your video. There's a lot of experts on various parts of the USA, most are getting their expertise from watching the network news. And hey experts, don't call it "Cali"
@@Otisbear480 Didn't see that? I've been tuning out both extremes lately. I can Google, but if you have a legit source link to share it would be much appreciated. I have to admit is smells funny, but I am open and would like to dig deeper in to this. Thanks.
@@scottthomasen8978 To truly understand the issue, you will have to read the court papers for the lawsuit against her. There were about 6 people that had to admit they had no evidence of Trump and Russia colluding
Born and raised in California and I love my home state. Unfortunately we could no longer afford to live there so we moved to Colorado. Never heard so much negative ideas about California from Colorado natives. They totally had misconceived ideas about California and joked about it all the time. Most have never even stepped foot in California. Between that and the snow I now live in Arizona. Much nicer state.
Yeah i think the main problem with California is thats its just too expensive for lower middle class and the working class people to thrive here, because there are plenty of jobs here
I live in Butte County and the only strong gripe I have with California are the droughts and wildfires. I'm very tired of both. In less than two years we've had two massive, deadly fires less than 30 minutes from my home - the Camp Fire with destroyed the town of Paradise and killed 85 people and the North Complex which destroyed the mountain community of Berry Creek and killed 16 people. Its just too much. One third of the county has burned in just two years and two large fires. I hate humidity, but I may relocate to the eastern half of the country to try to avoid wildfires.
Wow, incredibly refreshing. I’ve lived in CA my entire life, and I currently live in downtown Los Angeles. I think your examination is spot on. CA and it’s cities have problems, like all places, but overall it is a beautiful, thriving place with great people, nature and history.
I"m liberal AF but also try to sweep away political posturing to get a better idea of root causes of problems. Homelessness is a systemic issue that our economic model fails to adequately address, for instance. There are homeless people in every state, no matter which party is in charge at the state or city level. While there are definitely bad policies being push out there, it's often not for the reasons that are sexy, sexy clickbait. California is a wonderful state to visit and has so much to see and offer, and most importantly, it has fellow citizens of every background possible. My suggestion is to look at problems with compassion, not necessarily trying to score cheap political points.
Looking at problems with compassion is how you f_ck up things. You don't look at a r_pist with compassion, and wax about how sad it was that he was driven to that point, you throw that piece of sh_t in jail.
@@dl2839 So your solution to "teh homless problum" is to send them all to prison, even the ones who commit no offense worse than asking for spare change? So then we'll need expanded prison capacity...which requires BIG GUBMINT funding. Yes, even that tent prison in Arizona and "private" prisons require public funds (the "private" prisons operate on state contracts).
@@andyjay729 I was talking about people who commit actual crimes like murder, not homelessness. Homelessness is not a crime, and you have a better chance of helping the homeless by finding a way to help them with their issues in person than dumping more money into corrupt officials coffers ever could.
i've spent significant years of my life in California, Taiwan, and Europe, and i can tell you, i like the nature that California offers, but outside of that, it's a poorly managed state. My opinions were reinforced after moving back to the state after several years abroad. I'm thinking about packing up and leave again. Also, don't understand why people say this is nice climate. It's so freaking hot in the summer, routinely triple digits, super long summers, and dry to the point that nothing grows without heavy irrigation. I'd rather have fall foliage and snowfalls in winters.
HONESTLY. People become so angry at illegal immigrants because of lack of jobs and whatnot. But then I'm like: "are you going to work in the fields picking fruits and vegetables?!?! In the heat?! No. Neither am I." We're getting work done for us and they're getting income. It's a win-win that doesn't negatively affect you. So stop. PS: love the your channel and the content!
Exactly, why do you think land owning people back then bought slaves, to get free labor since they would certainly not pick food or cotton with their own hands, American here always have depended on cheap labor, no difference here
@@strangelakers1079 it's actually more like $12/hr, but here in AZ you can get a call center job for $16/hr and, though it's going up, the cost of living is lower here. lol
So I've been pretty much binging your videos the past couple of weeks. I'm the guy that said he was gonna fight you over what you said about West Virginia. Yep, that's me. Well, about 5 months ago I moved to the LA-area and when I saw this video, I was thinking I was going to have to fight you twice (ugh, so much work) ...but you actually hit it spot on with the issues and the reasons behind them. So I guess I'll keep watching and I'll probably only have to fight you once. SO FAR.
I love California. My profile pic is CA. I’ve visited the state maybe 30x in my life. As soon as I retire, I’m leaving NYC and moving there. It’s beautiful. The climate is insane. Lots of things to do. Cities, rural, nature, hiking, beaches. Can’t wait.
Well done and well said Kyle! I really respect and enjoy your geographic/geo-climate/geopolitical points of view. Science and evidence based - we need more of this and more willingness of people to apply their critical thinking capabilities.
I had a lot of good times in Palm Springs and that whole area. I remember this really nice Street Festival they have on Thursday nights there. It was so nice and I didn't have to deal with crazies. That were Chicago everybody would be crazy. This is the most civilized Street Festival in Downtown Palm Springs and I haven't seen one so civilized before. I really enjoyed it. And I also enjoyed going to Hollywood and Burbank. And I rode the Los Angeles Subway and I thought the people on that were better behaved than in Chicago where I live.
Thank you for a really truthful explanation of California, from another native Californian. I wonder if you ever miss it, because I sure do! (Especially In-n-Out!)
I go back to CA at least once a year and stay for a few weeks each time. So I never go too long without visiting. I do miss In-N-Out, Asian foods, real mountains, and being able to wear a t-shirt and shorts in January.
I lived in Long Beach for most of my life, but now I live in the middle of nowhere, you have zero light pollution, we get 2 feet of snow during winter and the house sits at 4000ft...guess what....? It's still in CA, lmfaooo
This is the first "the truth about California" - type video from a non-Californian where I felt the person was looking objectively and knew what he was talking about. Nice job. That Tesla-on-fire analogy was very on-point.
This video is an absolutely amazing video!!! As someone who was born and raised in OC and loves to frequently visit both LA and San Diego, I’ve seen both the good and bad of living in Southern California. While I agree California has so many issues it has to solve, it is absolutely sickening and disappointing to hear that people are giving California more hate than it deserves. This is especially so when politics is involved, and the true reasons why California is facing the issues it does is not even because of the political scene here. I love how unbiased you are compared to other geography channels (most i have encountered are right-wing biased, but I assume there are some left-wing biased channels out there as well), keep it up!!!
I am from California. I agree with everything you said in this video. California is really messed up in many many ways. It is also the most wonderful place in the world to live. The nature and climate alone is second to none. The best thing about California though is this..... You can come to California from anywhere in the world and you will be welcomed. I've travelled all around the world and there is nowhere..... absolutely nowhere more welcoming than California. Nobody there cares if you came from New York or Mexico or Texas or Russia or anywhere else. They just say....."Right on!" Then they let you get on with your life and the sky is the limit. You can do anything in California.......Anything! That's more than I can say for any other place in the world and I currently live in Missouri and it's beautiful.........but it ain't California. P.S. The girls in California are the hottest in the world and everybody knows it! They are. I was spoiled growing up there....not sorry. It's a fact. A 10 in the Midwest is a 7 at best in California.
The roads sucked . I saw lots of highway improvement signs and never saw anyone working , just a lot of Schneider Eggs. My only trip there was in 09 and I can't say I was a fan of the roads. Gotta love the climate yes.
Isn't there a law there about how close your trailer axle can be to your cab or something? I took a truck driving course years ago (of which I regret other than gaining a bigger respect for truckers), and they said something like this in case you try to slide your axle on your trailer to get your weight balance right.
Married my wife born and raised near Chico,Ca. It has really gone down hill since I started speeded my summers there since 97. I love the climate in the foothills but the valley sucks in the summer 100+ for weeks and weeks on end. The homelessness has exploded even in little cities like Chico and Orville and the loss of jobs taken away from logging and agricultural from water rights taken have exasperated this greatly. The political correctness has so disturbed the old locals that even lifetime residents are leaving for Colorado and Texas.
As a California Native born on Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, back in 1961. I was raised in the comfortable suburbs of the South Bay, only a few miles from the coastal towns of Redondo Beach and Hermosa Beach. I have to thank you for fairly assessing California. We’re getting a lot of hot air from certain forms of media and a whole lot of haters.
No gas in CA costs so much because there are not many cross country pipelines, they mostly import from the middle east. It would still be more expensive but not this expensive. SF homeless is much worse than NY, at least it doesn't let them stay in tents on the street. Brownout issue is partially due to closing natural gas plants and not having any backup when solar/wind capacity fails. Easier to burn more natgas, impossible to take in more sun at 6pm. Good video, thanks!
@@okboomer600 she was born in the bay area, and never been to other parts of the state, and now lives in New England. LA and the Bay Area each have remotely different vibes from the rest of the state, and unless you live in the other parts of the state, you truly don't know what California is like
I was born there. Wouldn't live there again on a bet. Know plenty of people of both parties who feel the same. Yes, there are 70 million people back east in a similar sized area. BUT, they dont have the Sierras or the Mojave back east.
Just discovered your video and I will be watching every single content in this channel. If you would consider, TOP 10 states you will consider moving to - considering weather, people, housing etc. Thank you!!!
@@pokemontas8025 Cable news. The original TV networks and newspaper press networks, AP and such, try to provide neutral news. But lots of people don't like neutral news. They are not found on only one side of the political spectrum.
I'd love to have a place in West Virginia. A little mountain cottage to escape to a few times of year? I'm down, now I just need someone else to pay for it.
Great video. This was very informative. I remember your video about where all the fruits and vegetables come from and California was tops in almost all the fields. Very interesting.
I am a California native. I moved to Idaho a little while ago. There are some good things and some bad things about California. I personally dislike California because of the high taxes, illegal immigration, expensive housing, extreme poverty and homelessness. However, I do love the beauty of the state. It’s completely different from anywhere else in the country. I’m happy I got out of that dumpster fire, but I also kind of miss it.
California is an amazing state, I've lived here for 20 years. I've lived in a small conservative town in the Sierra Nevada mountains, in the crowded city of San Francisco and an agricultural town in the Sacramento Valley. I love the weather and the outdoor scenery- Beautiful redwood forests along the coast, huge granite mountains in the Sierra Nevada, fertile farmland in the Central Valley, rolling foothills dotted with oak trees, wetlands in the bay and vast deserts in the southeast. I enjoy the high quality & inexpensive cannabis and fresh fruits and vegetables. I hate to see this beautiful state being ruined by politics. I loved the video! Although I will say I believe the homeless population in California is significantly larger than other states.
Had to stop the video when it got the homeless issue. It is not AT ALL because "they have nowhere to hide" I appreciate you giving geographic insights, but I having lived in Los Angeles for almost 27 years, that analysis of the homeless issue is way off base.
I think he's referring to San Fran, where there almost literally is nowhere to hide. I've driven a lot in LA and I have seen full homeless encampments underneath overpasses.
I'm a native. Getting out is the best decision I've ever made. And you are under exaggerating the homeless problem like I can't believe, "Oh, you know... There are homeless and always have been..." Yeah, there always have been homeless in California, but compare where I'm from now to ten years ago and it's a different place. Parks you can't go to, everything with fences around (that weren't there before, rampant drug use and human waste.
@@GeographyKing sorry to bug u but we having argument on another comment from where u ware they said like Stockton or Tracy but I said u from my home city of Sacramento
Thanks for the Voice of Reason on this topic. Also the inability of the San francisco homeless to make themselves invisible is something that few of us have previously considered but a really good point.
I live in California and I see Republicans here all the time treating their home state like a piñata. They appear a bit tortured and miserable from my perspective, but I guess that’s the cost of identifying with a party that requires self-hate on a local level in order to feel embraced on the national one. The irony for California Republicans is that national pride has had to supersede state pride, and that’s a trade they seem all too willing to make.
I used to think even California Republicans were a bit liberal (Ah-nold, and a girl I know named Lisa who is Republican but severely animal-rights centered, for example), until Trump came along. lol
Both parties are garbage, and most of the Californians that follow any given party like a cult, end up leaving California (Dems, because they can't afford to live in LA or SF anymore, and would rather leave the state altogether than settle for a different part of the state, and Reps because part of being a Republican means hating California without question). Those of us who give the middle finger to both Democrats and Republicans, end up finding reasons to stay. The good thing about the declining population, is that the political corruption will eventually leave with it
Native Californian here=3rd generation with an 11 year stint in the mountains of Utah just for a change! I LOVE my state! Where else can you live within an hour's drive of the ocean, the mountains or the desert? NO WHERE in the US that I know of! I have mostly spent my time in the lower half of the state with San Diego being my chosen home for eons-I don't like rain! I love going to the Northern part but it's not for living for me. Thank you for sticking up for my lovely state. Let the media trash us all they want=it might keep more people out which is fine by most Californians.
In a lot of ways this is like tourists who go to NYC and only hang around in Times Square and a few other Manhattan locations and assume they know what NYC is like, to say nothing of the whole state.
Except for the warm weather bias. But that is true of just about every online site. So I ignore comments about how beautiful the weather is. But keep up the good work on this very fine site, and pray for snow.
Loved this video, Kyle! Thank you for reminding everyone that this is not about politics. California is my home state as well and I'm glad that you just gave the facts.
Man, you're doing the lord's work here! I'm from Germany, never been to the USA. Regardless, in every country people need to understand that most folks on either side of the political spectrum are just decent people who want to live their lives. Let's not get riled up by the propaganda on either side!
As a man named Kyle who lives out in Texas and has lived in 4 other states all over the country I can tell you that the Californian hate is ridiculous. Especially here in Texas.
It seemed like it was just cranks and trolls trying to bring narcissists down to earth for a while (and as a CA resident who's also having to defend the state a lot lately, I'll also admit that Californians can be rather self-centered), but like the man said, it seems like some people are dead serious about it now and don't want to hear any dissenting opinion.
As a 3rd generation Californian I thank you for the accurate portrayal of my home state. My grandfather was born in Los Angeles in 1913. Think of the changes he saw in his lifetime. Well done sir.
My grandfather and move to Los Angeles in 1920. They live at 111 South Norton. The house has been used as a backdrop in many movies starting with the Three Stooges. My grandfather had a book signed by Earl Warren, to my best friend.
(Ie. Earl Warren showgrounds)
Amazing times
CA probably has the most diverse climate of any state in the entire country. There are areas that get over 100 inches of rain a year and others that get less than an inch. You have areas that get over 400 inches of snow a year and other areas that get no snow at all. There are coastal forests, coastal grassland, open oak hilly woodland, dense forest with the biggest trees in the world, barren desert, open grassland, chaparral, coastal mountains, valleys, the highest and lowest place in the US, and oldest trees in the world
Where I live (near sf) in a span of 2 months it’s nearly 110 and then next day 60 and a month later 40 with thunderstorms and hail.
This is why I live in CA. If I want a change of scenery, I just drive there for the weekend.
ya, it's pretty crazy. I've never taken for granted the only 3 states I've lived in are pretty crazy/beautiful/interesting geographically: Michigan, Utah, California. Utah goes from The Rocky Mountains to Moab, the Great Salt Lake is super weird and interesting. And Michigan with the Great Lakes is quite astonishing... I think all 5 of the Great Lakes are in the top 10 largest lakes in the world. The geology there is remarkable. A really weird place on earth that mother nature carved out from glaciers. And just a beautiful place with wonderful summers and winters. And then of course California for all the reasons you listed.
Which is why I think there should be a Pokémon region based off the state.
What part of California gets over 33 feet of snow a year?
It's nice to hear some level headed facts from someone with no political bias.
There's no shortage of political stuff online. I try to keep it geographical.
@@GeographyKing That's for sure, I've been collecting old books, especially almanacs and text books, with maps in them. I live in Missouri and one interesting feature is the St. Francois Mts. They're actually tall hills, but they are the second oldest (1.5 billion years) hills or mountains in the U.S. behind the Black Hills (1.8 billion years) of S.D. I really look forward to your videos.
As a caver I love MO. Second only to Tennessee in number of caves.
@@GeographyKing And it's cool that both states border each other and they also border the most states at eight, more than any other state.
California attracts the homeless because if their social welfare benefits and good weather. A bus ticket for $50. Las Vegas has homeless , you don't see tents and the city is pretty clean
You are so right. Columbia, SC (where I live) is part of a highway system that homeless people travel and many of them winter here. Just because they live in the woods, down by the river or behind a building doesn't mean they are not there. I have been to California and I found it to be wonderful. Here we have farms here and there but wow - California has miles and miles of one farm after another. People are people wherever they live. Most of us are just trying to work, take care of our responsibilities and help others when we can. California is no different. I hope one day to return to California. Maybe we should treat each other with kindness and respect instead of listening to media talking heads trying to drums up ratings and spread fear. ~Sherrie in South Carolina
I love your comment and I totally agree. People are mostly good wherever you go and the good or bad can happen anywhere. I lived in Columbia while in grad school and met my wife while there. She's from Lexington. I like SC and enjoyed my time there. I grew up in the farming-heavy Central Valley in CA so it's nice to see someone appreciate the farming. Whenever you tell people in the eastern US you're from California they assume San Francisco or Los Angeles. The town I grew up in is pretty similar in size and culture to Sumter.
@@GeographyKing I live in Lexington County and am buying some rural land out near Batesburg in Aiken County we hope to turn into a farm, so I do appreciate farms. I was fascinated by all the farm land in California. Miles and miles of farms. Such a beautiful and diverse state, I thought I'd love visiting San Francisco but it was the farms and coastal towns (Monterey, Half Moon Bay and inland all the way to Yosemite that stole my heart. Happy New Year to you and your wife,
The wide open farming land in California is running out of water. More and more water is pumped to LA from northern California and Lake Mead in Nevada.
Suburbs of brand new housing is going in everywhere.
They can't build the homes fast enough in California. Every immigrant to California has the potential to make another Californian homeless
@@flashgordon3715 I imagine that is horrible having to depend on others for your water. Sad that the potential is there for homelessness. I think many folks have bought into the idea that California has everything. Then they get there and find for some that is not true. California is not alone, it happens in other areas also.
Columbia always gets such a bad rap about homelessness. But I found it to be a wonderful place to call home for 16 years. I truly miss living there!
You didn't mention the water situation in California - one of the major issues related to it's geography.
Is the water situation located in a desert?
@@starkusmc1981 The vast majority of the water available every year in California is in the snowpack north of the Tehachapi Mountains - ie, northern California has the water, Southern California has the people that use the water. Droughts cause a lot of problems if the snowpack is significantly below average for 2 years in a row. A significant chunk of the water comes from the Colorado River, and it's al moved around by a network of aqueducts.
@@kibashisiyoto6771 I understand that. I just don't understand how it's a situation if there's a water shortage in a desert, which a good portion of southern California is. It's not really a situation, but more of a reality.
@@starkusmc1981 And on top of that, there's the danger of earthquakes damaging the aqueducts.
Exactly. Also; The Salton Sea mess. The yearly Forest Fires.
After living in San Diego for 4 years I can agree that California has a great climate especially the coastal cities.
I used to live 2 hours north of SD I. A city called Ontario. Our summers are pretty miserable for being only 35 miles from Los Angeles. It was 107 on most days in August .
@@jongallardo8006 the ocean does take the heat off better than living more inland.
Tell me is it nice to live there (clean, low crime, not many homeless,etc.) ?
Born and raised in San Diego. Have lived in coastal California cities my entire life. It would be very hard to leave after being spoiled by the perfect climate and beauty of the coastline. Just wish it wasn't so astronomically expensive but you get what you pay for.
I'm now drunk with the amount of sense spoken in this video.
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Is that the intoxicating mental relaxation that I'm feeling? The warm rush of measured, thoughtful, and sensible information coursing through my veins? I'd forgotten it was even possible anymore! Do other people know about this . . . What's the word I'm looking for? . . . Oh yeah, "civility." It could be a real game changer.
95% of the people in California live in urban areas. Guess what? That means that only 5% of the people live in the rest of the state. I agree with lots of people outside California, that look at the state's cities and say they wouldn't want to live there. But, I don't want to live in any city, no matter what state it is in. Property values are lower in the southeast, but I call that the humidity discount! I've spent a little time in the southeast and the humidity killed me. I live in California's Sierra Nevada where anything above 30-35% humidity in the daytime of summer is muggy.
As far as fire it is the climate, but what is not mentioned is the vegetation that exists in California because of that climate, it is the most flammable in the U.S. over such a wide area. I'm a retired forester and one of my myriad of duties was wildland firefighting. I've studied fire ecology since high school (I'm 72 so that tells you how long I've studied it) and California has many vegetation types that are actually fire dependant. The average time between the historical (prior to European man) is much shorter than in fire dependent ecosystems in the remainder of the country. For example, Yellowstone National Park has a long history of burning most of the park every 300-500 years. Data gathered after the 1988 fires there (I was there on the lines for 32 days) showed such 3 or more of these cycles in the soil layers there. To the trained eye, a large number of the firefighters I was with had the impression that nearly the entire park burned about 300 years prior, it was obvious to us. Anyway, California has been burning frequently for thousands of years. It has nothing to do with politics or one individual's statement that we need to rake the forests.
Pardon my ignorance, but do controlled burns help lessen the fires?
@@Matteger23 The short, soundbite answer is yes, absolutely. I will post a long version below, which outlines the reasons why the answer is affirmative. The longer answer is actually a summation of what I know and have observed over the last 54 years, since I was a senior in high school when I began to study fire ecology. Ecology is a complex study and the fire portion of that science is just a part of it.
In fire dependent ecosystems the answer is yes. What is a fire dependent ecosystem? Well obviously tropical forests and jungles are not fire dependent. Tundra and alpine ecosystems are not fire dependent, which exist closer to the poles and at high elevations in mountain areas.
Elsewhere fires have burned periodically and naturally. These fires consume the dead fuels created by the natural death of vegetation, leaf fall and needle cast and branches falling due to trees naturally pruning themselves. In addition fires reduce the amount of green vegetation growing on the ground. If fire is not present thick new forest, often shade tolerant species take hold. The trees growing near the ground, underneath the taller trees are part of the "understory." Mature trees are called the "overstory." The overstory is fire resistant, as the foliage is high above the ground and the trees have developed thick bark, insulating the living layer of the tree, the cambium which is located just under the bark, which is like the arteries and veins of a tree, carrying water and nutrients from the soil to the foliage and other substances down to the roots for storage. If the understory grows for a period of time that exceeds the period of time that exceeds the intervals that the ecosystem experienced over long periods of time then a "fuel ladder is created." The understory trees reach the bottom of the overstory foliage. The fuels on the ground build up to reach the bottom of the understory foliage.
When a fire begins at the ground, it has a path to the tops of the overstory. The fuels on the ground have accumulated to a quantity that produces so much heat that the radiant energy is sufficient to burn or kill the organic layer of soil and the ladder allows fire to be carried to the tops of the trees, consuming all living matter in a large area.
The growth of vegetation in ecosystems is not even over large areas. We talked about fire burning at regular intervals in fire dependent ecosystems, this is called the fire regime. Over wide areas fires naturally burn at varying intensities, some areas don't burn as hot while other areas burn hot. This can result from topography, season, wind direction, sunlight angles (slope differential) and many factors of chance. This creates a mosaic of vegetation, so trees may be thicker in some areas than others. This availability of varying conditions is vital to wildlife. They need some open areas for grasses and forbs to grow for food, but they also need the protection of thicker trees for cover from predators. Natural fires tended to burn over long periods, sometimes the length of the dry season. This also created the variability of burn intensity, the mosaic.
Putting out every fire for the last 100-120 years has greatly interrupted fire regimes. The more flammable shade tolerant understory and the thick dead and down materials, as well as thick brush has created a heavy fuel bed and that ladder. The solution to this varies depending on the ecosystem and the vegetation that grows in it as well as the time that has passed since the last fire. Thinning of the understory, if it consists of the same species as the overstory is one component. The trees may be useful for small dimension lumber, firewood or for pulp used to make paper. Some trees might be too small for these uses. When all the commercial material is removed then the fuels are stacked into piles, to be burned when the weather and fuel moisture are wetter, allowing the piles to burn slowly, often times when the first snows of fall/winter are on the ground. Then, typically in the fall, a fire it lit to burn on the ground and reduce other small fuels. All of this is an attempt to return the condition of the ecosystem to what is was when fire burned naturally. Natural fire burned productively and less intensely when it did so at its prehistorical and historical intervals.
It should be noted that "thinning" rarely included cutting of the overstory. The overstory is the most fire resistant and most fire tolerant of all the trees in the forest. Cutting in the overstory is almost always called "logging." The fire problem is not created when an area has not been logged for a long time, it is created when the fire regime has been interrupted. Some politicians and commercial logging interests have tried to fool the public into thinking that if there are lots of destructive fires then logging is needed. Most often, logging creates more surface fires, in spite of agency requirements for timber sale operators to pile and the "slash" created by logging, which is the small and noncommercial material created by harvesting the trees, burned. On private lands the sale operators or landowners do this burning. On public lands agency personnel usually do this.
The public calls these intentionally ignited fires "controlled burns." The forestry profession calls them "prescribed burns" or "prescribed fires." The "prescription" for a fire is developed considering how intense of a fire is needed, fuel moisture levels, weather factors such as relative humidity, length of day (season), time of the year, wind direction and speed, availability of fire resources locally and nationally, fire activity in other areas of the country and type and intensity of air pollution effects. The predicted wind direction is important as smoke blowing into towns and cities is not allowed in areas where air quality is intensely managed, like nearly all of California as an example.
Prescribed fire is evaluated based on the factors of an entire ecosystem, these being vegetation management, watershed conditions, recreation use, wildlife habitat, grazing use, proximity to structures and towns/cities and public input. Specialists from each form an interdisciplinary team to plan every step that leads to a prescribed fire project.
A management plan for a public land unit, will evaluate the overall conditions of ecosystems over a large area and is used to determine when, where and how prescribed fires will be accomplished. These units are national parks, national forests, wildlife refuges, and the planning units of Bureau of Land Management administered federal public lands.
Fire management heavily relies on scientific research, which has been taking a long term look at the role of wildland fire for nearly 80 years now. The U.S. Forest Service has two "laboratories" dedicated to fire research. This in addition to the large group of research facilities the agency has all over the country. These are part of the three main entities of the agency, which are: Research, State and Private Forestry and the most well-known, The National Forest System. The National Park Service has a large research organization as well.
@@wannabetowasabe my goodness; thank you so much for taking the time to share with us this fascinating, detailed explanation. You have answered so many questions I have had about the wildfires in CA. We live in Northeastern LA County, and experience worsening fire conditions every year, which have become an existential threat for many Californians. Your explanation clarifies why fire is integral to the proper functioning of the CA ecosystems, and confirms to me that this is a normal part of California’s history. Thanks again for this informative explanation of so much as it relates to our land.
@@Iamthepossum You are welcome. I worked on it using Word, saved it and then posted it here. I'm going to be using it to answer friends and such on my Facebook page and the other sites where I participate in forums. I'm also thinking about using portions or all of it for a letter to the editor of our local newspaper. There is a lot of misunderstanding among the public regarding this issue.
Anyone who reads the comment should keep in mind that I'm not well versed in southern California chaparral ecosystems. My B.S. Forestry degree did not include any study of it or any field time in them. I've gotten a limited amount of knowledge from U.S. Forest Service employees who have worked on the Los Padres, Angeles, San Bernardino and Cleveland National Forests. I've been on wildland fires on each of those forests 5-10 times, with some in explosive fire behavior created by major Santa Ana wind events. Anxiety is often a component of the experience. Jokingly I've told others that a chiropractor is needed after coming home because of whiplash. You are constantly, as a squad boss or crew boss, turning your head around to watch for things that might be the start of some very hazardous developments. That and the terrain is very rough and dangerous on its own. People might think that the L.A. area does not have difficult and potentially dangerous terrain, but then they probably have not been climbing or descending the San Gabriels in the middle of the night using headlamps with chainsaws on their shoulders or the various fire tools hand crews use. Heck, most people haven't walked those mountain cross country on a clear, sunny day. For lands I've fought fire on in California the Angeles and the Klamath have the most challenging terrain.
One of my supervisors transferred to the Angeles in the 1980's, taking the position of the District Ranger on the old Saugus Ranger District, the west end of the forest. Later he took the position of Forest Fire Management Officer for the forest. He experimented with prescribed burning in chaparral. He was using his experience doing fuel reduction/prescribed fire in conifer dominated vegetation. He told me that it doesn't work in chaparral. He tried burns in vegetation that was 10 years and 20 years past a large fire. He said that he could not get fires to spread when the vegetation was more sparse. He tried some fires in fully mature vegetation under wet conditions and could not get enough fuel consumption to make a difference. His conclusion, keeping in mind he reached this 4 decades ago that the natural fire regime of chaparral vegetation is that major fires that burn everything burned intensely about every 30 years. He could not find any method of vegetation management that could bring about different results.
Like I say, I'm not well acquainted with those ecosystems and there are hundreds of people in the south part of the state that know far more than I do. I just passed on some old anecdotal information above.
Just stumbled across your channel and wanted to give you some props for all the great content!
Thank you very much. I really appreciate that!
"If you're expecting to hear some right-wing crap or some left-wing crap, you've come to the wrong channel."
... And there was much rejoicing. *YAAAAY!*
He puts the KING in Geography King!!!
Gotta like a comment with a subtle reference to Monty Python!
Love how tell the truth about the news media, it is so bias, some bias left, some right; can't believe either!
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This is probably the best video I have seen on California. It is an objective and factual look at what is causing some of the issues facing California. As someone who lives in downtown Los Angeles I especially appreciate it.
Thank you for the compliment. I try to talk about stuff without getting all political.
Great video! I'm from San Diego and you have the most accurate video I've seen on California.
Thanks! I try to keep things educational and not full of hyperbole. I'm glad you liked the video.
San Diego’s much better than LA and San Francisco. Nicer people, fresher air, more spread out, and less taxation and regulation. I’m still happy I moved, but San Diego will always be my home.
I lived in San Diego for 2 years in the 80’s (North Park)........I love San Diego........most beautiful place I’ve ever lived!
@@timslater566 North Park (where I live) was kinda rough around the edges in the '80s; now it's SD's hipster neighborhood (with matching house prices). Probably not as expensive as San Francisco, but it's getting there.
@@andyjay729 I remember back in the 1970's when I wanted to buy my first house/townhouse everyone said you would have to start out in North Park or East County. Houses were cheaper there than at the beach (Mission Beach/PB) where I lived then. North Park was mostly smaller houses (lower middle class area). Kind of a rundown area. Now it's full of brewpubs/taprooms, restaurants, night life, etc. What a turn around.
Thank you so much for making this video! This is one of the best ones that attempts to explain or at least describe the very complicated situation in California. I don't live in California, nor am I a Californian, but I frequent California, especially the Bay. I try to visit there annually and I absolutely love that state! I've been to the Redwoods and Sequoia, Napa and Sonoma, Tahoe and the surrounding area, Big Sur, Santa Cruz, Yosemite, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Death Valley, Marin County, LA, etc.
It's such a diverse state in many ways: people, environment, characters, scenery, economy, socio-economic class, politics, etc. If you've never been to CA, it's really hard to grasp the whole situation there. And news stories and over critical people on the internet do not bring it justice. I highly encourage you to visit the state. I assure you there's an appeal to literally everyone. You can be an outdoorsy person, a nature lover, a luxury shopper, beach goer, film geek, a country person, a hunter, fisher, surfer, aspiring model and/or actor, wannabe vlogger, food enthusiast, etc.
I think since I visit the state so much that I get to experience the "California experience". It's not a perfect place(but where is such a place). There's crime, corruption, crazy people, pollution, homelessness, etc. but tell me a popular and highly populated place that doesn't have those problems. Do you think Paris, London, Tokyo, Beijing, Rio de Janeiro, Mexico City, Abuja, Cape Town, Sydney, etc, don't have those problems? When a place attracts so much people, for whatever reasons these people have in moving to such place, it's gonna have issues in the larger scheme of things. When I lived in Paris, people complain that there's too many people wanting to move to Paris. Well, what can you do? It's the centre of politics, economy, arts and fashion in France. These places are like magnets and seen as a source of opportunities for many people. If you can't compete with many other people wanting the same thing, you're bound to fail. It is what it is. That's why I like visiting the place, not living in it hahaha
As someone who's from California, I always tell people that California is too big to generalize
@@jareddoran6605 True. The north end of California is north of the south end of Canada. The south end of California is at the latitude of Morocco.
@@danielcarroll3358 the northern part of Northern California is closer to Canada than Mexico, and the southern part of Southern California is closer to Texas than Oregon. If that doesn't put into perspective how big California is, I don't know what does. San Bernardino County alone is bigger than the entire state of Maryland, and San Bernardino County shows up on the election maps red almost every year (despite everyone pushing the narrative that all of California is democrat)
"The coldest winter I ever spent was summer in Dan Francisco" -Mark Twain
Dan?
Dan?
sadly he never said that
Who’s this Dan Francisco dude?
@@keith_44 Actually, I believe it was Dan Francisco who said it first.
Wonderful accurate and intelligent commentary. This is a must watch for any American. Misinformation is a real problem in America today!
Misinformation is not just an American problem. It's also about a bit of critical thinking ... reading between the (head)lines. cheers from Australia (we have a prime minister who used to have a career in marketing)
God bless you. I'm tired of defending my state. We are just people.
Thanks Kyle for this video. I am a California native who is proud to be one. Have lived here for most of my life (67+ years). Grew up inland (Riverside County), but have lived on the coast (San Diego) for almost 50 years. There is much more to California than the beaches, Disneyland, Hollywood, Golden Gate Bridge, etc. as you know. Anyplace that's desirable is going to cost more. Supply and demand, like anything else.
This appeared on my recommended, thanks for stating the facts with no political bias.
Kyle claims to be so many levels above cable news? He bashes Rachel Maddow for knowing nothing about California? I advise him and everyone to check her bio, for goodness sakes.
I stumbled across your channel after viewing your Fl vs TX comparison. Very informative video BTWI have been to both states (Metro Houston and Destin, Fl) Since I currently live in SD CA, I think I will stay here for a while. Those darn hurricanes scare the heck out of me after experiencing Harvey a few years ago.
Actually, Rachel Maddow is from the SF Bay area.....
Hey, you're right! She's from Castro Valley, my side of the Bay. I never knew that
Yeah, I thought the same thing.
What a surprise
Make sense, she’s has an elitist neo lib.
But she can't lie straight in bed so there's that
Thanks for being so nuanced about the issues. Thinking about moving to Sacramento from South Florida and this makes it easier (when it's safe to do so)
I'm glad you found the video useful. Sacramento is pretty nice. House prices are above average but so are wages. When the media talk about how expensive California is, it's not talking about Sacramento. You can get a nice house in a nice neighborhood in the $300,000 range with pretty good wages. It's cheaper than a lot of cities in eastern US. You'd have pretty high income tax but you'd have lower property taxes and much lower property insurance than in FL.
You won’t regret that move!
@@GeographyKing The Bay Area is nice. I live here. But don’t expect to get a home under a million bucks it just won’t happen
South Florida.......yucch! I don’t blame ya.
As someone who has lived from the bottom of ca to the top, your analysis is correct. Also, my parents are from Ohio & I have been reminded my entire life that we pay a premium for better weather. They always talked about how the snow/weather seriously impacts your day to day life in other states (having to clear snow etc) & Ca doesn’t have that issue. I grew up in Sacramento & there have always been homeless groups in the Bay Area. The biggest change is the increase in fires & I think that has shifted a lot of people in the state. It’s a great state, but it’s expensive & big & we have a lot of citizens to make happy. It’s hard to balance a state this big. Great video!
Great channel. As a native Pasadenian, this was really informative.
As a local SoCal resident, born and raised (but who also has lived outside of Cali for 8 years in 3 different states), I really, really appreciate this video! I loved my time living in other parts of the country, but CA is my home and I get so sick of people bagging on it. We have our issues, but so does every other state! So thanks again!
I'd honestly love a series where you rip up every state and tell us why they suck.
Damn, I'd love to watch that content!
I recommend UA-camrs Nick Johnson or World According to Briggs if you like those sorts of videos.
I like GK the way it is!
Incredible video. Very accurate on most things, but I will say that
I'm from Los Angeles and we really do have a huge problem with homeless people and drug addicts EVERYWHERE here...not based on the media but based on what I see day in and day out. It's gotten worse the past few years unfortunately. The needles and tents, etc are in most areas now.. Even the NICE areas.
Absolutely love your video. So unbiased and educational. Seriously one of the best channels I've found. I would love to dm you. Do you have a fan page??
Thanks for the comment. I love sharing info with other nerds. Homelessness is definitely getting worse all throughout the US but the scenes are certainly worse in LA and SF. If you'd like to contact me I have a link on my channel homepage under "About". But no, there's no fan page. Maybe someday but for now I'm happy with the low key setup I've got now.
@@GeographyKing Thanks! :)
@@GeographyKing Just subscribed today, great content and very well done. I was born and raised in Los Angeles and I have to say aside from the weather ( I know, most important factor ) It really sucks now. You have to plan your day by the morning and afternoon rush hours if you are going anywhere more than 15 miles from home. The homeless situation is now spread throughout the LA basin virtually affecting all communities and it continues to worsen. I heard you say on another video that you don’t like LA and I totally agree, it’s decline is undeniable propaganda aside. I could go on with many other reasons but I’ve been long winded enough. Retirment will find the wife and I in Grand Juction, Co. We’ll forgo the better weather ( and it’s not better by much actually ) for a far superior quality of life. But hey, at any rate I love your channel and commentary, keep up the good work!
I’m from the Chicago area and I completely understand how you feel
When I tell people I'm from Chicago they say "oh did you live in a SAFE part of town?, I hear it's so dangerous there" 🙄
@@tony12345pl I feel you guys. Same goes for anywhere to be honest and the misinformation or the lack of information from people is frustrating.
I live in Reno and people always ask about, "Do you visit Vegas all the time?", "Do you just gamble there?", "Must be a boring city if all there is to do is gamble and prostitution".
Ok, most people in Reno don't even step in the casinos. Tourists are who the casinos target. The only reason we go to casinos is if we feel like eating at a buffet, or go clubbing. The casinos know this that's why they give locals discounts on dining. Most Renoites love the outdoors so we go hiking, go to Tahoe, skiiing and snowboarding, camping, etc. If we stay in the city, at least my demographic, we like going to bars and restaurants in Midtown and generally stay away from the Casino district in Downtown.
Lastly, Vegas is like a 8-9 hour drive. 7 if you drive like a maniac on meth. Most of the people I know visit the Bay Area in California more than Vegas.
At least Chicago has four seasons. That's a big plus over the West Coast.
@@thomasschellberg8213 5 with the road construction season.
@Nic Lazzari come during the summer. Tbh there is def. some areas that do have crime but certainly not near tourist areas. Also check out more of Chicago than just downtown
Idk, after hearing all this, I think I'll stick to living in Kansas. Where I can get a 3 bed/2bath house on an acre of land for less than 120k.
What job do you have? How far to the nearest grocery store? How far to your work? How far is downtown from you? How far to the nearest amusement park? How far to the nearest stadium? How close to the nearest airport? How is healthcare there?
@@christophejergales7852 I do title research for banks. Nearest grocery store is about two blocks away. I travel for work, so anywhere between 9 miles(for a short job) or up to 360 miles in a day. Downtown is about 4 miles away. The college stadium is about 2 miles. Nearest airport is about 15 miles. Healthcare....well, it is the U.S. so that really depends on how much money you have lol.
@@travisrose7164 Healthcare depends on how much money you have? I have great health benefits from my job. I guess you clearly don't have that. I have 80/20 coverage for health, dental, prescription, and vision. Also speaking of money, I have a 401k that gets built for me, and three pensions.
And I am a measly electrician. What does the bank you work for do for you?
@@christophejergales7852 oh I don't work directly for the banks. I get my work from a secondary business that deals with the banks. It's a weird system. What I do is, I do the research on the property, I find deeds, mortgages, fixture filings, anything pertaining to the property really, and then I also get any court documents on the owners that could interfere with the individuals paying back what they borrowed. I mainly deal with refinancing and foreclosures (thankfully none in 2020 due to state mandate against it).
Which is fine. Your state is the definition of boredom to a large portion of the country...but that doesn't matter because you like it. I wish folks would live and let live.
Love your accurate, balanced views on the state.
Before 1982 homelessness was so rare across the United States you needed a trained eye to see it. We used to have cheap hotels, $2 a night, $3.50 if you wanted breakfast. We used to have public housing. We replaced public housing with a voucher system that offers vouchers that will not cover rent. We kept the minimum wage to low. Minimum wage used to be enough for a 1 bedroom in a low rent neighborhood. Homelessness is a policy choice. Not just in California, but across the country.
Was $2 hotels a real thing?
@@sjtv1000 $2 per night. Yes, it was. minimum wage was $1.25, but that was enough to rent a 1 bedroom in a shabby neighborhood.
I've lived in California for over 50 years and I can definitely say that the cost of housing and the homeless problem and the illegal immigration problem are much, much worse than they were more than 30 years ago. What happened? The climate was just as nice back then. Also, illegal immigration is not isolated to agriculture. Illegal alien workers are very common in restaurants and in the construction industry in California.
I think the fundamental cause of housing and homeless problem, as well as the illegal immigration problem is population growth. In 1980, CA's population is about 24 million. Today, CA's population is just a bit shy from 40 million, which represents a 66% increase. The main driver for population growth is big metros' population growth. LA metro's population grew 70% from 1980 to 2020, and SF bay area metro's population grew 67%. The inhabitable land is not going to grow in big metro areas...so, it's just a supply and demand problem. Supply virtually didn't change much, while demand increased 70%, pushing the housing prices to skyrocket. With all the gentrification going on throughout major cities in CA, the aggravation of the homeless problem is inevitable.
Higher housing prices pushed living expenses higher, which means some jobs are just too expensive for citizens or legal citizen. Really, ask around, how many citizen you know are willing to be a janitor or a runner?
I don't think the illegal immigration situation was described here accurately. Kyle said that 98% of the people showing up to work the fields were illegals. It's not that the American workers don't want to do the work, it's that the growers don't pay worth a darn and only illegals are willing to work for such crap wages. California looks the other way when employers hire illegals.
@@BillGreenAZ California benefits off of illegal immigrants but not vice versa.
Exactly. The real question should be why are our food systems designed with the need for cheap, immigrant labor? Make food production more local and maybe people wouldn't take it for granted as much as we do in the West.
So, the USA has 100 million more people than 50 years ago. The world has 4 billion more people than 50 years ago... so obviously, California has more people.
Good video and I am happy you mentioned we are the largest agriculture producers in the country but forgot that California is the 5th largest economy in the world... Behind the USA, China, Japan, and Germany. With our big economy comes issues that other states just don't have to deal with.
Going to California with an aching in my heart.
Hi, Kyle. This was a very interesting video to me because I did live 7 years ('06 to '13) in Norco, in the Inland Empire. It was on the edge of the desert, when I had lived in wet climates my whole life before. My favorite thing to do while there was ride Metrolink all the way from Norco to Oceanside going through San Juan Capistrano. Sometimes, you could change the weather 30 whole degrees during the summer and the scenery was gorgeous. I also loved Arrowhead and Big Bear. I also saw three concerts for free just for giving blood, just one example of how I benefited from the progressive systems out there.
I've watched a lot of your videos and this was the best!
You took a topic that usually is immediately political, and plugged it into your channels theme perfectly all while remaining honest about the good, bad, and other.
I've shared this on my social media accounts.
Thank you!
Kyle, THANK YOU for doing this channel. It warms my heart to hear your unbiased, level-headed takes on subjects often politicized.
Excellent and fair description... thx! As the 5th largest economy in the world, and the largest economy in the U.S. ($3.2 TRILLION), with an annual net population INFLOW of 1.5 million, IMHO California has simply become a victim of its own success. And even in our daily lives, we see how one individual's success can often incur others 'resentment'.
As a 5th Gen. Californian, I hit the LIKE button 2 min's into your video.
There's a lot of experts on various parts of the USA, most are getting their expertise from watching the network news.
And hey experts, don't call it "Cali"
That's the best unbiased overview that can be. Thank you, Kyle
Rachel Maddow is from Castro Valley, Californian from day 1
And a Stanford grad.
@@scottthomasen8978
Who admitted she lied about Trump and Russia
@@Otisbear480 Didn't see that? I've been tuning out both extremes lately. I can Google, but if you have a legit source link to share it would be much appreciated. I have to admit is smells funny, but I am open and would like to dig deeper in to this.
Thanks.
@@scottthomasen8978
To truly understand the issue, you will have to read the court papers for the lawsuit against her. There were about 6 people that had to admit they had no evidence of Trump and Russia colluding
@@Otisbear480 Are you talking about the "OAN" lawsuit? It is the only one I can find thus far on line.
One of the reasons citizens won't do the work is because the work is highly underpaid and not consistent.
Never mind I could never do that job. My back hurts just sitting around watching them do it. lol
Born and raised in California and I love my home state. Unfortunately we could no longer afford to live there so we moved to Colorado. Never heard so much negative ideas about California from Colorado natives. They totally had misconceived ideas about California and joked about it all the time. Most have never even stepped foot in California. Between that and the snow I now live in Arizona. Much nicer state.
Yeah i think the main problem with California is thats its just too expensive for lower middle class and the working class people to thrive here, because there are plenty of jobs here
I moved to Arizona too. After my entire life in the San FRANCISCO Bay The AZ natives have treated me very well. The snowbirds have a nasty attitude 😮
I live in Butte County and the only strong gripe I have with California are the droughts and wildfires. I'm very tired of both. In less than two years we've had two massive, deadly fires less than 30 minutes from my home - the Camp Fire with destroyed the town of Paradise and killed 85 people and the North Complex which destroyed the mountain community of Berry Creek and killed 16 people. Its just too much. One third of the county has burned in just two years and two large fires. I hate humidity, but I may relocate to the eastern half of the country to try to avoid wildfires.
The more videos I watch from Kyle, the more appreciation for "Level Headed" comments!! Keep up the good work!!
I learn a lot from your videos, bravo! You're a good dude who sees both sides of an issue, keep on a keepin' on man!
Wow, incredibly refreshing. I’ve lived in CA my entire life, and I currently live in downtown Los Angeles. I think your examination is spot on. CA and it’s cities have problems, like all places, but overall it is a beautiful, thriving place with great people, nature and history.
Finally some objective view. Thank you! God bless
I"m liberal AF but also try to sweep away political posturing to get a better idea of root causes of problems. Homelessness is a systemic issue that our economic model fails to adequately address, for instance. There are homeless people in every state, no matter which party is in charge at the state or city level. While there are definitely bad policies being push out there, it's often not for the reasons that are sexy, sexy clickbait.
California is a wonderful state to visit and has so much to see and offer, and most importantly, it has fellow citizens of every background possible. My suggestion is to look at problems with compassion, not necessarily trying to score cheap political points.
Looking at problems with compassion is how you f_ck up things. You don't look at a r_pist with compassion, and wax about how sad it was that he was driven to that point, you throw that piece of sh_t in jail.
@John Chedsey : I liked your comment a lot. David Lieberman is just another Stephen Miller or Jared Kushner type member of the tribe who are fascists.
@@dl2839 So your solution to "teh homless problum" is to send them all to prison, even the ones who commit no offense worse than asking for spare change? So then we'll need expanded prison capacity...which requires BIG GUBMINT funding. Yes, even that tent prison in Arizona and "private" prisons require public funds (the "private" prisons operate on state contracts).
@@andyjay729 I was talking about people who commit actual crimes like murder, not homelessness. Homelessness is not a crime, and you have a better chance of helping the homeless by finding a way to help them with their issues in person than dumping more money into corrupt officials coffers ever could.
Came across your channel, two videos in and I’m already a subscriber. Keep up the great content!
Thank you!
i've spent significant years of my life in California, Taiwan, and Europe, and i can tell you, i like the nature that California offers, but outside of that, it's a poorly managed state. My opinions were reinforced after moving back to the state after several years abroad. I'm thinking about packing up and leave again.
Also, don't understand why people say this is nice climate. It's so freaking hot in the summer, routinely triple digits, super long summers, and dry to the point that nothing grows without heavy irrigation. I'd rather have fall foliage and snowfalls in winters.
HONESTLY. People become so angry at illegal immigrants because of lack of jobs and whatnot. But then I'm like: "are you going to work in the fields picking fruits and vegetables?!?! In the heat?! No. Neither am I." We're getting work done for us and they're getting income. It's a win-win that doesn't negatively affect you. So stop.
PS: love the your channel and the content!
You’re absolutely right. Nobody wants to pick strawberries for 12 hours in the hot sun for 2 bucks an hour.
Exactly, why do you think land owning people back then bought slaves, to get free labor since they would certainly not pick food or cotton with their own hands, American here always have depended on cheap labor, no difference here
@@strangelakers1079 it's actually more like $12/hr, but here in AZ you can get a call center job for $16/hr and, though it's going up, the cost of living is lower here. lol
So I've been pretty much binging your videos the past couple of weeks. I'm the guy that said he was gonna fight you over what you said about West Virginia. Yep, that's me. Well, about 5 months ago I moved to the LA-area and when I saw this video, I was thinking I was going to have to fight you twice (ugh, so much work) ...but you actually hit it spot on with the issues and the reasons behind them. So I guess I'll keep watching and I'll probably only have to fight you once. SO FAR.
Started watching since yesterday. Now I'm hooked to your videos.
I love California. My profile pic is CA. I’ve visited the state maybe 30x in my life. As soon as I retire, I’m leaving NYC and moving there. It’s beautiful. The climate is insane. Lots of things to do. Cities, rural, nature, hiking, beaches. Can’t wait.
Well done and well said Kyle! I really respect and enjoy your geographic/geo-climate/geopolitical points of view. Science and evidence based - we need more of this and more willingness of people to apply their critical thinking capabilities.
Thanks! That's what I'm trying to do. There's enough bs out there and I aim to discuss things from a more nerdy perspective.
I had a lot of good times in Palm Springs and that whole area. I remember this really nice Street Festival they have on Thursday nights there. It was so nice and I didn't have to deal with crazies. That were Chicago everybody would be crazy. This is the most civilized Street Festival in Downtown Palm Springs and I haven't seen one so civilized before. I really enjoyed it. And I also enjoyed going to Hollywood and Burbank. And I rode the Los Angeles Subway and I thought the people on that were better behaved than in Chicago where I live.
Thank you for a really truthful explanation of California, from another native Californian. I wonder if you ever miss it, because I sure do! (Especially In-n-Out!)
I go back to CA at least once a year and stay for a few weeks each time. So I never go too long without visiting. I do miss In-N-Out, Asian foods, real mountains, and being able to wear a t-shirt and shorts in January.
I lived in Long Beach for most of my life, but now I live in the middle of nowhere, you have zero light pollution, we get 2 feet of snow during winter and the house sits at 4000ft...guess what....?
It's still in CA, lmfaooo
This is the first "the truth about California" - type video from a non-Californian where I felt the person was looking objectively and knew what he was talking about. Nice job. That Tesla-on-fire analogy was very on-point.
He is actually native to the San juaquin valley, he has a video about it being “forgotten”, sounds like maybe worth checking out for you :)
Actually he from Sacramento he said in one of his video the tour trips video i think it was
This video is an absolutely amazing video!!! As someone who was born and raised in OC and loves to frequently visit both LA and San Diego, I’ve seen both the good and bad of living in Southern California. While I agree California has so many issues it has to solve, it is absolutely sickening and disappointing to hear that people are giving California more hate than it deserves. This is especially so when politics is involved, and the true reasons why California is facing the issues it does is not even because of the political scene here. I love how unbiased you are compared to other geography channels (most i have encountered are right-wing biased, but I assume there are some left-wing biased channels out there as well), keep it up!!!
My dad went to California many times
Just left California, rhetoric is not out of hand. The state is going down, I’m glad I’m out of it
The key word in your post is "just". A lot of Californians are happy at first but regret the move later.
@D K Me, too.
I'm sure you'll be missed.
I am from California. I agree with everything you said in this video. California is really messed up in many many ways. It is also the most wonderful place in the world to live. The nature and climate alone is second to none.
The best thing about California though is this.....
You can come to California from anywhere in the world and you will be welcomed.
I've travelled all around the world and there is nowhere..... absolutely nowhere more welcoming than California.
Nobody there cares if you came from New York or Mexico or Texas or Russia or anywhere else. They just say....."Right on!" Then they let you get on with your life and the sky is the limit. You can do anything in California.......Anything!
That's more than I can say for any other place in the world and I currently live in Missouri and it's beautiful.........but it ain't California.
P.S. The girls in California are the hottest in the world and everybody knows it! They are. I was spoiled growing up there....not sorry. It's a fact. A 10 in the Midwest is a 7 at best in California.
Now think about what it would be like if you weren’t a privileged white guy.
I drove a truck for years and I really had no issues in California except we were regulated to 55 mph. That is about all I could find bad.
I've never seen a big rigger drive 55 unless the CHP is around. Most of time time they are pushing 80 on I5 (well, except if you work for Swift)
The roads sucked . I saw lots of highway improvement signs and never saw anyone working , just a lot of Schneider Eggs. My only trip there was in 09 and I can't say I was a fan of the roads. Gotta love the climate yes.
Isn't there a law there about how close your trailer axle can be to your cab or something? I took a truck driving course years ago (of which I regret other than gaining a bigger respect for truckers), and they said something like this in case you try to slide your axle on your trailer to get your weight balance right.
Married my wife born and raised near Chico,Ca. It has really gone down hill since I started speeded my summers there since 97. I love the climate in the foothills but the valley sucks in the summer 100+ for weeks and weeks on end. The homelessness has exploded even in little cities like Chico and Orville and the loss of jobs taken away from logging and agricultural from water rights taken have exasperated this greatly. The political correctness has so disturbed the old locals that even lifetime residents are leaving for Colorado and Texas.
As a California Native born on Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, back in 1961. I was raised in the comfortable suburbs of the South Bay, only a few miles from the coastal towns of Redondo Beach and Hermosa Beach. I have to thank you for fairly assessing California. We’re getting a lot of hot air from certain forms of media and a whole lot of haters.
No gas in CA costs so much because there are not many cross country pipelines, they mostly import from the middle east. It would still be more expensive but not this expensive.
SF homeless is much worse than NY, at least it doesn't let them stay in tents on the street.
Brownout issue is partially due to closing natural gas plants and not having any backup when solar/wind capacity fails. Easier to burn more natgas, impossible to take in more sun at 6pm.
Good video, thanks!
Kyle: What is Shaun Hannity and Rachel Maddow know about California?
Me: Upvote.
Um - Rachel is from California.
@@okboomer600 she was born in the bay area, and never been to other parts of the state, and now lives in New England. LA and the Bay Area each have remotely different vibes from the rest of the state, and unless you live in the other parts of the state, you truly don't know what California is like
You are on point and explain California’s issues and didn’t have to add any additional B.S, thank you for teaching the masses
I was born there. Wouldn't live there again on a bet. Know plenty of people of both parties who feel the same. Yes, there are 70 million people back east in a similar sized area. BUT, they dont have the Sierras or the Mojave back east.
And it's exactly the Sierras that make me not want to leave. They are the dictionary definition of natural beauty
Your examples just bombed your argument. The east has New Jersey and the swamp in D.C.
@@harleyb.birdwhisperer wouldn't live in those places, either.
Just discovered your video and I will be watching every single content in this channel. If you would consider, TOP 10 states you will consider moving to - considering weather, people, housing etc. Thank you!!!
"You know they lie" must be the best 4-word summary of cable news
yup, mainstream media = propaganda
@@pokemontas8025 Cable news. The original TV networks and newspaper press networks, AP and such, try to provide neutral news. But lots of people don't like neutral news. They are not found on only one side of the political spectrum.
Kudos for handling this politically contentious topic without getting political. The objective discussion felt like a breath of fresh air.
I'd love to have a place in West Virginia. A little mountain cottage to escape to a few times of year? I'm down, now I just need someone else to pay for it.
Great video. This was very informative. I remember your video about where all the fruits and vegetables come from and California was tops in almost all the fields. Very interesting.
I am a California native. I moved to Idaho a little while ago. There are some good things and some bad things about California. I personally dislike California because of the high taxes, illegal immigration, expensive housing, extreme poverty and homelessness. However, I do love the beauty of the state. It’s completely different from anywhere else in the country. I’m happy I got out of that dumpster fire, but I also kind of miss it.
Love southern California!!! Oceanside and Temecula are my favorite
They talk shit about California while southern states don't even have running water for people who aren't homeless.
THANK YOU! What a breath of proverbial fresh air to hear some sense spoken by someone who actually looks at the whole picture around these issues!
News tends to be overly focused on negative content - I think it gets more attention that way.
I am Canadian and i learned a lot from your vid. thanks and keep up your enthousiam.
Excellent informative videos. I really enjoy them.
California is an amazing state, I've lived here for 20 years. I've lived in a small conservative town in the Sierra Nevada mountains, in the crowded city of San Francisco and an agricultural town in the Sacramento Valley. I love the weather and the outdoor scenery- Beautiful redwood forests along the coast, huge granite mountains in the Sierra Nevada, fertile farmland in the Central Valley, rolling foothills dotted with oak trees, wetlands in the bay and vast deserts in the southeast. I enjoy the high quality & inexpensive cannabis and fresh fruits and vegetables. I hate to see this beautiful state being ruined by politics. I loved the video! Although I will say I believe the homeless population in California is significantly larger than other states.
Had to stop the video when it got the homeless issue. It is not AT ALL because "they have nowhere to hide" I appreciate you giving geographic insights, but I having lived in Los Angeles for almost 27 years, that analysis of the homeless issue is way off base.
I think he's referring to San Fran, where there almost literally is nowhere to hide. I've driven a lot in LA and I have seen full homeless encampments underneath overpasses.
Great video and I applaud you for doing your best to make it as apolitical as possible.
I'm a native. Getting out is the best decision I've ever made. And you are under exaggerating the homeless problem like I can't believe, "Oh, you know... There are homeless and always have been..." Yeah, there always have been homeless in California, but compare where I'm from now to ten years ago and it's a different place. Parks you can't go to, everything with fences around (that weren't there before, rampant drug use and human waste.
Appreciate your non-biased opinions. I see this review is 2 yrs old. What’s missing here is CA’s extreme drought. Would love to see an update.
really great content my brother!
Thanks!
@@GeographyKing sorry to bug u but we having argument on another comment from where u ware they said like Stockton or Tracy but I said u from my home city of Sacramento
You're the best man. Please never stop. This is solid gold
Thanks for the Voice of Reason on this topic.
Also the inability of the San francisco homeless to make themselves invisible is something that few of us have previously considered but a really good point.
New Mexico’s been my favorite since I first went to Santa Fe longer ago than I’ll admit.
I live in California and I see Republicans here all the time treating their home state like a piñata. They appear a bit tortured and miserable from my perspective, but I guess that’s the cost of identifying with a party that requires self-hate on a local level in order to feel embraced on the national one. The irony for California Republicans is that national pride has had to supersede state pride, and that’s a trade they seem all too willing to make.
I used to think even California Republicans were a bit liberal (Ah-nold, and a girl I know named Lisa who is Republican but severely animal-rights centered, for example), until Trump came along. lol
Both parties are garbage, and most of the Californians that follow any given party like a cult, end up leaving California (Dems, because they can't afford to live in LA or SF anymore, and would rather leave the state altogether than settle for a different part of the state, and Reps because part of being a Republican means hating California without question). Those of us who give the middle finger to both Democrats and Republicans, end up finding reasons to stay. The good thing about the declining population, is that the political corruption will eventually leave with it
Native Californian here=3rd generation with an 11 year stint in the mountains of Utah just for a change! I LOVE my state! Where else can you live within an hour's drive of the ocean, the mountains or the desert? NO WHERE in the US that I know of! I have mostly spent my time in the lower half of the state with San Diego being my chosen home for eons-I don't like rain! I love going to the Northern part but it's not for living for me. Thank you for sticking up for my lovely state. Let the media trash us all they want=it might keep more people out which is fine by most Californians.
In a lot of ways this is like tourists who go to NYC and only hang around in Times Square and a few other Manhattan locations and assume they know what NYC is like, to say nothing of the whole state.
This video is sooo good. Important for everyone to understand how geography, climate, etc. affect politics
Thanks for keeping both this video and your channel unbiased. I love your channel!
Thank you!
Except for the warm weather bias. But that is true of just about every online site. So I ignore comments about how beautiful the weather is. But keep up the good work on this very fine site, and pray for snow.
Unbiased? That’s hilarious
Loved this video, Kyle! Thank you for reminding everyone that this is not about politics. California is my home state as well and I'm glad that you just gave the facts.
5:57 now everyone’s wearing masks 😅
Man, you're doing the lord's work here! I'm from Germany, never been to the USA. Regardless, in every country people need to understand that most folks on either side of the political spectrum are just decent people who want to live their lives. Let's not get riled up by the propaganda on either side!
As a man named Kyle who lives out in Texas and has lived in 4 other states all over the country I can tell you that the Californian hate is ridiculous. Especially here in Texas.
As a Nevadan, the hate towards our neighbour is really getting out of control.
It seemed like it was just cranks and trolls trying to bring narcissists down to earth for a while (and as a CA resident who's also having to defend the state a lot lately, I'll also admit that Californians can be rather self-centered), but like the man said, it seems like some people are dead serious about it now and don't want to hear any dissenting opinion.