Melissa Ballman:
Why are Utahns telling Californians to get out and stay where they’re at? Today, I’m going to address the elephant in the room, and that is why are Utahans so opposed to Californians moving into Utah? So, stay tuned.
Hi. This is Melissa Ballman, and I’m a real estate agent here in the greater Salt Lake City area. So, what that means, if you’re looking at making a real estate move, I’d love to connect with you. Shoot me a text. Send me an email. Do what you got to do, but get in touch with me.
But first, today, I want to talk about why Utahns are not welcoming Californians with open arms when it comes time to moving to the state.
Okay. So, if you have looked at or considered moving from California to Utah, it’s probably no surprise that some of the harsh comments people from Utah can make about Californians moving into the state.
And I have to be honest. When I moved from San Diego to Salt Lake City 20 years ago, I’ve now been here almost half of my life. And I joke with people that I’m actually almost more Utah than I am California at this point. But it’s honestly something I don’t like to tell people that I’m originally from California because they don’t realize how long I’ve been here, and they are so critical of Californians.
So, I want to share with you some of the biggest reasons why Utah people do not, or are not, being very welcoming to Californians. And number one on that list is, real estate prices. It’s no secret that California home prices are significantly more than here in Salt Lake City, but it’s becoming more like California here, and prices are driving up like crazy, especially home prices, because people from all states have moved here. And I say all states because I do help a lot of people move here from the East Coast. And they buy their home. They cash out, and they come to Utah. And, so, prices are continuing to steadily increase in real estate, whether you’re buying or looking at rental properties.
So, a lot of people have fear that if they’re younger, 20s and 30s, that they’re never going to be able to afford a home in their own state, if they were born and raised here, and driving local Utahns out of the state, to find more affordable Midwest-type living.
And I can’t really disagree with that, as far as having concerns about our children and younger generations, being able to afford housing. My kids have been here since they were born. And I have that same fear for my children, is how are they ever going to afford these prices because it is so incredibly high, compared to what it was before?
So, before I jump into this next one, this is a touchy, touchy topic. I am not a person who likes to talk about a couple of things. That’s politics, money, and other people’s wives. That’s what I’ve always learned you never talk about.
So, when I bring up this next topic, just understand that I’m not saying what’s right and what’s wrong and which way you should vote or Conservative versus Liberal. Honestly, I don’t care. I always tell people, it doesn’t matter to me. I judge people based off of who they are as a person and nothing else. So, just understand this is a tough one coming up, but I have to address it and just say what I hear from most Utah people.
The other big, big thing that Utah people fear about Californians moving in the state is there’s a reason Californians are fleeing the state, so to speak. And there’s a reason they’re calling it The Exodus. And Californians are moving to Utah and Arizona and Texas and in all these different places, just to get out of how messed up California has become.
And I know that every person I’ve talked to who has reached out to me from California about moving to Utah, has said that they’re done with the California politics. So, that fear that Utahns have about Californians coming here and voting the way they did in California that messed up the whole state, everybody I’ve talked to has said they’re done with that, and they don’t want that. However, that is the big fear for Utahns.
And, unfortunately, for people in Arizona, if you’re looking at moving to that state, a lot of people have already experienced that change with voting and turning the state from red to blue because of the population from California moving in.
So, that is why you’ll find Utahns saying, “Don’t come to our state and bring your politics with you. We like how our state is. We like being Conservative here. And we don’t want you to change that, whether that’s for how you vote red or blue, whether that’s for our gun laws that we have here and our gun rights, things like that, that you don’t see in California, that you do see in Utah.”
Next, the cost of goods and services and the cost of living in general is going up substantially because of all the Californians moving here and bringing their money. Well, I have to disagree with that one. If you are in Utah, and you subscribe to that philosophy, I have to disagree, in the simple sense that prices are going up everywhere, no matter what state you live in. And the reason I say that is, a new report came out today from the Labor Department and United States and found that from March of ’22 and the previous year before, our inflation rates grew by eight-and-a-half percent. That is the biggest increase in inflation that we have seen in over 40 years.
So, to put that in perspective, that is the biggest year-over-year jump that we have seen since December of 1981. So, if you’re thinking that it’s because of Californians, I have to disagree with that.
I hope you’re enjoying my video so far. If you haven’t already, make sure you subscribe to my YouTube channel and click the bell. That way you’re alerted each week when I drop a new video.
Another item is traffic is getting worse in Salt Lake city, Utah County, all around. Our population is exploding, and traffic is getting worse and worse in the metropolitan areas.
So, since COVID happened, and everybody is back to work and not cybercommuting nearly as much, traffic congestion in those Metro areas is just getting worse and worse.
So, whether you’re coming from California, you’re a Utah native, you’re coming from the East Coast, whatever it is, if you have the option to cybercommute, take advantage of that, so it will help with a lot of things. And I’m not getting into the politics of it, but just know that traffic is a big concern because of the way people are driving, and not just the time that it takes sitting in traffic.
Now, this is a big one, not understanding how to drive in snow. California doesn’t really see snow unless you’re living in Big Bear or Lake Tahoe. So, when Californians are moving into the state, they add to what I just talked about, with traffic and driving technique. And when it’s snowing, and they don’t have, either the proper driving techniques for snow. They don’t understand how to drive in snow. They don’t have snow tires. They don’t have all-wheel drive or four-wheel drive. It all kind of comes together and not having that understanding.
So, if you’re from California and moving here to Utah, make sure you slow down. You understand how to drive in the snow. If you have to, talk to a local person, who can explain and teach you the proper way to drive in snow, so you don’t have road rage incidents with Utahns because you don’t know how.
Now, finally, we are the heart of Silicone Slopes, here in the Wasatch Front. So, we have a lot of tech companies that are maybe based in California, but have opened up centers or areas here, like Tesla and different tech companies.
And, rather than giving those jobs to local Utahns, they’re bringing people in from California to take the jobs here locally. And that can make some Utahns a little bit upset, that make it feel like Californians are taking our jobs, especially in that tech industry, with us being the heart of Silicone Slopes.
So, I hope you enjoyed my video today. If you’re looking at making the move, either from California to Utah or any real estate-related move to the Metro Salt Lake City area, I’d love to connect with you. I am always here to help but, as always, make it a great day.
