This is just sample bias. California is the size of NY all the way down to Florida.
If something bad happens on the west coast it has a 60% chance of being in CA but if it happens on the east coast it could be in VA, MD, DC, FL, GA, SC, NC, WV, DE
Instead, I wish them the best of luck repairing their homes and send my condolences (occasionally monetary aid).
Maybe you've always grown up in nicer areas than I have and don't realize how bad it can be. Sure, rent in Michigan is cheap, near Detroit - which is appealing all the way up till there's police tape in your backyard from a shooting. You pay less taxes and you feel it every morning when you drive to work, because the roads are less maintained than the flavor of the week JavaScript frameworks from 2012, which BY THE WAY you almost certainly will need to drive to work in Michigan, since the jobs tend to be far away and public transport would be great if it were supposed to be the punchline to a joke. The restaurant scene in NorCal is not the best in the world or country, but unless you want Mediterranean food it's nearly unilaterally better than anywhere I've been in Michigan. Michigan does not have the harshest winters by far, but I'd almost rather choke to death in smoke than deal with another Michigan winter, sliding around on the ice trying not to crash my car while freezing my ass off. Speaking of which, How about Michigan car insurance? It's pretty hard to put into words how godawful the car insurance situation is, but I paid more than double for worse insurance in Michigan and that's reason enough to hate it.
Wildfires are terrible. Homelessness is bad. But the rent prices, well, they're high for a reason; it's a great place to live despite all of the setbacks. And maybe there's a better set of trade-offs elsewhere in the U.S., but I get the opportunity to work with some of the best engineers I've ever met and that's pretty hard to find anywhere else.
So yes. It is a bummer when the rent comes out of my paycheck each month, it is upsetting when I hear the death tolls and see the wildfire smoke. But, I also remember where I came from and frankly I'm choosing to stay for now.
If you list all the disasters in a big area, your list gets big fast, but no individual place actually has all those things, unless perhaps if Moses shows up to intimidate a Pharaoh.
Of course there's plenty I miss, but just depending on what you value the DMV is not that much better than California.
The media and Hollywood create a pretty weird perception of California, the climate, geography and economy is very varied.
it just doesn't sound very appealing
I've only been there for vacations, competing on a reality tv show and an unpleasant meeting with Google re: buying one of my apps.
What are the positives ... chasing and potentially realizing your creative (music/film) or tech dreams there? That can be done in other cities like Nashville or possibly close to here in a few years with Amazon building in Crystal City, VA (other big tech companies may follow). Well love to hear the positives of living in California!