I was clearly being a bit snarky with my first response, but I'm going to be sincere now: you asked for people to list good things about California, and they can be summed up as "there are, despite the problems, still genuinely good things about the life one can have living in California." If none of those matter to you, so be it, but that doesn't make those things irrelevant, and mentioning them is not disingenuous.

And let's be real here: the policies that have driven California's economic woes date back to the 1970s (tax policy, rent control) or far, far longer (water and fire management), and many of those old policies were pushed into place because California has long been a place people genuinely want to be. If you think we're being obstinate in pushing back against you, it's perhaps because we think you're coming across like "California is NOTHING BUT A PIT OF STEAMING DESPAIR." No, sorry, it isn't. Even now, heading into 2021, it just isn't. The highs aren't going to balance out the lows for everybody, and yes, it would be disingenuous to pretend the lows aren't there -- but it's just as disingenuous to pretend the highs aren't, either.