Writing at The American Spectator, Debra J. Saunders observes CA Gov. Newsom's TV ad criticizing FL policies and urging people to move to CA. She finds the ad's idea risible.
Comparing the government policies in FL and CA, she sees little to like in those of CA, much to like in those of FL. And she concludes:
It’s a pipe dream to think Americans would prefer California, which is losing people, to the Sunshine State, which has been gaining residents.
Given the way both states are currently being run, she is of course correct. And yet, as a CA native who has visited FL roughly a dozen times, if you can ignore the government policies of each, CA comes out totally ahead.
Both have warm weather, but CA's low humidity is much more comfortable day to day. FL is humid, flat, often swampy, and has hungry alligators, horrendous thunderstorms, and hurricanes.
CA has great variety: big mountains, marvelous farm land, beautiful beaches, large forests, deserts, and multiple national parks. In a weekend you could literally ski one day and surf the next without leaving the state.
One way FL truly excels, the oceans that fringe it are much warmer than the chilly Pacific along the CA coast. CA surfers often wear wet suits.
FL is an okay place well-managed whereas CA is a spectacular place badly managed. Currently for most people FL's sensible management outweighs the natural endowments of CA.
FL is gaining residents, CA is losing them. One exception: CA is the more comfortable place to "live rough" and it continues to gain homeless residents.
