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The state of California is suffering from blackouts, record-breaking temperatures and wildfires ravaging much of the state. The sky in many parts of California is a haze of orange, the air quality is extremely poor and many have had enough. As a result, people are moving, mostly to states like Texas and Arizona.
Zerin Dube, a Texas-based automotive writer, shared the shocking costs of actually doing that through companies like U-Haul. The post, originally tweeted out by economics professor Mark J. Perry, shows just how insane self-moving prices have become.
The numbers in the “Ratio” column represent the ratio of moving out of California vs. moving into California from the listed cities. The price of moving out of the state is ten times more in some places, and consistently over twice as expensive. This is also a limited list. It doesn’t show other popular destinations for ex-Californians such as Boise, Austin and other nearby locations with a lower cost of living.
In fact, a move to Boise from LA with a 26-foot truck—capable of carrying the contents of a three to four-bedroom home according to U-Haul—costs $4,208. The other way around, it’s just $383, or 11 times less expensive. Numbers from LA to Austin for the same truck are not as extreme, though it will still cost you 4.2 times as much when compared to a journey in the opposite direction.
Some people will tell you this is price gouging, others will tell you it’s a matter of supply and demand. All we know is that perhaps the SUV craze is a good thing for anybody wishing to leave the state. You’ll be able to save some money if you can get a truck that’s not quite as long.
And really, this is just an unfortunate situation. People are leaving California because of factors that should be within our control. 2020’s theme of being unfortunate just seems to continue.
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