More Bay Area Residents Are Moving To…

The Poll Results.

Last week I posted a poll asking you which city you think most Bay Area residents are departing to when they leave California for another state. The choices were all very logical, with Austin garnering the most votes. This makes sense because it seems all that we read in the news is about the mass exodus of Californians to Austin. And believe me, native Austin residents aren't the least happy about that trend. But that's for another day. Here are the results of the poll:

The same story goes with Nashville. People from California are flocking to Nashville and other cities in Tennessee to take advantage of the lower cost of living and more favorable taxation. But neither Austin nor Nashville took the top prize for Bay Area residents. That honor went to…

Seattle.

According to this report in the San Jose Mercury News, Seattle was the top out-of-state destination for residents of the nine counties that comprise the Bay Area.

The reasons cited in the article that make Seattle a compelling place for Bay Area residents to flee to are:

• Lower cost of living.
• Similar politics.
• Established technology sector.
• No state income tax.

What About the Rest of California?

As you may have picked up from the previous post and this one, I made an obvious emphasis on “Bay Area” residents when discussing the preferred out of state destination. That's because the answer is different for the state of California as a whole. The top destination state for Californians leaving the Golden State?

Now that should be a surprise to nobody.