Growing number of Californians opting to leave the state

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    LOS ANGELES, CA (KCAL/KCBS) — Experts say over the decade, over 150,000 people have left the state and that number is expected to climb as remote working options increase during the coronavirus pandemic.

“It is hard to keep up with the demand,” said Daniel Carrillo with Pasadena Moving Company. “In our whole history, we’ve never seen that before. We used to have maybe 5% to 7% of our moves out of state.”

The pandemic is not just forcing people to reevaluate finances but reconsider living situations, and as a result, business at local moving companies is surging.

“That affordability motivator for going to a place where they can actually afford to be a homeowner is still there, and now they’ve got that wind in the sails in terms of that flexibility to be able to do that while still keeping their California-based jobs,” Jordan Levine, a Senior Economist with the California Association of Realtors.

Many people are moving from California to nearby states, including Texas, Nevada, Arizona, and in some cases Oregon and Washington, according to Levine.

Some people are also choosing to move to other affordable locations in the state.

“Areas that are more affordable and folks can actually achieve home ownership now that they’re not strapped to these more dense, urban areas,” Levine said.

Businesses are also making the leap to change their headquarters, including Santa Monica-based test prep company Test Max. Soon, it will relocated to Tempe, Arizona.

Tax experts say if you lose your job and move out of state, some of those moving expenses can be deducted.

Additionally, Southern California home prices are currently at record levels.

In August, the median home price in the region was up more than 12% a year earlier, according to data from CoreLogic/DQNews.

Experts say the median home price is being impacted by an increase in luxury homes along with the flexibility of remote working options is sending people away from the city, where they can get more space and amenities.

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