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Comment by synaesthesisx | Hacker News Reader

I know multiple people considering abandoning California due to the homelessness crisis, as the unhoused population (and the problems associated) are expected to increase 10x in the near future as a consequence of the pandemic, with no hope in sight.

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That strikes me as a bit of a ridiculous reason to move. The homeless in California are concentrated in a handful of cities, and within those cities, in a handful of neighborhoods. It’s not a problem that you’d be exposed to in a way that truly inconveniences you unless you live or work in very specific locales, and even then, what are the homeless doing that is pushing people to move all the way out of the state rather than just one neighborhood over?

The notion that the homeless population is going to increase tenfold in the near-term also deserves a citation, that’s an immense jump.

Many of the tech companies are in the "bad" neighborhoods. Most notably Uber, Twitter and Square are all headquartered right next to one of the worst parts in the city (Civic Center / Tenderloin).

I remember walking to one of those companies for a job interview and seeing someone pooping in broad daylight on the 8th and Market intersection. Not a great first impression.

Homelessness is not unique to Caliifornia. Seattle and Portland have a big problem with it too. Heck, I’ve seen homeless in rural Indiana by the river and in London. California doesn’t have an answer to this, and I haven’t seen any proposals from either the right or the left that seem viable, but if Texas is so great maybe we should ship the homeless there.

There are 28,995,881 people living in Texas vs 39,512,223 in California. There are 151,278 homeless in California vs 25,848 in Texas.

Is homelessness a problem in Texas? Yes, but it isn't remotely as bad as California. And of course, then there are states with nearly non existent homelessness.

Huh it's almost as if it's been forever known to anybody paying attention that other states literally give their homeless bus tickets to California.

Wonder how that affects statistics like yours people like to tout

most homeless people in california are native californians

You still didn't answer why that's the case. If Texas has the answer I'm sure California would love to hear it.

The weather is a big part of it. If you were to live outside, coastal California weather over Texas weather is a no brainer

there is a lot of evidence to suggest that high housing costs cause homelessness

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