There’s definitely an immigration crisis going on, but it’s not just the one in Syria. We’re also not talking about America’s southern border, nor even the Canadians. (But don’t get too comfortable… you can never trust the Canadians.) No, this crisis is taking place on Oregon’s southern border where they are being invaded by unwelcome immigrants from California. And now some of the residents are taking action. (Yahoo News)
Portlanders have had it with those board shorts and kale smoothies, and now they’re rising up to stick it to the Californians-literally. According to the Oregonian, upset citizens are placing “No Californian” stickers on For Sale signs throughout the city. The state is currently receiving an influx of out-of-state buyers, forcing housing prices to skyrocket.
Realtor Lori Fenwick was notified of the incidents when one of her buyers sent her a photo of a defaced sign. She shared her findings with a real estate group on Facebook and quickly learned that she wasn’t the only victim. Three other realtors piped up including Quinn Irvine of M Realty. “A lot of these homes are going into bidding wars and going over ask price,” he said. “And a lot of these guys are getting outbid. And I think they’re going around to agents who have properties that have sold over ask price and putting anti-California stickers.”
This can’t be a cultural thing because Oregon is already pretty much on the wacky end of the scale right along with California. Really, who could tell the difference? I’d imagine that they would blend right in. The local media is loving the chance to make jokes about people drinking health shake smoothies and wearing board shorts, but come on guys… you legalized recreational pot before they did. It’s probably more of a socialist state on average than California is… you just have to dress a bit warmer for part of the year.
So why are the Californians fleeing? Well, I suppose the drought is a pretty good guess. There are already places down there where the taps are literally running dry. You can’t last very long without water no matter how much money you have so some of those folks may already be leaving.
Even more likely is the possibility that those with the financial wherewithal to flee are probably tired of paying all the taxes and fees. California is consistently near the top of the list for the most heavily taxed and regulated states in the nation. (And that’s a pretty impressive record when you’re up against Massachusetts and New York.) Also, thanks to their runaway referendum system, anyone who can buy enough TV time to get the locals up in arms can put pretty much anything they like in the legal code. That’s played out over and over again and it’s just possible that some of the locals have grown sick of it.
So can Oregon keep the California menace from invading? In a word… no. They can run around and put stickers on the For Sale signs all they want but if they’re discriminating in sales they will wind up in court. Also, why are the locals complaining? The influx is driving up their property values. If they hate the new arrivals that much they can probably sell their own homes at a massive profit and move to a less populated area. But in the end the rest of the nation – particularly flyover country – can sit back and enjoy some good Left Coast on Left Coast violence.
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