"Is post-pandemic California coming back or in decline?"

is the title of a column by Dan Walters in my local dead tree paper, in which I ran across this interesting bit:

Joint Venture Silicon Valley and the Bay Area News Group commissioned the poll which found widespread dissatisfaction with the region’s economic and social life and an inclination toward going elsewhere.The poll found that 71% of respondents feel the quality of life in the Bay Area has grown worse over the past five years. A slight majority say they are likely to leave the Bay Area in the next few years, most citing high housing and other living costs and deteriorating quality of life.

"A slight majority"...did you get that? HALF the people in your city want to move away, but it's only slightly over half! Three quarters of the people you asked said things keep getting worse and half say they're thinking of leaving in the next few years...welcome to California!
Walters is one of the best writers, IMHO, when it comes to California politics. He is in a position to see if California, like the Titanic, still has its lights on when it goes down!