TALK OF THE TOWN: What Pahrump is saying about newcomers from California

One of the most-read stories on pvtimes.com in the past weeks cited a study that found 3 in 10 who relocated to Nevada in the past year moved here from the California (30% of the people moving to Nevada are from California).

Nevada ranks 13th in the nation when it comes to top destinations for Americans who are leaving their state, according to the study, which found that Californians are moving here in droves for “work and family” reasons.

Many of the PVT’s followers on Facebook posted comments about the “California wave” of newcomers.

“I suspect that percentage has held since at least 1905,” says Geoff Schumacher.

And that’s largely what history has shown us.

An influx of immigrants first moved to southern California around 1900, spurred by citrus and oil prospects. Land booms came and went. Agriculture in the inland valleys there as well as industry in the cities increased. Over the decades, people kept pushing east toward Nevada, which has long had a cheaper cost of living and a more favorable tax structure than its western neighbor.

Last year, about 55,000 Californians moved to Nevada — a population that’s larger than the entire population of Pahrump. So it’s easy to see why natives and longtime locals feel like everyone is from California these days.

Don’t California Our Nevada

Are Nevadans welcoming to their neighbors from the Golden State?

Well, that depends on who you ask.

“We welcome you all just as long as you ‘DON’T CALIFORNIA OUR NEVADA!’” Erik Christensen told us on Facebook.

It’s a sentiment that’s become a rallying call in Pahrump, and you can actually buy the phrase on a T-shirt from Amazon for $16.91.

(Warning: The shirt ships from a warehouse in California, if you’re wary of such imports.)

Others also seem to welcome Californians here — if they want to assimilate to the Nevada way of life.

“Hope they leave Cali ways behind them,” Deborah Bingaman Sullivan said.

Others Nevadans are even more accepting about the values that transplants might bring with them in their U-Hauls from California — but only if they can benefit financially from the flood of newcomers.

“They buy my place, what do I care about?” said Gina Meredith, noting how Californians have pushed the average home prices in Nevada to record levels in the past years. “I won’t be here… As long as they show me the money they can do what they want.”

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