‘An Absolute Mad Rush’: Californians Reveal Why They’re Fleeing the State

A truck from Silicon Valley Moving & Storage, based in San Jose, Calif., is parked outside of a home in an undated photo. Courtesy of Joey Childs

When former Bay Area resident Terry Gilliam, 62, started the Facebook group “Leaving California” in 2018, the group attracted 200 members within six months. Four years later, the group has over 50,000 members, and the number continues to climb every week.

“In the last 30 days, we’ve added 11,000 members, which is darn close to a record,” Gilliam told The Epoch Times. “And it all started on January 1st … I think there is an absolute mad rush of people who are going to get out of California this year.”