As it turns out, Americans don’t want to be highly taxed, crime-ridden, and regulated to hell and back.

Not too long ago I reported on some very revealing numbers that showed that blue states were losing American citizens by the hundreds of thousands as they bid adieu to their Smurf-blue states and Smurffed off to better run places like Texas where the taxes are low and the BBQ is far superior to everywhere else. Don’t “@” me.

But as NBC News points out, the U.S. Census Bureau data, from July 2016 to July 2017, shows just where Californians, in particular, are going. Needless to say, they’re overwhelmingly red states with Texas being the winner…as usual:

During that 12-month period, California saw a net loss of just over 138,000 people, while Texas had a net increase of more than 79,000 people. Arizona gained more than 63,000 residents, and Nevada gained more than 38,000.

The reason they’re moving? Easy. It costs less:

“You can literally have a lot of buying power for the dollar in Southern Nevada versus Southern California,” said Christopher Bishop, president of the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors. “So it has been a major trend over the year, year and a half, and we’re seeing it increase.”

Bishop said some people who work for Silicon Valley companies are even working remotely from home in Las Vegas to avoid the higher housing costs in California. But he added, “Most of the people are here because of our growing job market and industries in Las Vegas — and it’s not all about casinos anymore.”

The lesson to take away is that stringent regulations and higher taxes force the prices of living to skyrocket. Rent prices alone would give most of America a reason to stay as far away from California as humanly possible:

The median monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment in the Los Angeles area is $2,249, and in San Francisco it’s almost $3,400, according to Zumper. The median rent for a two-bedroom apartment in the Los Angeles area is $3,200 and in San Francisco about $4,500. By comparison, the median rent for a one-bedroom in Las Vegas is $925 and in Phoenix $945, and for a two-bedroom in Las Vegas $1,122 and in Phoenix $1,137.

Why struggle to make rent in California when you can live like a king in Texas with the same amount of space, or maybe more?

Furthermore, businesses are consistently moving to states like Texas, bringing the jobs with them. Burdensome regulation for many businesses means you can only reach a certain height. A business-friendly atmosphere opens up a lot of opportunities, however. With a hop, skip, and a jump, many who are trying to grow their bottom line will find themselves keeping a lot more of what they earn the redder the voting bloc gets.

Lower taxes equals a better life. It’s as simple as that.

(h/t: Daily Wire)