Is California losing its shine for NOW, or for GOOD?

[Paul Kubin]

Hi, All --

I'm new to real estate investing and live in northern California, where many of my 9-5 coworkers love to talk about how they should leave the state because they know they will never own a home.  The attached SF Chronicle article about tech giants looking to Texas (Oracle is the most recent of several) has made me wonder if the fires, pricey RE market, and population density make this a bad place to invest.  

I'm willing to work hard to make RE investment pay off over time, but I do wonder if I'd be better starting with out-of-state, where it might be easier. 

I'd love the community's thoughts...

Paul