history nerd alert!!......
historian David Lavender's 1972 book, "California: Land Of New Beginnings", is an excellent and very readable book for anybody interested in an easy read on the state's history.......from the very first resident of European origin, California has always really been only a "land of new beginnings"..........seemingly inexhaustible natural resources, the legendary climate, the Central Valley's incredibly fertile soil, the relaxed lifestyle, and the state's extraordinarily generous public support system are primary reasons California has drawn outsiders since 1542......the homeless of Santa Monica and the residents of multi-million-dollar tear-downs in Manhattan Beach (trying to stay on topic here ) are just a few in a long line of people always looking for the next best thing.......I know there are forum members here who are life-long California residents fortunate that their ancestors chased the dream......and there are other forum members here who are California natives, but who left because the California they knew as kids and young adults was overrun by others chasing the dream......
https://www.amazon.com/California-Land-Beginnings-David-Lavender/dp/0803279248