One Way,

Of course most of the people you meet in WA are friendly and accepting of newcomers - - because they are immigrants themselves.

When I was a student and young man, 90% of the people I knew were also from WA. Today, over 50% of the people are meet have immigrated here. The demographics have decidedly changed.

I never heard any CA bashing until the 1980s when it began to be popularized by a now long-gone Seattle Times reporter Emmet Watson. The issue was only partly that a lot of Californians were moving into WA. The rub was this:
"The weather is crummy, always grey and rainging." Uh, why'd you move here?
"The wages are lower than in CA." Uh, why'd you move here?

And then there was the direct adverse effect, which you may be a part of as a WA homeowner. Folks from CA sold their CA residence for what amounts to a small fortune here, then move to WA, plunk down cash for a premium residence, thinking it's a bargain, but effectively driving up real estate prices for locals who have to come up with the money off the local economy.

Of course there are generalizations and stereotypes, but they have factual foundations, not surprisingly.

Enjoy the view on Whidbey and understand that it used to be remote and sparsely populated . . .

There are no innocent bystanders in this. BTW, my youngest is living and working in SF.

Sg