The Californication of Magic Valley, Idaho. How Californians are changing the way you live

Jim Kepner stood on a hillside near his home two years ago and looked down into the San Joaquin Valley toward his town of Exeter, Calif. He couldn’t see it – a thick brown cloud of smog smothered everything in view. His heart sank.

Smog isn’t new in California, of course. It’s blocked views of the Hollywood Hills from Los Angeles for years.

But Exeter, a town about the size of Jerome halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles, isn’t the kind of city people picture when you say California smog. It’s a rural village, where the water tower is the largest structure in town and folks have to drive a ways for a meal at a chain restaurant.

Standing on that hillside, Jim knew it was time to leave California. The big city was creeping in.

More people from California move to Idaho than any other state, according to a company study, and it’s a trend with seemingly no end in site.

By Matt Christensen
Times-News writer

Full Story: http://www.magicvalley.com/articles/2007/09/16/news/top_story/120696.txt