Lance and Wendy Feldman have been slowly cutting ties with their native California for the last two decades.
The process began in the early 2000s when they sold their teacher supply stores, which had been battered by rising property taxes in the Bay Area and competition from the internet. Then, after a lifetime of voting, they skipped the 2018 elections, believing that their support for Republican candidates didn’t matter in such a blue state. Finally, in August 2020, they put their Danville house on the market and moved away.
“There’s a sense of peace up here,” Wendy said from the couple’s new home in Eagle, Idaho, a suburb of Boise. “It’s comforting not to feel like a Martian. Living in California felt like living on a different planet.”