Having lived in California for 4+ years now there is a lot to be thankful about. The beaches, sun (not in SF sadly), bounty of natural resources, fresh organic food etc. etc. There is a lot that sucks too (high taxes etc.) but thats for another day…..
But there are three things in the CA law that keep coming to my attention now and then. These are things that most other US states don’t have and make CA a much better state to be in.
No non-compete bullshit
Non-competes are evil. Plain and simple. California doesn’t respect, allow or recognize them. From Wikipedia: “Noncompete agreements are automatically void as a matter of law….”.
Even if you move to California from another state, and you had signed non-competes there, they are no longer valid or binding.
No service fees or expiration of Gift Cards
Retailers use a lot of tricks to make money. Even gift card loopholes are not beyond them. CA / Connecticut / MA are the only states that protect consumers against these things. Gift cards can never expire… period.
The recent online coupon craze from Groupon, LivingSocial, Freshguide etc. is another example. All these offers come with an expiration date, which is all fine. But the catch is when you don’t use these offers and they expire. In CA the base value you paid ($10 for a $20 coupon say) is always to be recognized by the small business. Meaning you never ever lose money you paid!
Limited private beaches
Most of the 1000 miles of CA coast is accessible by anyone. Yep, no private beaches. There are a few exceptions though, private beaches in Avalon, on Vandenberg Base and along the Central coast are but a few of the locations where you won’t be welcome.
Coastal access at the fancy Ritz Carlton in Half Moon Bay is a great example. The local/CA government made sure there is even a parking structure built on this property for people to park their cars (for FREE) and get coastal access.