Prop 13 is one of the reasons that house prices have gone up so much in California. If your taxes are at a lower rate on a house just purchased you can afford a higher priced house because the resulting taxes will be lower. If you pay 1.1% tax you can afford a more expensive house than if you pay 3%.

Prop 13 definitely helped many retirees stay in their homes. The problem is that it also applies to corporate properties and corporations don't die. The result is that home owners now pay a greater share of the property taxes than they did before prop 13.

California is a relatively high tax state, but you have to check out all the taxes that apply to you before you jump ship. For example, unlike many other states California has no inheritance taxes. A couple here can have an estate of up to 11 million and there will be no state or federal inheritance tax. Any donations to charities are above that 11 million.

I have worked in several countries and, comparatively speaking, The United States is a low tax, low services country.