California in the 1930s wasn't really any more of a treat than the rest of the United States. In most cases, the conditions in California were roughly the same as every other state. Unemployment rates in the Golden State kept true to the national average throughout the depression, peaking at 25% in 1933. In actuality, the only real reason that california was considered the "Promised Land" by Dust bowl refugees was the simple fact that there weren't giant, towering tornadoes of dust swirling around the landscape. The refugees were actually unwelcome, according to native californians at the time. they were seen as intruders that clogged up the job market when precious jobs were already hard to come by. Immigrants, many which were Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino, were harassed and often forced out of the country. The same happened with the refugees, although to a lesser extent, likely because they were more familiar, and still American citizens.
In Oakland, Thousands of homeless formed what was called "Pipe City." Pipe City was a sprawling encampment where the unemployed and destitute formed makeshift homes from old construction pipes. Above can be seen a picture of one such resident, his mattress spread out inside the pipe behind him. These kinds of "cities" existed everywhere across the united states, a sign that the Great Depression effected almost every state equally – except for Oklahoma. Not only was Oklahoma affected by the great depression, it was also victim to the dust bowl. The driving factor for Oklahoman immigration to California was not that California was good, but just the fact that it was comparatively less terrible.
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