California is expensive overall. However, other places are cheaper. I lived in Central/Eastern WA (Pasco) for a postdoc before moving to the bay and it was astr

California is expensive overall. However, other places are cheaper. I lived in Central/Eastern WA (Pasco) for a postdoc before moving to the bay and it was astronomically cheaper across the board even if you ignore housing (1800sqft house on 1/2 acre was $280k in 2014). Biggest non-housing difference was no state income tax, so save 7-10%, then pretty much all car/gas/insurance were about half. Food was a bit cheaper but not enough to make a big difference. We didn't go out much since restaurants weren't good but thats not really a far comparison. Where do you live in NE California? I love it up there (and SE Oregon)