There's so many more costs than you listed as well(CA living), agree with all your points though :) - Gas is the most expensive in the nation, right now a gall

There's so many more costs than you listed as well(CA living), agree with all your points though :) - Gas is the most expensive in the nation, right now a gallon in my town is $4.60 for 87. - State taxes are highest in the nation, for most professional incomes taxes are above 10%. - Sales tax is also very high, around 9% for most purchases, some states have no sales tax. - Food is extremely expensive, I recently traveled to Arizona and food was about 30-40% cheaper than CA. - Professional services are also very expensive, think doctor, eye exam, etc. - Construction costs are about 50% higher than most areas of the country. - As for housing, I would say say CA and the bay area in particular are extremely expensive. A typical house in the bay area is around $1.4M now, in a good area look to spend $2M., An average house in California now costs $850k, the highest its ever been. Contrast that to the average cost of a house in the US as being $350k.