I just moved out of California because nothing I could make as a SWE would allow me to achieve my goal of owning a home there. When I left, home values for chea

I just moved out of California because nothing I could make as a SWE would allow me to achieve my goal of owning a home there. When I left, home values for cheap junk real estate 30 miles from the nearest employer was pushing $350,000. Now they are half a million. Then in addition to that, the cost of living was nuts for stuff like food, gasoline, electricity, water, road tolls, bus fares, train tickets, sales tax, and state income tax. The worst part of California is you pay the taxes of a European country without the European features. The middle class healthcare is abysmal. The roads are car centric and poorly maintained. What little pedestrian and cycle infrastructure mostly goes nowhere. There is very little public transit and what they have is infrequent and runs for limited times. The schools outside the most affluent areas are HORRIBLE. Child care is insanely expensive. The colleges are over subscribed and over priced. Traffic is terrifyingly bad. There are some REALLY great parts about California though. The area is super diverse population wise so you can meet cool people. State parks are awesome. Beaches are great. Skiing and mountain biking are great. Tons of excellent national parks. Cheap but amazing wine. Extremely good food available all over the place from almost every country on earth. Great entertainment options. Concerts, music festivals, outdoor screenings, and musicals abound. Edit: Just checked again and the area I was looking at originally is now around $600,000 to $700,000 for a 3BR 2BA. Yeesh!