I spent some time in southern California as a software dev contractor during the dotcom heyday of the 90s. I was renting in one of the more affluent areas and

I spent some time in southern California as a software dev contractor during the dotcom heyday of the 90s. I was renting in one of the more affluent areas and it was clean, had great venues within walking distance, great weather, people in general didn't seem to have gigantic political sticks up their asses, etc. It also had horrible traffic on the highways and cost of living was easily about 2x as much as living in Austin in the same era. Overall, I enjoyed the experience in California - probably isn't the same these days though.