I never found CA hard to live in. Yes it was expensive but there was always a zillion things to do. And I did miss one of the first property run ups so I did pay my dues. But never demanded a 4000 sq ft home. The people I hired scored homes and seemed to do well also. I now spilt time with another state, and I hired several younger CA people to the remote state (homes 60 percent less, great salary) and they went back to CA or to DC!