Having lived in San Diego for many years, and Newport, RI, here on the North Coast, worked in Denver, Salt Lake City, Atlanta..........doesn't matter. You give and take. San Diego has perfect weather, beach and mountains an hour apart, sailing, fishing, surfing, skiing within an hour and a half or so, great medical facilities. Cost of real estate? Stupid high. Traffic is almost as bad as L.A.. Sales tax of 9.5% on everything? Water is scarce and expensive, utilities are high, gasoline is more expensive than almost anyplace. Gang violence is there as well.

Put all the things on a list, weather, cost of living, cost of real estate, etc and so forth and pick out which is THE most important to you the accept all the things you will need to compromise on to get that important thing.........in my experience there is no perfect place. You have to give up something to get something. We have our boat, YC membership, 10 acres and a cabin in the mountains, hunting, fishing, an affordable house and decent jobs. Our exchange? Weather. It snows. Some years more than others. What do we do?? Find something to do in the winter. Ski, snowboard, ice fish, snowmobile, iceboat........there are a ton of things to do. You have to accept that as the price of living here where the cost of living is pretty damn low. Unless you have to be warm and in the sun 365, it's not so bad.