Funny, I moved to SoCal (Orange County) from the Seattle area and have also found it to be a huge improvement in everything except air and water quality. Can’t have everything I suppose. But the politics are much more sane, crime is low, and there are so many parks and playgrounds that can be used year round. The city government listens to residents (no, we don’t want dense housing, we want a big park) and although cost of living / taxes are high, we get a great quality of life in exchange.