[onewhippedpuppy]

Jeff, I would argue that location has NOTHING to do with your happiness (or lack thereof). It's just a superficial factor that's easy to blame, and keeping you from addressing the true root cause. I remember your posts when you left CA about how it was essentially the worst place ever, that you would NEVER return, and that you were moving on to somewhere exponentially better. Fast forward a few years and suddenly living in the NE is the cause of your unhappiness, and maybe you'd like to move back to CA. I strongly suspect that a change of scenery will at best provide you with a temporary improvement in mindset, and then it's back into the same rut.

I live in a fairly mediocre place, but it's easy to make a living and support a family. My wife and I plan to retire elsewhere someday. Yet, I'm happy as hell. Ultimately my happiness has very little to do with where I live, and I would suggest that you need to assess what really will make you happy in life. Location is a scapegoat, what is lacking in your life and how can you address this shortcoming? Btw, money is the last thing that you need to consider in this equation, it's another black hole that will in no way fill this void in your life.