[brawlins]

Why live in California and spend $600K for a house that you can pay $175K for somewhere else? Yeah, I know - the great view - beach (too cold too actually get into, unlike the East coast - though this is not a West coast versus East coast thing - it's California versus anywhere else) and mountains nearby. It's nice to have some bucks left over after the mortgage payment. If you're not in the Hollywood industry, then I can understand why people want to leave.