Common misunderstanding.
Properties in prime CA locations are highly priced, but that doesn't mean you can't buy family house for 50 grands in one of remote city.
Food, especially in So CA is probably the cheapest in whole country.
Our Texan friends could not believe seeing Texan beef in CA sold for 1/3 what it cost in Texas.
I can still get cook-to order lunch for $6 in San Francisco China district. That is about the same what cup of coffee in Seattle.
Where I live - tax dollars (+ private contributions) go to public schools, who in ratings beat about 90% of private schools.
Living at higher elevation, I don't need to run AC, so my house is using $40-50 in electricity every month.
Water is so excelent, I don't need softener, nor reverse osmosis (that wary from district to district).
Proposition 13 made my property taxes (took few years) lower than in any other state.
Now -over the years my house made me a millionaire. Where do I go from here?