That San Francisco and Los Angeles are anywhere near this list completely nullifies the least bit of credibility that any of the listed sources may have ever had.
What an idiot ! Omg LA, San Francisco, Sacramento!?!?!? Seriously? I bet the author has neven been living in those of cities even 1 day. FYI those of cities are just for visit, that’s it, not for living cuz of so many reasons.
I have lived in every city mentioned in this article with the exception of Sacramento. All of the cities require a big income to live life well to enjoy what each city has to offer.
My kids were raised in coastal North County of San Diego, where now as young adults they most likely will not be able to live just blocks from the beach. The article is not representative of the true nature of the COLA in each city. Not one is an affordable option to the average income of Americans .
Irvine? “Great city life”.. dafuq are you talking about? Irvine is the most sterile, dead-behind-the-eyes “City” I have ever spent time in. Calling it a city is a joke.. it’s a bunch of master planned villages with Disneyland-Esque town squares separated by arterial roads. There is no downtown.. Only shopping centers made to resemble real cities with history and culture. It’s a college town with out college life. I guess it appeals to Asians though or anyone looking for an insular life where conformity is king. I’d rather live in Santa Ana and that’s saying a lot.
Long Beach ought to be on this list. It’s more affordable than other coastal cities, it’s bike friendly and super diverse. You get the perks of being closely tied to Los Angeles but with a slower pace, less traffic, and none of that west LA vapid industry pretentiousness.
SF is stunningly gorgeous but the homeless and it’s in your face intolerance of different perspectives makes the cost of living hard to justify.
Sac is underrated. The weather SUCKS .. summer heat is brutal . Lots of homeless but lots of great jobs working for the state
LA is too big to make sweeping generalizations. If you can’t find what you’re looking for in LA you aren’t looking hard enough.
I know almost nothing about San Diego other than Pendleton, jar heads, hella Mexicans and beaches.
They were just trying to scare people away from Irvine because they’ll think it’s grouped into their category now. I heard Irvine Police drop off homeless at their city limits…. Smart
Honestly, just 10 mins southeast of Irvine, Ca. Is a little town called Lake Forest, Ca. It’s near the canyons and the Saddleback mountain range. It’s set off by itself. A clean, quiet community. Low crime, good schools, shopping and only an hour from San Diego and 40 mins from Los Angeles. Its green and has beautiful views. Only 20 mins from Newport & Laguna Beaches, and 90 mins or so from skiing in Big Bear. Its lovely, great place to raise a family. A little pricey, but worth it!! I love being a Lake Forest, California resident!
Hahaha! I would NEVER live in ANY of those cities! I’ve lived in California my whole life and DREAD having to go to any of those cities….SO much crime and traffic and weird people. Not to mention their homeless problems. Just Ew!
Riverside is a versatile small city with a beautiful downtown area. Great art galleries, museums, restraunts and lounges. Yes it’s hot in the summer, but we are 1 hour away from the city L.A. the desert Palm Springs, the mountains Big Bear Lake Arrowhead area and the Ocean. We have affordable housing and lots of traffic. Come see for yourself
One thing you appear to have gotten right is leaving Santa Monica off your list! It’s one of the most violent and unsafe cities in California and the nation, with an ineffective and lazy police department. California has a lot of unsafe areas but Santa Monica is one of the worst! A shame really. It used to be a safe community where people could go to enjoy the beach, but no more. The waters are polluted with warning signs posted in clear sight to stay out of the water. And the city prides itself at doing nothing to make things better!
You can thank your governor!!! Ever nice place in CA has gone down hill!!! Dictating to all of California!
He is not governor but a dictator! Doesn’t matter what we voted in! And a typically politician rules don’t apply to them!
Irvine is way up there, in terms of safety and medicracy. Literally everything else on this list I’ve been to and it’s all you really wish you had a second lock on your car door stuff. Whoever wrote this list is a romantic dreamer because these are garbage. SF?! I paid $300 a night at a hotel with a camp site out front of the hotel with homeless. Oh and the hotel was locked doors you had to flash a badge and be escorted in. Walking distance from China Town. So no.
I lived in San Francisco for a decade back in the early 90’s and it was great but wouldn’t recommend it now as it is a total mess. I live in San Diego now and am glad it’s listed as #1 but San Diego is outrageously expensive!
As for L.A., I would leave CA before ever moving there. Crime, homeless, cost to live there, intense traffic 24/7, terrible public transportation, and actors everywhere pretending to be something they aren’t. No way!
I’m not sure where this writer got her information (err, “study”), but as California natives, we can confirm – with confidence – every single one of these locations is outrageously expensive, crime ridden, drug infested and sadly, the unhoused population is off the charts. In addition, we pay almost 10% in taxes.
All of you writers, bloggers, influencers, and whatever else you want to call yourself these days. Please stop telling people about places to go. We don’t want people to move to California, we don’t want people going to our outdoor destinations and off-road areas. This also goes for every other. Area. Stop telling people about how nice it is in places. Also, the taxes are ridiculous in California because we have to pay for everything, and everyone. I can’t believe that you put Los Angeles on the list. The only difference between Los Angeles, and any other metropolis is the weather. That is a seriously gang infested, smog, polluted city. And the worst part is, most of the people there really aren’t even from California just like a lot of these cities. Please stay in your Midwestern cities, and states, and please stop telling people about destinations, because they used to be so fun and now they’re cluttered with trash and horrible people, because people like you like to tell them it’s cool in order to get popularity.
I moved out of California 30 years ago and have never looked back. Sure, I miss ‘home’, but even back then high prices, gangs, drugs and corruption in government were bad. We lived in the central valley and used to go to these cities to play. There is no ‘home’ anymore. It’s all gone to h#((
That San Francisco and Los Angeles are anywhere near this list completely nullifies the least bit of credibility that any of the listed sources may have ever had.
Exactly what I though.
Fact.
Temescal Valley, CA. A growing area with single family homes plus great family area. Low crime rate and great community involvement.
Los Angeles literally declared iltself an emeegency disaster area for being trhe most fucked up place in America.
You’re absolutely right!
What an idiot ! Omg LA, San Francisco, Sacramento!?!?!? Seriously? I bet the author has neven been living in those of cities even 1 day. FYI those of cities are just for visit, that’s it, not for living cuz of so many reasons.
It’s a study. Not one author’s opinion. Lol.
I have lived in every city mentioned in this article with the exception of Sacramento. All of the cities require a big income to live life well to enjoy what each city has to offer.
My kids were raised in coastal North County of San Diego, where now as young adults they most likely will not be able to live just blocks from the beach. The article is not representative of the true nature of the COLA in each city. Not one is an affordable option to the average income of Americans .
Irvine? “Great city life”.. dafuq are you talking about? Irvine is the most sterile, dead-behind-the-eyes “City” I have ever spent time in. Calling it a city is a joke.. it’s a bunch of master planned villages with Disneyland-Esque town squares separated by arterial roads. There is no downtown.. Only shopping centers made to resemble real cities with history and culture. It’s a college town with out college life. I guess it appeals to Asians though or anyone looking for an insular life where conformity is king. I’d rather live in Santa Ana and that’s saying a lot.
Long Beach ought to be on this list. It’s more affordable than other coastal cities, it’s bike friendly and super diverse. You get the perks of being closely tied to Los Angeles but with a slower pace, less traffic, and none of that west LA vapid industry pretentiousness.
SF is stunningly gorgeous but the homeless and it’s in your face intolerance of different perspectives makes the cost of living hard to justify.
Sac is underrated. The weather SUCKS .. summer heat is brutal . Lots of homeless but lots of great jobs working for the state
LA is too big to make sweeping generalizations. If you can’t find what you’re looking for in LA you aren’t looking hard enough.
I know almost nothing about San Diego other than Pendleton, jar heads, hella Mexicans and beaches.
San Fran is not in Silicon Valley
Honestly, 10 mins
They were just trying to scare people away from Irvine because they’ll think it’s grouped into their category now. I heard Irvine Police drop off homeless at their city limits…. Smart
Honestly, just 10 mins southeast of Irvine, Ca. Is a little town called Lake Forest, Ca. It’s near the canyons and the Saddleback mountain range. It’s set off by itself. A clean, quiet community. Low crime, good schools, shopping and only an hour from San Diego and 40 mins from Los Angeles. Its green and has beautiful views. Only 20 mins from Newport & Laguna Beaches, and 90 mins or so from skiing in Big Bear. Its lovely, great place to raise a family. A little pricey, but worth it!! I love being a Lake Forest, California resident!
I agree. Lake Forest is an excellent place to live
Hahaha! I would NEVER live in ANY of those cities! I’ve lived in California my whole life and DREAD having to go to any of those cities….SO much crime and traffic and weird people. Not to mention their homeless problems. Just Ew!
Riverside is a versatile small city with a beautiful downtown area. Great art galleries, museums, restraunts and lounges. Yes it’s hot in the summer, but we are 1 hour away from the city L.A. the desert Palm Springs, the mountains Big Bear Lake Arrowhead area and the Ocean. We have affordable housing and lots of traffic. Come see for yourself
One thing you appear to have gotten right is leaving Santa Monica off your list! It’s one of the most violent and unsafe cities in California and the nation, with an ineffective and lazy police department. California has a lot of unsafe areas but Santa Monica is one of the worst! A shame really. It used to be a safe community where people could go to enjoy the beach, but no more. The waters are polluted with warning signs posted in clear sight to stay out of the water. And the city prides itself at doing nothing to make things better!
You can thank your governor!!! Ever nice place in CA has gone down hill!!! Dictating to all of California!
He is not governor but a dictator! Doesn’t matter what we voted in! And a typically politician rules don’t apply to them!
Irvine is way up there, in terms of safety and medicracy. Literally everything else on this list I’ve been to and it’s all you really wish you had a second lock on your car door stuff. Whoever wrote this list is a romantic dreamer because these are garbage. SF?! I paid $300 a night at a hotel with a camp site out front of the hotel with homeless. Oh and the hotel was locked doors you had to flash a badge and be escorted in. Walking distance from China Town. So no.
I lived in San Francisco for a decade back in the early 90’s and it was great but wouldn’t recommend it now as it is a total mess. I live in San Diego now and am glad it’s listed as #1 but San Diego is outrageously expensive!
As for L.A., I would leave CA before ever moving there. Crime, homeless, cost to live there, intense traffic 24/7, terrible public transportation, and actors everywhere pretending to be something they aren’t. No way!
I’m not sure where this writer got her information (err, “study”), but as California natives, we can confirm – with confidence – every single one of these locations is outrageously expensive, crime ridden, drug infested and sadly, the unhoused population is off the charts. In addition, we pay almost 10% in taxes.
Do better.
Laguna Niguel any day over all that were listed
All of you writers, bloggers, influencers, and whatever else you want to call yourself these days. Please stop telling people about places to go. We don’t want people to move to California, we don’t want people going to our outdoor destinations and off-road areas. This also goes for every other. Area. Stop telling people about how nice it is in places. Also, the taxes are ridiculous in California because we have to pay for everything, and everyone. I can’t believe that you put Los Angeles on the list. The only difference between Los Angeles, and any other metropolis is the weather. That is a seriously gang infested, smog, polluted city. And the worst part is, most of the people there really aren’t even from California just like a lot of these cities. Please stay in your Midwestern cities, and states, and please stop telling people about destinations, because they used to be so fun and now they’re cluttered with trash and horrible people, because people like you like to tell them it’s cool in order to get popularity.
I moved out of California 30 years ago and have never looked back. Sure, I miss ‘home’, but even back then high prices, gangs, drugs and corruption in government were bad. We lived in the central valley and used to go to these cities to play. There is no ‘home’ anymore. It’s all gone to h#((