I've been born and raised in California. It depends on where you live. I started out in the outskirts of Sacramento. I didn't have any neighbors for miles at one point in my childhood. Eventually more people began to move in, but the point is that people are pretty much like anywhere else in the country: boring, plain, in a purple political zone, and there isn't really much to do there.
I moved to San Diego for college and haven't looked back. There's lots of action here, lots of beautiful women, and if you're a hustler, lots of employment opportunities. But you gotta have an education and you gotta have that independent, intrinsic motivation to come in and slay. If you're looking to just be a work-a-day guy that plans on living well, you're better off somewhere else. Moving to Hollywood soon. Despite all the prep work I've been doing, I'm still nervous about the transition.
The only other cities I would ever consider are Chicago, NYC, maybe Boston, San Francisco, or Seattle.