Who in their right mind would want to live there?

Pretty much just young people starting careers in tech, doing startups, or wanting to be in Hollywood. Most the other people who say they love it here are lying, either to you or to themselves. The weather is nice, it's pretty, but anyone who isn't starting a job at a big tech company or already making 250k+ is literally insane if they think this is the best place to be.

At least in the bay area there has been a big shift in just the last 5 or so years where the majority of people I talk to now will openly admit they think it's dumb and want to leave. Prices are too high. Traffic is too shit. Most people I know spend a huge percentage of every day commuting. Taxes are high. The government is retarded so you don't get much back for the high taxes.

More and more people are traveling and realizing that most other areas have far better quality of life than we do even if you can make a lot more money here. I just bought my first house yesterday, finally getting out of this silly area! The house I just bought is literally 14% of what it'd cost for a similar house near where I am now. Better schools. Safer city. Newer homes. No state income tax (that's a 6-9% raise compared to CA).