The premise of your argument is flawed.

You are making a false assumption that California COL is so high that its not worth it to come here so you have closed off your mind to it as an option. Which is quite frankly ridiculous.

In San Diego for example rent for a 1 bedroom in a great area in a slightly dated apt will be around $2400 a month

However you will earn $10,000 a month base salary.

That puts your rent at 24% your gross salary which is probably 1000x better then the ratio you are paying in Cleveland where you make $5000 a month gross and your rent is $1300 a month.

Why so much better when Cleveland and San Diego rent take up same percentage of salary?

Simple…. The higher the salary the more disposable income you have if rent is same percentage of income.

Having 10k-2.4k = 7,600 left is better then 5k-1.3k = 3,700 left.