My grandparents came to Southern California in the 1920s and I lived there until I went into East Coast exile some years back...so I have some 3rd generation California credibility. That said, if I was looking for opportunity and a place to raise my family nowadays, it would be Texas. I've spent a lot of time there, and the people & the state are the greatest. About the only place California might have them beat now is scenery. Maybe you need to get out and see some of the country before making ignorant posts.