The situation would have to correct itself quite a bit to make it worthwhile for the average worker, say an engineer, to relocate to San Diego. For example, I have a buddy who is a electrical engineer in Wisconsin, just outside of Milwaukee. Paradise on earth? Not quite, unless you like cross country skiing, ice fishing and hunting…and brats!
Anyway, my buddy gets paid the same as a EE would in San Diego, his home cost him 130k and he is living a comfortable life in a top notch suburb with neighbors he actually knows. For the most part, the wives are home with the kids and they have no commute. The weather and mountains, and well, some of the people here are nice, but why on earth would he trade what he has for a job with the same salary, a long commute, neighbors he will likely never know, putting his wife to work and paying 650k for a house? So it corrects itself to 500k…still not worth it. If you can deal with the negatives, going the other way and moving to WI and most other states makes perfect sense right now. If it corrects itself alot then it may start to make sense…