Cheap NJ with decent schools can be closer than the North County suburbs are to San Diego. As far as knowing that old money has money, you don’t know, unless you know them 🙂 But they’re often the people living in the same house they bought 30 years ago, driving an older car that they bought for cash. Not so different from bearishgurl’s friends in Chula Vista.
The stress survey you posted is pretty suspect, BTW. It ranks NYC near the top, but its nearby suburban counties near the bottom. I think New Yorkers complain more, but people from the area aren’t actually all that stressed.
