I live in Boston. Not everyone wants to live in So Cal. There are many people who could relocate to SD and afford the current prices, but some people like NE (I want to live in SD). Everytime I discuss SD’s “beauty” and great weather, there are only a few who say, “oh I went there for a conference and it’s really nice there.” But there are many I’ve found who could care less about sunny year-round weather. They really do like snow and seasons. It’s brutal weather here….but they like it. One thing that the East Coast cities have are excellent subways and rails. I have used the subways/rails in DC, Chicago, NY and Boston. That is the one thing I will sort of miss if/when I return to SD. The Boston freeways are really awful compared to San Diego…but then you have the public transportation which is excellent. There are so many differences between the East Coast an So Cal that to me, it is a matter of what people are accustomed to and their preferences. A lot of people would not choose SD as a place to live.