The Western USA has had faster population and economic growth than the rest since the Mexican Cession.
California has been such a success that it has become as expensive or more so than the ancient centers of civilization and commerce like Peking, Paris, London, and Rome.
Some people want to be as close to the center of the action as they can, others as far away as they can.
I feel SD is the happy and blessed middle, as do millions of others who live here or would do so in a heartbeat if they had the money.
One reason I like OB is that I don’t have to choose between walkable, bike-friendly, and car-friendly. It’s all three, with mild clean ocean breezes 99.5% of the time.
The “compromises” I make are a pittance compared to the benefits. The places you say are “well run” are monotonous and living there is a far bigger compromise.
