You are right about location but we all have differing opinions about what is a good location. Urban living is great in truly urban areas but San Diego only has psuedo urban living. In the large metro areas back east downtowns are the major jobs centers and extensive public transit systems feed into it from every direction. You can live in an urban area and never leave it or get in a car.
In California most job centers lie outside the downtown areas and urbanisque areas of the largest cities. Downtown San Diego has one supermarket, no hospital, one movie theatre, no healthcare providers and very little park space. While urban living offers many benefits in certain major cities many of the best benefits are not present in SD.
