Your experience in the east as a college student isn’t the same as doing it as an adult with kids. Think about the things you do outdoors now with your kids from November through March and cross them off the list. Yeah, you can do things outdoors in the winter, but 1) most of the cold parts of the US aren’t Mammoth, and 2) going skiing isn’t exactly the same as playing in the backyard.
I’m happy with life in the northeast, and I’m sure many other Southern Californians would be too. But I know a number of people from Southern California who moved east and either went back or regretted doing it.
And as for “glamor”…that’s funny to hear from someone in California. Most of the eastern US is far from glamorous.
