I spent 14 years in the Bay Area and have been in the LA Metro area for the past 7 years and I have to say the Bay Area is the place to be. The variety – big cities, nature, sophisticate society and hippie society all merged into an area you can travel in a 2 hour span. In SoCal – it’s all about trendy stuff – no history, all cookie cutter what’s “hot” copy cats. Don’t get me wrong, So Cal has some beautiful area’s and offers culture of a different sort, but for me the Bay Area will always be my idea of the Perfect California Dream.