Anywhere around Boulder has to be one of the best places to live...great people, great views, and a top class lifestyle. You can have California...the women only want your money.
I like San Diego (in particular, La Jolla and Rancho Santa fe). SB is nice but too isolated and its crime index is too high for an affluent area.
For $500,000, you get an old house in need of repairs in a bad part of town. San Diego is too expensive. I don't see salaries in San Diego as being high either...bad combo..high cost of living and extreme expenses to live there.
I know it's overpriced as hell. I'm just waiting for a 30% to 40% haircut on home prices there to start getting interested. No way would I buy there now. I've heard good things about Boulder. What is the elevation there? How far from Denver?
I drove around a few times (house hunting) and there were no homeless people in the residential areas. in fact, RSF is all residential and I did not see a single homeless person. La Jolla is still my fav city, and I plan to live there in within 3 yrs.