Wow another Norcal vs Socal thread. Being that I've LIVED in both areas and not just visited, I'll chime in anyway, again.
It's all preference and class. You got money, LA and SD is the place to blow 'em. I agree with a lot Freaks has said in the first page. Northern Cali is way more laid back and Socal is much more fast paced. Cleaner air in the bay, less traffic even though it's a big bitch here as well but fuck LA traffic. LA & SD folks tend to value the glamour than do us folks in the bay. More liberal out in the bay and more conservative in LA & SD. But housing prices aren't that far off from LA & SD, maybe even higher in the bay. Depends what area you're comparing to. SF can get as expensive as La Jolla, and Pittsburg can get as cheap as Santee and San Bernadino...LA & SD are fucking huge population wise, it's like having 2 bay areas in one if not 3 or 4...LMAO at the guy that said Socal folks moving to the bay, it's the other way around guy, big time. You can easily find Norcalians living in Socal, not so much vice versa.
In response to the person that said how can we be so different living in the same state is because we should be 2 states with as much people living here as they do. California alone occupies a large percentage of the east coast in terms of population and size...
I like Socal better tho like Freaks said, weather and scenery, can't be beat.