In the boring ass central valley but not far from Satna Cruz, it's one of our favorite spots.
Maybe the transition won't be so hard, it's very nice of course, but there's that traffic at the wrong times and good and baaaaad parts of town.
Really not all that different from where you are now, or almost anywhere, but maybe with an even smaller town mentality.
Overall the people are absolutely wonderful.
I've noticed, after living in southern Cali, that there is a difference as you move north. In LA, everyone is in a rush and opens the door and walks through in order, so they get where they HAVE to be RIGHT NOW.
As you move north and especially along the coast, you find that the guy opens the door and pauses, to hold it for you to let you through, then he passes. He realizes he didn't waste that much time and might have even been safer (when you consider the car equivalent).
As you go north, even to Oregon and Washington, it just gets more laid back, even though there is plenty of busyness in plenty of business.
Of course, in the heat of traffic, I think the worst comes out no matter your latitude.
In Santa Cruz, everybody's playing in the heart of gold band, and you can feel it among strangers.