Is living in california all its cracked up to be, really? just thinking before my fiancee and i start our life?

i mean ideally yes, i know the reasons id like to live in socal. family, weather, location. but when i think about how hard "the dream" is to attain here it makes me question. we're looking at starter homes, fixer uppers with potential in the low 300,000k. whereas in other states it might be half that. is the sacrifice of moving to another state not worth it? is it really all about location?