California is one case where being from Upstate NY really shines.
If I moved there today, the taxes and laws would feel "normal" to me, except I'd be chilling in the sun instead of getting 10+ feet of snow. People are way friendlier, food is great.
It's just a matter of getting up enough cash together to buy a place, but honestly, it's not that bad depending on where you go.
If I sold both my houses here in NY I could probably afford Twentynine Palms, Barstow, Imperial Valley, Bakersfield. Could maybe afford a condo in San Bernadino or even closer to LA.
It'd be a nice life compared to what's on offer in Upstate NY, and there'd be no real "adjustment" to the suite of nutty laws in taxes that come with life in California. As a NYer, I'm already dealing with worse in many ways.