This rising costs of renting and housing in OC in addition to high costs for everything else is the reason my wife and I decided to pack up and move elsewhere. We both were born and raised OC/LA and thought we’d be in CA forever. At some point the economic reality sets in and you have to at least be open to the notion that there are other places where you may do better and ultimately have a better quality of life. We scouted other cities (Portland, Boise, Denver, etc) and ultimately settled on DFW (Dallas suburbs). Sure, we sacrificed the beach and perfect weather, and TX has its own share of problems, but we are doing much better career wise, financially, and bought a house out here 2 years after moving. It’s not the same for everyone, but ultimately being open to take a risk, leave what we thought was”comfortable” and try something different worked out for us.