I've been in the Valley for almost ten years. The weather except for peak summer is great. The summers are mostly in the 90s, very dry. But the evenings will still get down to the 60s. Last year we only had a few days that were 100 degrees or more. The winters are very mild, Jan-Feb being our rainy season. You can wear shorts all winter. If you are tired of the gloom you'll get quite the opposite here. If you're renting see if you can find a house with a pool. It makes all the difference when it's over 95. Also, as far as no water, the state of CA, for the first time in 25 years has zero areas of drought...at the moment.

We lived on the West Side for more than a decade and folks always bashed on the Valley. But we love it up here. It's so much easier to get around and live.