California - I like Big Bear for instance but not attached to West Coast at all. Also Big Bear doesn't have _too much acreage_ but maybe something to settle in on the meantime. It seems like there's various yellow flags on this region; most concerned with water availability over time.
I lived there for a bit, fire is another thing to watch out for. While I was there a huge fire got uncomfortably close. Check out http://socalmountains.com to get a preview of the local community there.
Gets crowded on weekends and holidays. There's definitely some antagonism towards the "flatlanders" - e.g. the people who don't live in the mountains, haha.