Half my friends are California refugees, they had various reasons but overpopulation, traffic, cost and lower quality of living (based on cost of living) were the big ones. Most of them ended up in Arizona or Tucson, a few outliers are in New Mexico.
I used to live in Phoenix and then Tucson, both amazing places and I would love to move back to Arizona post-pandemic, around 2022. Tucson and Phoenix have slightly different climates but offer great living conditions. Dry heat, very mild winters, traffic is getting worse but still a LOT better than in California.
Cost of living is significantly lower than in California, especially if someone moves from the bay area, Greater LA, or San Diego.
city-data is a good source of information, as well as various youtube channels.
Because of my job I have seen most of the US, Europe, parts of Asia and some African countries as well. Have been to every US state except Hawaii, Rode Island, and Maine (also never been to Puerto Rico).
I would argue that someone from California would be able to live comfortably in Arizona or Texas. New Mexico is a little bit different, mostly the culture and how cities are designed and how everything looks. Demographics are also different and some of the Breaking Bad cliches are sadly true. I love New Mexico, but the vibe & lifestyle is very different; NM should be the most affordable out of the states mentioned.
Nevada is my guilty pleasure, have spent too much time in Reno, Lake Tahoe (beautiful!) and Las Vegas before. But I am not sure if I could live there. Maybe a cabin near Tahoe would be enough ?
ps also look into Scottsdale, Chandler, and surrounding area in AZ.
Tahoe is beautiful, but there is a lot of snow in winter. Reno has cold winters too. And the Reno/Sparks area is the blunt of an old joke: Reno is so close to hell you can see Sparks.
AZ an NM sound better for her.
I moved from California to Prescott, Az, 26 years ago. Prescott is about average on the usual criteria; you have to bring your own lawyers, guns and money.
Funny you mention Sparks! I have been to the gigafactory and have seen the entire area in detail. While I like the area, the snow was indeed starting to fall and driving wasn’t great with my rental car (on summer tires).
Some sketchy folks running around as well, which is expected in cities with a strong gambling/entertainment focus. But overall a great place…. let’s see, maybe I will get that cabin one day
Montana is really nice, but winters are hard. Missoula, the only city in the US with the word soul in it, is progressive while much of the state is not. We saw ancient wall paintings in caves and found nature to be plentiful. There are great restaurants and shops. We visited a Buddhist garden with 1,000 statues of Buddha in of all places Montana. The rivers and mountain are impressive. But you might need a winter cottage in Hawaii.
It was paradise! Which is why so many moved in with the accompanying unchecked development and IMO ruined it. Kinda like the Golden goose I guess. As a 3rd gen. Angelino I have an view of changes there since the 1880’s. I’m not sure there will ever be another place like So. Cal. Was in the decades after WWll.
Wherever I’ve been in my life since I’ve always gritted my teeth when I see that kind of runaway development happening, some folks call it progress.
I would like to recommend Buffalo, NY. We have great summer, spring, and fall seasons. Housing is affordable. We have chicken wings, beef-on-weck, Sahlen’s hotdogs, and the Bills. People here are great. It’s true that we also occasionally get 7’ of snow, but we have lots of snowplows so the roads are good in short order. Driving home from work in whiteout conditions is something everyone should experience at least once.