1. SoCal definitely has great weather all year. But it's hardly the only place where you can be active all year. You may not have liked the outdoor activities available in Utah during the winter, but many do. Arizona is another place with tons of outdoor opportunities. Even in the hot summer it's not that big of a deal to many who continue to run, bike, golf, etc. all summer long. Your mileage may vary, and it sounds like SoCal is a good match for your interests, which is great. I'm just saying it's not the only place for people to be active all year.

2. I've heard before and understand the argument about a SoCal house being part of your retirement planning. If you own a home there, it's certainly good that it is likely to appreciate relatively quickly. And like you, I know several people who sold their SoCal home to retire to a less expensive state.

But if you buy a $1MM house in SoCal, 30 years later you may own it free and clear. And it may be worth $2MM by then, which is great. But between interest and principal, you would have paid roughly $1.8MM over time to own that home. That's not a particularly attractive ROI over such a long horizon. Obviously I'm just throwing out random numbers, so don't hold me to these. But my point is that there are likely much better investment vehicles than an expensive home in SoCal saddled with a large mortgage. And that's even ignoring the lifestyle ramifications of dumping so much of your monthly income into a mortgage.