I live in San Diego and nothing about it fits his 'cheaply' requirement. 10% sales tax, high rents, food is expensive, on and on. I'll agree QoL is incredibly high!
I live in Houston which a city tons of people espouse as a "Cheap" place to live and thought San Diego was incredibly inexpensive when I visited. My wife's cousin pays about $900/mo for a 2br in a midrise in the downtown area near the ocean. For a similar place in Houston you'd be paying $2000-5000/month.
Rent in Houston is only cheap if you're willing to live in the suburbs and commute 1-3 hours each way every day.
