<p>I’m pretty sure the sales tax is the same throughout the state. Coming from NorCal, I would say SoCal is much more diverse. NorCal tends to be much more conservative and, where I come from, racist, unfortunately. But Sacramento has significant minority populations. Do you want to be in an urban area? Sacramento is a nicely sized city but it’s not a major metropolitan area by any means. Are you thinking just Sac in NorCal or other areas, too? And do you consider Santa Rosa to be part of the bay area? SRJC is probably the best CC in California.</p>
<p>Edit: and as for the Hotel swimming pool incident, keep in mind that it’s was at a hotel so those people probably didn’t live in the area. They could have been from Alaska for all we know. And one family or group of people isn’t necessarily representative of the entire population of LA. </p>
<p>What specific Cities in each area of the state are you interested in? There’s a huge difference between Sacramento and Santa Rosa and Chico, just like there’s a huge difference between LA and San Diego and Palm Springs.</p>