Though the previous two articles on California are true there is still land inland for as cheap as 8000 for 2 1/2 acres

However, there is no electricity to it, you get 3 plus feet of snow on it in the winter and you likely will need a septic tank and a well to live there along with solar cells on your roofs. But, places like San Jose and San Francisco exist that are very very expensive relatively speaking.

So, if you want to live near a good job in Silicon Valley near San Jose the 1 million median price of a home has become normal in those areas. But, just remember California is over 600 miles long and is about 200 miles wide on average or more and if taken by itself is the 8th largest economy in the world if it was taken by itself as a nation.

So, these very high prices are only in a few locations. But, generally speaking the whole California coast is expensive, especially in the north where there is no smog at all and there are less people than in the south. But, places like Beverly Hills, and many locations in Los Angeles are going to be very expensive too. The same with San Diego and other areas.

Wherever there are high paying jobs expect high rent or high prices for homes in California. And then there are also rich retirement communities that are beautiful on the coast or mountains with no jobs much except the people who service these communities.

So, as California gets richer from things like Silicon Valley and the  Hollywood types of businesses and from oil and other things made here in California including all sorts of innovation, being able to live and work here and afford to live here becomes more and more of a problem in some areas.

But, just like Texas and Alaska, California is a very big state with ocean, deserts, snow covered mountains and almost any climate you might imagine except tropical rain forests, including 4 season farmland in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys and Salinas Valleys and other locations.