I'd lived all over San Diego County while I was in college, and while the beaches, land and weather are absolutely beautiful there's no place I'd rather be than here in the Bay.
Hello! I'm from Sacramento. I grew up in Land Park, now I live in midtown. The chickens live at my boyfriends house in West Sacramento which is also where I work.
Regarding the N. California debate, for all practical purposes, I think SF and Sac are considered N. California. I went to Humboldt State so I certainly understand the amount of land that exists to the north of us, but if you consider population density, most people in CA live in the LA/San Diego area or the SF/Sac region. Hence, those population clusters, practically speaking, are S. CA and N. CA.