lol only speaking for nor-cal. i live in the bay area.... so here is my input
Santa Cruz- Pro's- Very nice place i love it there and everyone seems pretty laid back every time i go. i dont surf but i always see people out there in the waves. Also if you have ever heard of a set of waves called " The Mavricks " Santa Cruz is about a 20-30 mins drive up highway 1 from them ( 30 foot sets )
Con's- work is hard to find depending on what you do. you can travel to the san jose area for work, but the main highway 17 if there is 1 wreck, rain storm even snow the road is closed down. plus like someone said in the summer it is a mad house.
Oakland- pro's ...... ummm its got a ok football team ( i hate the Raiders) , a shitty baseball team (im an A's fan) and i think they still have basketball ( lol just kidding) Great taco trucks for mexican food 22nd and INT is good eats. easy to get in and out becasue you have 2 freeways 880 and 580 oh and even 980. close to the city if you want to go to SF for the day.
Con's - ummm well........ its oakland! need i say more
Redding / redbluff/ shasta area Pro's- its beautiful up there. good weather in the summer. good fishing if you enjoy that Shasta lake is nice and you can snow ski on mount Shasta in the winter.
Con's- you are 5+ miles away from the bay area and you are pretty much land locked.
if you didnt enjoy surfing and wanted to live in a nice place i would say Sacramento or the out lying area's. you are pretty close to everyting Tahoe for snow skiing and to gamble. there are ALOT of lakes near by for water spots and 2 major rivers for rafting, fishing camping ect. night life in old town or mid town. if you play sports there seems to always be year round leagues for soccer, baseball, basketball. summers have pretty fair weather but can get over 110* some of the bad things about Sacramento you are in the valley so the 3 weeks in a row of over 100* weather can suck at times but you can make due. also if you dont like Traffic.... then, Well most of California has it and its something you have to get used to. Also for the one who surfs. you are about 2-21/2 hours from the beach
this is all i can think of right now. hope it helped somewhat