I started in San Juan Bautista with a stop for a few photos and some coffee. The waitresses at the Mission Cafe were feeding a local street rooster. I drove through Pacific Grove and then took the 17 Mile Drive along the coastal golf courses of Pebble Beach to Carmel. They are all lovely places but I am more comfortable living in a place where real people actually work. I think that I would prefer living in someplace like San Juan Bautista or Armstrong, BC to living in Carmel or Beverly Hills.
Some places are great for visiting while others are places to get things done.
Another example is the laid back vacation lifestyle in Australia in comparison to the working excitement of Silicon Valley. The night was spent in Pismo Beach. It is an attractive and low rent version of the more famous resort towns. I was surprised to see so many beach walkers out early on a Sunday Morning. In this area it is much drier than the forests found further north.