The last earthquake of any significance, at least in NorCal was 1989, and for most of the Bay Area, the damage was minimal. There were pictures, videos of the Bay Bridge, the fire in the SF Marina, etc. You cannot even feel a great majority of them, when they happen. You hear about them on the news. Obviously over the last 20-30 years, the building codes have become very strict, even for remodeling of older homes.
And when you’re the 6th largest economy in the world, you need to build some housing for the people who work and live here. COL is high, no doubt.
Also, you have six UC’s in the Top 46 National Universities of US News rankings, plus Cal Poly SLO, other CSU’s, CC’s, Stanford, USC, etc.
Finally, for a great majority of the year, you can drive with the convertible top of your car in the down position and wear shorts. :-c