Leaving Santa Barbara, frustrated with Silicon Valley "no sleeping in vehicles" rules

[BigT]

There must be some compelling reason why a van dweller would opt to live in CA.  It is both expensive and restrictive.

There's lots of reasons, esp. in the SF Bay Area, some of which have already been mentioned here: Mild weather, good, cheap eats, lots to do within an easy drive, a very liberal/green demographic that understands the desire to live a more sustainable/free lifestyle.  

I see RV's all over the place in the Bay Area every night. Van Dwellers too.  Some of them park in the same places for weeks at a time, and often you can clearly see lights on in the windows and people sitting about or watching television.  

Granted you have to deal with the occasional earth quake, but I'll take that over a blizzard, tornado, hurricane, ice storm or tsunami any day! 
Just park your rig away from anything that might fall on it, and you'll ride out the shaking better than most, then have the option to drive away with your home intact. 

 

[bpeck]

If you don't mind going into San Francisco proper, I've had great luck in the Sunset District of SF. Lots of on-street parking, but depending on the time of day you might need to circle around a bit and work for a spot on a level block. Beach access is primo all along Ocean Beach and skateboarding around the Sunset is like playing a video game