The geography is what makes CA so much better than most states. Perhaps the #1 among some really great states. The politics and culture have ruined it in so many ways, particularly the major CA metros. Northern CA, while it doesn't bring what a metro brings, is still pretty awesome.
Water has been and will increasingly be the greatest issue and challenge for the southern rocky mountain west, including southern CA. Most of the reservoirs in CA were built in the 40, 50s and 60s. Water management has been signigicantly mismanaged, given the population growth (not only in CA but upstream through Nevada, Utah, Arizona and Colorado).