I'll be checking in here later, and thanks in advance for your replies:)
Tell him to move 3 hours east to Yuma, AZ and his 7,000.00 will get him a nice down payment on a house...otherwise, he'll pay more for gas (about 3.15/gal in CA), more for milk and groceries, much more for rent (average atleast $1200 for a small 2 bedroom inland San Diego proper). If he has his heart set on San Diego, atleast have him check out Escondido which is off I-15 about 1/2 hours drive inland from downtown San Diego.