It's all subjective. You couldn't pay me enough to live in a big city, Atlanta included. My "quality of life" would suck. I grew up in rural GA on a horse farm. That's the kind of life I enjoy. My wife is a suburb's girl. She hates the rural life, but would also hate the city life. My sister-in-law lives in Beijing. If she comes back to the states, she will more than likely move to Chicago or NY. The point is, in my mind California is built around liberal, big government that taxes the hell out of the rich. Not my cup of tea, but it works for a lot of people. I don't think any study can determine "quality of life" because what I consider quality is different than what another might.