Don't forget about the challenges of being a firefighter in California. We have nasty wildfires that occur in hurricane-force Santa Ana winds and near zero humidity. Most wildfires are fought by firefighters from all over the state. Last fall I remember seeing fire trucks from the City of Davis (near Sacramento) during the fires in Orange County in Southern California. So no matter where in the state you work, you are likely to be called up when we have a major wildfire, which seems to happen every year now.

I did just field a call from a headhunter about several accounting positions, one of which is with a major homebuilder. Their business is down more 60% this year, but they are still adding to their finance ranks...