Couple of points:

Visa - If not a US citizen/resident, you'll need a foreign student visa and a flight school that has the facilities to process it.

Medical - get it done before you go. Try Dr O'tremba in TST or one of the Cathay docs who does FAA medicals in HK.

Timing - best flying season in California is summer-autumn, but winter-spring is still flyable, more so the further south you go.

Location - A cheaper option inland is the rural central valley region in California.