You can live anywhere and still save, it is just harder in a high COL area. Look at MMM's recent post about a couple living in Manhattan and managing to pay off big student loans in a mindbendingly short amount of time!
Sticker shock is real, though. Especially with real estate. I pay more for rent on a little 1 bedroom basement apartment in Alexandria, VA than my parents pay on their mortgage for a 3,000SF house on 45 acres in Alabama...
There are a lot of Californians on the forum, so I am sure they can chime in. Not so sure about Floridians, but hopefully you'll hear from a few.
What sort of work do y'all do? Would it translate into a significantly higher salary if you moved?