I can relate to your experience growing up. I grew up in SF proper. I too ended up in a high school full of rich kids. Even though we were poor, I somehow went to a private school that basically bankrupted us by the time I was finished. It is a very molding experience to grow up around a bunch of kids that can throw around money and possessions with impunity when you're acutely aware of it. It's hard for me to go to back to SF and not see the gaping wealth/poverty divide very prominently. I went back for a conference about a month ago and had about all I could handle in ~5 days.

As much as there may be many cool things in SF, I don't think I'd ever want to live there again. The cost of living there is getting so fucking ridiculous that just being there lowers your quality of life drastically. It's not worth it for more than a visit. The SF inflation also affects everything within a 50+ mile radius too, so there's no escaping it.

California probably is the most diverse state in the union though. You can go from redwood forests to deserts to beaches to liberal metros to agrarian hillbilly towns. Right now I'm in the inland empire, outside of LA. I'm more content with it than I think I realize. It's bland and boring but there's nothing especially detestable about it besides the smog.