San Francisco sucks, but the rest of the Bay Area is pretty nice. I live in San Jose. Good weather. For rallying, you're right in the middle of two of the most active rally communities - CRS and PNW.
The problem is you're right in the middle of two active rally communities, and not particularly close to either. Land and the cost of living is pretty high. And there's the CARB, which has some dumb anti-smog rules (don't get me wrong - I'm all for reduced emissions for daily-drivers, but some of their rules are just plain idiotic).
As for CRS events not being rally, John's just being a PNW snob.
Self-righteous douche canoe