um well, i lived in colorado which is a great state btw...but anyways, you can live in summit county and work for the ski resort or im sure you wont have any problem finding a job, i mena it wouldnt be a great job if you looking for a profession oriented job, but there are alot of jobs that pay quite a bit, i know when i worked at a grocery store there i made 11.25$ a hour which is great but i was just a highschool kid then but im sure if you and your wife both work and with your moms fixed incoem you can rent yourself a nice little place. another good place to work is the ski resort but its a seasonal job unless you manage to get one of the jobs that isnt seasonal, but you get a free ski pass to ski or ride at any of the resorts which is a plus. and plus in CO you can grow plants and use what you smoke and what you dont end up smoking you can sell back to a dispensary or sometihng like that. My vote is CO, plus in california there is supposed to be that giant earthquake which i sure as hell dont wanna be there for. Colorado is just alot better in general. more active lifestyles, and beatuiful scenery but only bad thing is snow, which can be bad in certain areas.
