I'm originally from Cali -born and raised. My suggestion would be to go to school in NY and use your junior and senior year to network and get yourself set-up in Cali. The cost of living in CA is high .. high .. HIGH. Once you get out there and get dependent, you could find yourself between a rock and a hard place (robbing Peter to pay Paul).

Since you have family out there, pay them a visit when you can so you can at least scope out the area and figure out where you may want to plant roots. That will also give you a chance to get a real idea of what it will cost for you to live there.

Good luck to ya!