>Texas has a shit-ton more money than UCLA is probably the most
>likely reason.

that's about it as far as legitimate location reasons go, I'll assume.

his kid will go to a nice private school and his wife will make new friends, both of which I'm sure could be found somewhere in California.

maybe Smart loves going to Alamo Drafthouse and sipping single origin coffee, while enjoying the comparably awful traffic of a city that's outgrown its infrastructure...but I doubt it.