With So Cal, you just need to learn the more remote roads. You might have to ride a few miles through traffic to get to them, but they are there. You might like the Conejo Valley, where I grew up... Agoura, Westlake, Thousand Oaks, Newbury Park. They have plenty of fun climbs which have much less traffic in the Winter because their main purpose it to get to the beach.

EDR might have some opinions on Texas.