Welcome! I migrated from Ca last year; it's great here.

To answer the question regarding ARs and Ca:
An assualt weapons ban was passed which was designed to ban several firearms including ARs... however... the legalities weren't as clear as the legislators hoped. So one could (and several do) own ARs in Ca providing you comply with the following:

1. Fixed magazine (this can be done with a "Bullet Button", look it up, simple way to comply)
2. 10 rounds or less (not a big deal in Ca sense almost all firearms are already limited to 10 rounds or less)
3. The lower receiver has to be what's called an "Off list lower". The ban includes a list of specific brands and model lowers that are considered assualt weapons (like some colts, bushmasters, etc). So one would need to find a lower that isn't on that list (realitively easy). The upper brand doesn't matter.

If one complies with the above, the AR is not an assualt weapon per how the Ca law is written. This is a common intrepretation, but I'm not a laywer.