So 8-10 SoCal, 4-5 NorCal, and maybe 60-70 total?20 So Cal teams is the equivalent of playing SCDSL. ECNL is an elite league for elite clubs. Not everyone is good enough to participate. There are already too many So Cal clubs in it. 8-10 should be the max.
Certainly more elite. You'd get higher level games.
You'd also get longer travel, both for practice and games. You'll lose some families just because of the time spent in transit.