Where is the safest place to live in California in terms of staying away from large earthquakes?

Okay. This is the map structural engineers use to determine earthquake forces.

First. There is no place on earth earthquake cannot occur. That being said, there are roughly two areas of California that experience the least, or at least, the mildest earthquakes.

The northern central valley extending up to around Eureka. The second is around the California Arizona border area.

There you go.