The Central Coast - where does it start for you and why? (San Diego: pool, transit)
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It's funny that you mention Big Sur in this way. Because one of my favorite local hikes (Garrapata SP) has everything from coastal redwoods to cacti to many wildflowers during the Spring. It's weird, kind of like hiking through different ecosystems as one goes up in elevation. It's a pretty amazing place.
Derek
You are not fooling anyone with these beautiful photos, Derek. Every regular on the C-D boards knows that California was destroyed long ago by pollution, high taxes, over-regulation, over-crowding, hippies, and illegal aliens, and is no longer inhabitable. Good photo-shopping, though!
I've always thought as Santa Barbara County being a transition zone into the Central Coast, and the Central Coast being from Santa Maria north to Monterey, maybe as far north as Santa Cruz. However, many people also think of the Monterey Bay region as a subregion within the Central Coast, as do many people who think of the SLO/Morro Bay region as a subregion within the Central Coast.
When breaking down areas just remember they are subregions. Within Northern California you have the Bay Area, North Coast, Sacramento Valley and the Motherlode, and the Sacramento Metro area, which is part of the latter two subregions. Central California has San Joaquin Valley (Central Valley), Central Coast, Central and Southern Sierra, and so on. Most people's definitions aren't going to be based on anything other than their impression, or in some cases politics. Some people think Chico and Hanford are the same region because both cities are in valleys and have a lot of agriculture around them. However, anyone who has lived in both the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys will tell you there are some very distinct differences which aren't really obvious to people passing through the areas.
You should use distance to nearest major city as the factor.
Santa Barbara is 2 hrs from LA.
Monterey is 2 hrs from San Jose
San Luis Obispo is 3 hrs from San Jose and a good 3 and a half hrs to LA.
Santa Maria is 3 hrs from LA.
Lompoc is 2 and half hours from LA.
I think the "original" Central Coast was Monterey, SLO, and Santa Barbara County. But now you will see the influence spreading based on distances from major cities.
And the 6 major cities in California are LA, San Francisco, San Jose, San Diego, Santa Ana, and Sacramento.
San Jose, Sacramento, and San Francisco are in the North County.
San Diego, Los Angles, and Santa Ana are in the south. Santa Ana being the newest major city as it's downtown is booming with new high rise buildings and the OC metro is doing better than other metro areas.
We need to stop thinking of terms of central, and look in north and south regions.
You should use distance to nearest major city as the factor.
Santa Barbara is 2 hrs from LA.
Monterey is 2 hrs from San Jose
San Luis Obispo is 3 hrs from San Jose and a good 3 and a half hrs to LA.
Santa Maria is 3 hrs from LA.
Lompoc is 2 and half hours from LA.
I think the "original" Central Coast was Monterey, SLO, and Santa Barbara County. But now you will see the influence spreading based on distances from major cities.
And the 6 major cities in California are LA, San Francisco, San Jose, San Diego, Santa Ana, and Sacramento.
San Jose, Sacramento, and San Francisco are in the North County.
San Diego, Los Angles, and Santa Ana are in the south. Santa Ana being the newest major city as it's downtown is booming with new high rise buildings and the OC metro is doing better than other metro areas.
We need to stop thinking of terms of central, and look in north and south regions.
So in light of this how would you then answer the original question?
So in light of this how would you then answer the original question?
Derek
The Central Coast means to me that SLO County, SB County, and Mont. County used to be the central coast region. But as San Jose boomed and you had a southern northern california city I think it lingered down. And When VC boomed the influence of LA lingered up.
In my mind, Santa Cruz is the northern end of the Central Coast, Santa Barbara is the southern end.
This is obviously debatable. SC obviously has a bit of a Bay Area influence and SB has some LA influence. But I see those two as the beginnings of the Central Coast vibe.
However, I think most people would agree that the Central Coast stretches from Monterey to Pt. Conception. That is a definite boundary in my mind, anything North or South of those points are up to debate.
I agree here. Santa Cruz is the boundary of the North, and Santa Barbara the South. Monterey and San Luis Obispo are the heart of the central coast.
And the 6 major cities in California are LA, San Francisco, San Jose, San Diego, Santa Ana, and Sacramento.
Santa Ana a major city? That might be a surprise to many. At a third of a million it is virtually the same size as Anaheim, and Anaheim is not usually considered a major city albeit an important one. Both are just part of the Orange County metro area, which itself is an extension of the Greater LA Metro area.
Santa Ana a major city? That might be a surprise to many. At a third of a million it is virtually the same size as Anaheim, and Anaheim is not usually considered a major city albeit an important one. Both are just part of the Orange County metro area, which itself is an extension of the Greater LA Metro area.
I would consider the top 6 to be Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Sacramento, San Jose and Oakland.
Santa Ana a major city? That might be a surprise to many. At a third of a million it is virtually the same size as Anaheim, and Anaheim is not usually considered a major city albeit an important one. Both are just part of the Orange County metro area, which itself is an extension of the Greater LA Metro area.
The largest major cities in California in order of size are:
Los Angeles ----- 3,792,621
San Diego ------- 1,307,402
San Jose --------- 945,942
San Francisco --- 805,235
Fresno ----------- 510,365
Long Beach ----- 462,257
1.Northwest
2.Northeast
3.North Central
4.Bay Area
5.Central
6.Central Coast
7.South Central
8.Eastern Sierra
9.Los Angeles
10.Orange Co.
11.Inland Empire
12.San Diego
Well here's one way of looking at it. Similarly I think these are how the forums should be split up in California. Though I think 5 and 7 can be combined as well as 3 and 2. Sorry San Jose and Ventura. 2 and 8 seems rather irrelevant, I don't think they need their own forums or they could be lumped in with others or just remain in the ever mixing pot of California.
Santa Cruz is a weird area, I'd say they're North just because they seem to have the bums and hippies walking around albeit it's mostly a college town/city area.
I mostly agree with this post. The term Central Coast has always lacked precision more than most other place in the state. Problem is, some of our regions are more diverse than others so it's hard to draw a line on a neat cutoff point.
For me, the nine Bay Area counties do not include Santa Cruz County and so I'd say SC is the northern most Central Coast. I'd say Santa Barbara Co. would be the southern most end. Most regions, whether nations, states or regions like this begin to show characteristics of the neighboring areas so transition zones should be ignored for simplicity. Otherwise it becomes a confusing mess. Santa Cruz has a NorCal/Bay Area influence but IMO is still the central coast.
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That might be a surprise to many. At a third of a million it is virtually the same size as Anaheim, and Anaheim is not usually considered a major city albeit an important one. Both are just part of the Orange County metro area, which itself is an extension of the Greater LA Metro area.
