Best Place to Live in CA? (San Jose, Sacramento: mortgage, real estate, insurance)

[surroundedbyrednecks]

Lake Arrowhead is a terrible place. I know... I live here. Don't do this to yourself.

[Sorcerer68]

If you want to live in the L.A. area and want really safe, check out the Palos Verdes area. It's a little isolated as it's on top of a huge hill but it's quiet and safe. You might like Pt Hueneme, Carpenteria, Laguna Beach. Parts of Pasadena and all of South Pasadena don't feel like typical SoCal towns. Especially South Pas, that place is squeaky clean, no worries about major crime. It's got the small town vibe.

[MylisaCrestline]

Teklanika - I think you'd be better off in California. I've read your response and you said you like the coast and maybe rural area. You cannot go wrong in California. If you move here, you can drive around and I guarantee that you will find many places that are affordable (I think you said under 3K a month - on rent?). That's is plenty enough to find something either rural or ocean (near ocean and/or very very close). I like the same thing - ocean and rural. I have lived in California my entire life and there mountain areas, beach areas, so many. Florida has much less variety as far as the many different places to choose from in CA. (Do me a favor and respond to my e-mail. This is the first time i've been on this website and I would like to see how I'd receive a response - if you would) I'm on here because I live in Riverside, CA and I'm moving to Crestline, CA - mountains. I have lived at the Beach - Redondo and Manhattan Beach, and the desert- Palm Springs, etc. and I know people who live in Florida so If you like, e-mail me back with specific questions of CA compared to Florida - and I'll ask the person I know in Florida to help me answer your inquiries. Well hope to hear back from you. Goodbye, Mylisa

[SouthBayTodd]

i would fly to san francisco (or oakland) and rent a car. spend a day or two checking out the bay area and napa, then drive down the coast checking out towns until you get to san diego. california has a lot to offer. check it out.

[SouthBayTodd]

Originally Posted by Sorcerer68

If you want to live in the L.A. area and want really safe, check out the Palos Verdes area. It's a little isolated as it's on top of a huge hill but it's quiet and safe. You might like Pt Hueneme, Carpenteria, Laguna Beach. Parts of Pasadena and all of South Pasadena don't feel like typical SoCal towns. Especially South Pas, that place is squeaky clean, no worries about major crime. It's got the small town vibe.

palos verdes is really safe and very nice...but expensive and isolated from freeways. if you can afford 1.5-2 million for a modest 3-4 bedroom house, it could work for you.

[Jenali]

Originally Posted by teklanika

I would love to live on the coast, but also enjoy rural life. I'm not looking to live in an apartment or condo--can't take being attached to anyone anymore-- so I'm attempting to find an affordable house to rent for about a year. In doing some preliminary searches, it doesn't look like there are too many houses in nicer areas that rent for under 3K, which is a bit over max for me. I want to be in a nice, warm spot, at least for this winter (otherwise, I'd go uber-cheap and move to the midwest). I'm a writer, and so long as I can jump online, I can work from anywhere.

Hope that narrows it down a bit--thanks for the response.

SAN Juan Capistrano in south Orange county has all what you mentioned(warm,sunny,very safe,on the ocean,has many historical sites and rural areas ) .
And if gloomy weather and the rain are not an issue for you than I recommend Fortuna and McKinleyville in coastal Northern California,I wish I can live there myself ,but no jobs in that area .

[Three DDD]

Greatbasin-
What about living in Truckee do you like and dislike? Please help us with our decision to relocate there. We want to be near Lake Tahoe but not right in it.

[RobE]

Laguna Niguel is very safe and not that far from the beach (a couple of miles). Aliso Viejo also has very low crime and is nice, but more out in the canyons, iirc.

San Juan Capistrano is good, too, but if you intend to raise kids the school system has some major management issues with the school board and superintendant. The latter was recently indicted, if I am not mistaken. The schools themselves are excellent, though.

In L.A., there is Calabasas, La Canada/Flintridge and Burbank, but they aren't near the ocean. If you can live in Agoura Hills, that isn't that far from Malibu. That is also a pretty good area.

[CantWait2Bthere]

On another thread someone was asking about Moreno Valley and the views are mixed. I hear it's cheap there but then again you get what you pay for. Good donuts there though.

[Sage113]

Originally Posted by wyldeflower

I am a seattle girl...............looking for a small, rural california town. I've driven to many california cities and cannot live in city sprawl and stress. My oldest son lives in San diego...............aside from the ocean..............I see no other qualities that would get me there. I love Santa Barbara............but again............its pretty congested and very expensive. I am a nurse and all my nurse colleagues who have moved from california have told me its a nightmare down there............thats why they moved here. I'm not willing to give up yet. I love hot weather............I am a southern girl at heart............lived in Texas.........loved it, but too flat and dry. I love horses and animals..........I want simple........."little house on the prairie". I used to live in a "artsi" hippy community up here on an island...........got burned out on the liberal agenda/fighting for every cause under the sun...........left wing "stuff". Dont do that.
Does anyone know about northern california areas around sacramento............auburn..........rocklin..... ....shasta. I still want hot.............but dont mind real seasons. How about Grover beach or Fallbrook? How about farm areas and low crime areas? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

We just got back from a week-long scouting trip to California and I have some towns to offer you that may fit your criteria.

Take a look at Redding, Red Bluff, Chico and Paradise. I didn't get to Redding or Red Bluff but studied them for my trip. They both looked good and had the things I was looking for. Some folks we talked to said it was too hot in Redding and since we had to cut our trip short, we cut out Redding.

We did get to Chico and discovered a decent, affordable college town that had nightlife, some cultural amenities and, best of all, was only 10 miles away from a really cute little town called Paradise. Paradise was REAL cheap. Right now, on realtor websites, there are houses listed for $169,000 and condos for $137,000. It's in the foothills so there's beautiful scenery and it's not crowded, no crime and friendly people.

Check those areas out.

Sage