Help choosing a CA location with good air quality and mild climate (for someone with respiratory disorder)

[RosieSD]

This actual data might be helpful to you. It is data compiled by the California Air Resource Board. It shows the number of days (and the hours in those days) that exceeded Federal/State Ozone standards in the last year for different areas of California.

Annual Ozone Summary (PST)

And, the ARB also has loads of other data here: Subject Top Page: AQMIS 2 - Air Quality and Meteorological Information System

I have asthma and I'm very sensitive to smog. There have been times when I've been driving through certain parts of the LA basin and had to stop and use my emergency inhaler. I live in San Diego County and don't have too much trouble with the air quality here. It's also very dry here for much of the year, which helps with my asthma as well. There are certain areas I know to avoid in the summer, and I live in a rural area away from freeways so unless there's a fire in the county kicking up smoke (which happens often enough), I'm generally good to go.

So, my first instinct is to tell you, "move to San Diego because the air and climate is good here."

However, in looking at the actual data from the California ARB, the folks who are recommending Santa Barbara and the Central Coast seem to be right. San Diego doesn't appear to be much different than the San Francisco area in terms of air quality and pollution. Weatherwise, of course, we are warmer than Oakland, but so is SLO. But if your husband is sensitive to particulants then warmer weather may not be enough to make a difference.

I guess the bottomline is that you probably need to do your research and rely on facts, and not just on the well meaning opinions of people who live in (or visit) different places. After all, most people aren't suffering from the respiratory ailments your husband is facing, so to them the air where they live probably seems fine, just like it does to me.

The above sites should be a good starting point for getting some actual factual data to help you narrow down a few areas. Once you have a couple of ideas, it wouldn't hurt to ask your husband's doctor(s) for names of specialists in the area(s) you're considering and pick their brains if possible. A call to the local Lung Association (or the local associations for the disease your husband has) to ask how people fare with the climate and air quality might also be helpful. (Obviously, every patient is different, but this might be more helpful than asking people who don't have respiratory ailments where the air is best).

Good luck with your research and decision!

[Dean Trails]

Originally Posted by KMG00

I need some suggestions regarding California climate and air quality. My husband has a serious respiratory disorder and we've discovered that he does best in climates where it's usually between 50-85 degrees F with moderate humidity that's neither dry nor excessively humid.

We currently live in the San Francisco Bay area, where it's almost the right climate. It gets a little too cold for him at times, though, so we're trying to figure out another place. What we're struggling with is that Southern California has the right climate, but the smog issues make it a bad place to be for someone with delicate lungs.

Can anyone suggest a place to start investigating? I'm not sure how far south we can go without running into smog issues. I don't have a problem with inland cities, but I'm told it gets much hotter there and drier there. We're going to start with investigating the Central Coast, but I welcome suggestions from people who know California better than I do.

We're also open to looking outside California--I just haven't found anywhere that fits the climate he needs. Well, except Hawaii! He doesn't want to live on an island, though (damn!)

I was looking at some property on the Central Coast (Atascadero) and it had lovely Oak Trees with wonderful trimming of lacy, delicate lichen. Lichens are indicators of clean air as most lichens can't tolerate air pollution. So check out other towns along the coast such as San Luis Obispo, Arroyo Grande and Pismo Beach. The ocean air is fresh and full of ions! Very invigorating!!

[KMG00]

Hi everyone, original poster here. Given that this old thread has seen new traffic, I wanted to update you all. We eventually moved to Santa Cruz on the Central Coast. He can breathe so much better here, even better than in the Bay Area. We really like it here, crazy high cost of living aside (sorry about that, Lookingformyparadise, wish I could say it was more affordable. The most affordable, climatically-appropriate California city I found in my search was Salinas).

And yes, RosieSD, we did do our research. As I noted in my original post, asking on this forum for opinions was a way to get some ideas, and was just one small part of the research we did. I do like San Diego and am considering it for if he ever needs warmer temperatures. We're also keeping SLO and the general Morro Bay area in mind for the future.

Thanks to everyone who offered suggestions. I am so grateful to have found a place that worked and I wish the same luck to anyone in similar circumstances.

[dmlandis]

Interesting posts. I'm a native Californian (25 years in the Bay Area) and have to laugh at the fanfare about the few spare the air days we have. What is the AQI during those summer days? I'm living in northern China and this winter we can literally not breathe with 500+ AQI much of December. Fortunately I'm leaving in June. I'm curious how is/was the worst air quality in California. I gather it was never worse than what they have here in Northern China (Hazardous today - meaning stuck for days in a high rise apartment looking down at toxic soup. California doesn't realize how lucky it is to have the clean aire that it does.

[DriveNotCommute]

Originally Posted by dmlandis

Interesting posts. I'm a native Californian (25 years in the Bay Area) and have to laugh at the fanfare about the few spare the air days we have. What is the AQI during those summer days? I'm living in northern China and this winter we can literally not breathe with 500+ AQI much of December. Fortunately I'm leaving in June. I'm curious how is/was the worst air quality in California. I gather it was never worse than what they have here in Northern China (Hazardous today - meaning stuck for days in a high rise apartment looking down at toxic soup. California doesn't realize how lucky it is to have the clean aire that it does.

It wasn't luck that cleaned up California's air, it was a combination of policy and dragging reluctant people along for the ride.

Naturally, it was also money that brought our air to its current levels, in the sense that a lot of the tech simply costs more for producers and customers alike. After all of our progress there's still plenty of room for improvement (as demonstrated by the existence of this thread) but like everything else, there are costs to weigh against the benefit we get for each upgrade that might be proposed.

I understood what you meant though, just felt like taking the opportunity to expand on it a bit.

[Tolerance999]

Originally Posted by Brenda-by-the-sea

San Luis Obispo

Too humid, thousand oaks was a place for tuburcolis patients years ago. It's at 1000 feet, with highs in the 70 - 85 degree range all year long, with some days of brief morning fog.

[Lookingformyparadise]

You might really like Marina Del Rey in so cal. I would think it has better air quality as it can get breezy. It may be 100 degs inland and only 70-75 in MDR. Nice hi-rises too, views, restaurants, nice place!