Considering moving from san diego to northern cali (San Francisco, Sacramento: jobs, houses)

[tobyandcasey]

I just dont know where. We want something that is affordable, kind of smaller, family friendly, and just overall nice community. Are there any suggestions?

[VeronikaW]

I moved from Northern CA to San Diego. I lived in Mountain View and Fremont in my 4+ years in the bay area.

Pretty much every place up there is expensive. And Mountain View is a nicer, more family friendly place these days than Fremont is.

I think the biggest thing to consider is, are you going to be working when you go up there, and where? That makes a difference, depending on where you want to commute from.

V. =)

[california_guy110]

Northern California is full of small towns that are like what you are looking for, its part of the reason I prefer souther California lol, anyways I'd recommend just looking at a detailed map and you can pick out places then look them up on the internet, there are small towns outside of Sacramento as well as outside the Bay Area so theres plenty to choose from, in my opinion northern California is very different from SoCal, its not a desert so there are towns all over, everything isn't centered around the coast, in fact the only heavily populated areas on the coast are Santa Cruz and San Francisco, everything else is inland.

[TheDragonslayer]

Humboldt county is filled with small towns, the county seat and largest town at 28,000 is Eureka. Right now the median home price is below $300,000 and some of the larger 4000 sf homes are around $400,000 to $500,000. Eureka is not the best though when it comes to crime rates. There is Fortuna, Ferndale, Arcata and McKinleyville, which is where I live, and they are in the 8,000 to 17,000 range. There are a lot of smaller towns too. It is very beautiful up here with the mountains close by and the ocean at our doorsteps . Humboldt bay is the center of the region. The cost of living is higher, but the quality is better. It is best to visit and explore the area first. We are 350 miles from the bay area and 90 miles from Oregon and 143 from Redding.

[california_guy110]

Humboldt county is beautiful but its also very isolated, I guess it depends on what you want but I don't see there being a wide variety of jobs there.

[TheDragonslayer]

Jobs are indeed the biggest problem here, I am fortunate that there is always someone who needs a gardener. We are rapidly growing though and new business are coming in with Walmart anticipating a new store in Fortuna. That is why I suggest coming up here for a visit. One of the houses that I maintain the yard of has new tenants from Anchorage Alaska and she found a job as a speach therapists in a very short time and her husband found work before she did. She had a friend come up from Ventura for a visit and she found a job in Eureka and has already moved here and all of this in less than 3 months time. Life is much slower here and so is the traffic. There are plenty of jobs in the local newspapers want ads but nobody wants to work, our fishing and logging industry fell apart a few years ago and those people are now in limbo hoping for a return of their familiar jobs. Tradition is strong here with many town still having rodeo days or pony express days. The isolation of our county is one of the things that contributes to our paradise.

[earthwatersunwind]

I'm in the same boat. Is there anywhere that isn't too small? Maybe pop. 50,000? And why do you say it's expensive--compared to San Diego's median of $500,000 or something ridiculous like that, every home search I do for up north comes out much cheaper, unless it's Sonoma or someplace.
Where is a region where it's affordable but it still has 4 seasons and good schools?

[humboldtlove]

i agree that humboldt is the best choice. try ferndale, its beautiful its right by the lost coast and the redwood forrests arent too far away. if you want very remote, try garberville or petrolia. garberville is right in the beautiful redwoods and petrolia is on the lost coast, as well as shelter cove. shelter cove is more of a resort community, which in this case meaning its beauty is the only draw. lots of summer homes here. also look into fortuna. mendocino city is nice too just remember the farther south in humboldt you go, the more remote and hippyish it gets. dont forget that weed growing is the counties best money maker..but if you avoid it, it will avoid you.

[Sassberto]

I love Northern CA, especially far nothern CA, and always check home prices up there. In my opinion, much of NorCal, especially the Humbolt County area, is very expensive given the job situation up there. I think you would really have to go somewhere where COL is low and salaries are high (i.e. Texas) for it to make a real difference.