Clearlake (San Francisco, Santa Rosa, Napa: organic, living in, restaurants)

[Think4Yourself]

Very pretty but no jobs and very rural. Even worse it is mostly mountainous so there are very limited farming opportunities unless you're into growing weed or want an orchard; all of which seem to be money losers if you're just selling the fruit so you'd have to do some sort of value added enterprise which is exported outside the local area. Apples and pears grow well there so maybe making hard cider or Perry would work though even that has a fair amount of competition. If you could find a property with a spring of the right temperature and with enough flow out of it then maybe an aqua farm growing caviar might work though I suspect the ground water temperatures there are too low to be ideal for caviar production.

[Ruth4Truth]

Thanks for the up-to-date report, OP! Good to know the algae is only seasonal, and the lake is swimmable. How are food and gas prices? Is there a surcharge, due to everything being trucked in from farther away? How about entertainment? Probably not so much. People probably go to SF or Napa for that...? Like orchestras and that kind of thing? Summer's coming up, I'm told it's pretty hot there for about 3-4 months; in the 80's and 90's. That would be one factor holding me back.

[Think4Yourself]

If you can get land with the right soil and climate conditions which is adjacent to one of the main highways then a winery would be an option. The problem is most of the land near US101 is pretty well taken and planted so you'd either have to buy one of those (it won't be cheap) or move to a more remote location which would mean you'd get a hell of a lot fewer customers.

[Tulemutt]

Originally Posted by Think4Yourself

If you can get land with the right soil and climate conditions which is adjacent to one of the main highways then a winery would be an option. The problem is most of the land near US101 is pretty well taken and planted so you'd either have to buy one of those (it won't be cheap) or move to a more remote location which would mean you'd get a hell of a lot fewer customers.

What I have been wondering is: when will there be enough wineries?

[cation50]

Food and gas prices are about the same here as everywhere else. Gas is maybe a couple of cents higher and food is significantly lower. We do have several farmers markets in the area and a cooperative that sells organic produce. The cooperative is much less expensive than produce in a grocery store. The cost of living here is lower than the national average. Entertainment is plentiful, and there is a very fine Lake County orchestra. You can check it out on clearlakeperformingarts.org. There is also a list of events on lakecounty.com. There are loads of good restaurants all around the lake. Some of them you can sit outside over the water. There is one on the water just a few blocks away from me that had an outdoor concert on Saturday. Lakeport has all different types of music in the park next to the lake all summer and it is free. I regularly go to Napa, Santa Rosa and San Francisco. I prefer to live in a rural, small town location with easy access to the city. I like to visit cities, but I don't want to live there. It is 80-90 degress in the summer here, but that is a lot less than the opressive 100+ degree weather in most of California. I moved here from Southern California because the climate is milder. Evening temperatures in the summer average in the 50's at night so it is never hot at night. I open up the windows in the morning to get the cool air and then close them. The house stays cool until all day. I personally think the climate is very mild. However, I did live in Southern California, Virginia, the Carolinas and Georgia where it is much hotter. I guess it is an individual perspective. Marymount also just opened a 4 year campus in Lake county. More jobs and more people are moving in.

[OwlKaMyst]

Originally Posted by Think4Yourself

If you can get land with the right soil and climate conditions which is adjacent to one of the main highways then a winery would be an option. The problem is most of the land near US101 is pretty well taken and planted so you'd either have to buy one of those (it won't be cheap) or move to a more remote location which would mean you'd get a hell of a lot fewer customers.

That's not really accurate. I see land for sale along 101 and close to it. There is a piece for sale right now that is 400 acres, 80 is already planted and there is 80 ready and waiting. The price is decent as well.
Plus, many a winery is off the beaten path and do very well when it comes to visitors.

[deckofficer]

Looking for input for the area of Clearlake Oaks (the water keys) to Lucerne. The two small coves west of Glenhaven are of interest to me.

[deckofficer]

I meant east of Glenhaven near Indian Beach resort.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Originally Posted by deckofficer

Looking for input for the area of Clearlake Oaks (the water keys) to Lucerne. The two small coves west of Glenhaven are of interest to me.

See above regarding the Indian reservations and floods.

If you are okay with living in a depressed area that may flood severely, then go for it.

And let me tell you that I am a low income senior, who moved to a low-income area of CA. I chose not to move to the Clearlake area for several reasons.

So, you can take the advice to heart that the area is depressed, as well as depressing, and choose to move there anyway. But, it's my opinion, that asking the same question multiple times will not get you a different answer.

That doesn't mean you won't be happy there anyway. There are a lot of Crescent City haters, and I'm glad I didn't listen to them. So, make your own decision. But, keep in mind that someone like me, who chose to live in Crescent City despite the negative posts about it - would also never live in Clearlake. I used to live in Woodland and Davis and drove around Clearlake many, many times, considering moving there, and no matter how cheap it was, decided I would not be happy there.

That doesn't mean you won't be happy there. But, I think it should make you take the time to be sure about your decision.

[goinglikesixty]

Originally Posted by cation50

Food and gas prices are about the same here as everywhere else. Gas is maybe a couple of cents higher and food is significantly lower. We do have several farmers markets in the area and a cooperative that sells organic produce. The cooperative is much less expensive than produce in a grocery store. The cost of living here is lower than the national average. Entertainment is plentiful, and there is a very fine Lake County orchestra. You can check it out on clearlakeperformingarts.org. There is also a list of events on lakecounty.com. There are loads of good restaurants all around the lake. Some of them you can sit outside over the water. There is one on the water just a few blocks away from me that had an outdoor concert on Saturday. Lakeport has all different types of music in the park next to the lake all summer and it is free. I regularly go to Napa, Santa Rosa and San Francisco. I prefer to live in a rural, small town location with easy access to the city. I like to visit cities, but I don't want to live there. It is 80-90 degress in the summer here, but that is a lot less than the opressive 100+ degree weather in most of California. I moved here from Southern California because the climate is milder. Evening temperatures in the summer average in the 50's at night so it is never hot at night. I open up the windows in the morning to get the cool air and then close them. The house stays cool until all day. I personally think the climate is very mild. However, I did live in Southern California, Virginia, the Carolinas and Georgia where it is much hotter. I guess it is an individual perspective. Marymount also just opened a 4 year campus in Lake county. More jobs and more people are moving in.

Are you still living in the Clearlake area? If so, still happy there?