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Old 02-04-2012, 11:47 AM
 
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My wife and I currently live in Sacramento with our newborn daughter and a couple cats. We rent and actually have a pretty damn nice deal for our 2 bdrm townhouse. We are progressive and have open minds but couldn't care less about politics.

We've lived in the Sacramento area our whole lives. Wife grew up in El Dorado county, and I lived in the same house until I was 22. That year we both moved to Humboldt county (city of Arcata near Eureka) for school at HSU. We fell in love. We still call it home even though we moved back to Sacramento 4 years ago to assist aging family members who have now passed. My family is still very present in Sacramento.

It isn't that we hate it here but Sac has never felt like home. You'd think a place you've lived your whole life would but it just doesn't. The Humboldt area on the other hand, we both cry just thinking about it...

It's so isolated, I know, the jobs aren't great, but does anyone have experience living in Humboldt or in a similar place in California at 29+ years old? Don't worry about how we'll live, my wife is a certified teacher with a masters in education and my trade is wherever I can get an internet connection (give or take a couple drives to San Francisco a year). We love the outdoors and the coast. Redwoods are a big plus too but in general we would be happy in a place that has pretty trees everywhere and fun outdoors places for casual treks and longer ones too. So if you have suggestions you think would be better we would love to hear them.

Last edited by dreamsoftalltrees; 02-04-2012 at 11:47 AM.. Reason: wrote few instead of "couple" before cats. We only have 2
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Old 02-04-2012, 11:49 AM
 
Location: The High Seas
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Check out the southern Oregon coast. The redwoods pretty much end around Brookings, but the coastline there is spectacular and uncrowded.
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Old 02-04-2012, 11:57 AM
 
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Oregon has been in our minds as well. Unfortunately we've found that Oregon hates California teachers and it is hard to go through the hoops to obtain a teaching credential there, even if you already have one from another state. 6months to a year just to start looking for work besides subbing.

Are those places more isolated than Humboldt? We don't mind some isolation but would like to avoid places more isolated than the Humboldt area.
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Old 02-04-2012, 12:01 PM
 
Location: Santa Cruz, CA
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If you both cry thinking about the Humboldt area, don't you think that's a really good indication that it's where you want and need to be?
"Home is where the Heart is".
It sounds like it's there?
Am i missing something?
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Old 02-04-2012, 12:12 PM
 
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You're absolutely right, I guess the main issue is that it's a small area so I'm unsure of the teaching opportunities for my wife. We're in love with the "idea" of that place and were interested in seeing if there are other places in California with a similar feel but perhaps a little closer than 3-5 hours to the nearest big/bigger city/airport than Eureka. We were also students when we lived there and know it can be a bit different as working adults.

Nothing is a deal breaker though, we might well consider moving back there. Just exploring options. Sometimes I feel like Sacramento is so close to a lot of great places but the attitude/"culture" of the area leaves much to be desired. In fact I've always said the best part about living in Sacramento is taking an hour and a half drive away from it. Unfortunately the attitudes I dislike in Sac don't really improve as you go east. A lot of the areas in/around the outdoors in the sierra seem dominated by certain mindsets we don't care to be around.

Edit: Just to add some more info about where we've traveled and enjoyed ourselves. We really liked our trips to Monterrey/Carmel south of the bay and Bodega Bay/Mendocino north of it. We just haven't been to those places more than a couple times and have no idea what living there is like.
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Old 02-04-2012, 12:28 PM
 
Location: Mokelumne Hill, CA & El Pescadero, BCS MX.
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Sierra Foothills at an elevation higher than 3500'
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Old 02-04-2012, 12:50 PM
 
Location: Pacifica, CA
297 posts, read 764,044 times
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Default Santa Cruz

You might want to check the small towns in the Santa Cruz area; Ben Lomand, Felton, Boulder Creek, etc. They're small mountain towns in the redwoods and also close to the coast. Since they're close to Santa Cruz, and not really that far from Monterey or San Jose, there are of course a lot more employment opportunities then Humboldt.
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Old 02-04-2012, 01:10 PM
 
Location: Santa Cruz, CA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dreamsoftalltrees View Post
You're absolutely right, I guess the main issue is that it's a small area so I'm unsure of the teaching opportunities for my wife. We're in love with the "idea" of that place and were interested in seeing if there are other places in California with a similar feel but perhaps a little closer than 3-5 hours to the nearest big/bigger city/airport than Eureka. We were also students when we lived there and know it can be a bit different as working adults.

Nothing is a deal breaker though, we might well consider moving back there. Just exploring options. Sometimes I feel like Sacramento is so close to a lot of great places but the attitude/"culture" of the area leaves much to be desired. In fact I've always said the best part about living in Sacramento is taking an hour and a half drive away from it. Unfortunately the attitudes I dislike in Sac don't really improve as you go east. A lot of the areas in/around the outdoors in the sierra seem dominated by certain mindsets we don't care to be around.

Edit: Just to add some more info about where we've traveled and enjoyed ourselves. We really liked our trips to Monterrey/Carmel south of the bay and Bodega Bay/Mendocino north of it. We just haven't been to those places more than a couple times and have no idea what living there is like.
To echo what thecooler posted:
Communities in Santa Cruz county (not necessarily [and probably not] S.C. proper) is another option but like Carmel / Monerey / Pacific Grove housing is very expensive.
And there's the employment issue.
S.C. county will provide you with ocean, redwoods, hiking, mtn. biking, and an excellent bus system (for what that' worth)
One of the things i like so much about the county is that you can live in rural areas (if that's what you want) but be very close to town(s) and also S.F. is relatively close (2 hours give or take) and San Jose is very close (about 35 - 40 minutes depending on where you are in the county).
Commuter traffic to and from San Jose is brutal however.
And S.C. to Sacramento is about 2 1/2 hours.

Santa Cruz County, California - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Old 02-04-2012, 01:25 PM
 
Location: Vancouver, WA
8,178 posts, read 16,581,706 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dreamsoftalltrees View Post
You're absolutely right, I guess the main issue is that it's a small area so I'm unsure of the teaching opportunities for my wife. We're in love with the "idea" of that place and were interested in seeing if there are other places in California with a similar feel but perhaps a little closer than 3-5 hours to the nearest big/bigger city/airport than Eureka...
Edit: Just to add some more info about where we've traveled and enjoyed ourselves. We really liked our trips to Monterrey/Carmel south of the bay and Bodega Bay/Mendocino north of it. We just haven't been to those places more than a couple times and have no idea what living there is like.
Anywhere from Carmel to the towns around Santa Rosa would be worth checking out. It will boil down to the reality of finding a teaching job in the current ecomony. I think you would enjoy most of these areas.

Monterey/Carmel and the Santa Cruz areas may have the most work prospects. However the economy hasn't recovered yet.

Most of the coastal towns north of the bay are very, very small. Consequently you will find more work in Santa Rosa which is only ~ 20 minutes to the coast. Take a look at Petaluma and its surrounds as well.

I'm not quite sure what you mean by not liking the way ppl think in/around Sac though. While on the other hand saying you don't care about politics. Coastal Central and NorCal will have a different vibe than Sac.

Derek
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Old 02-04-2012, 02:00 PM
 
Location: Santa Cruz, CA
2,190 posts, read 6,831,302 times
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I don't know but maybe he feels / thinks similar to the way i do?
I like to be around liberal, open and tolerant people but i don't like to be involved in politics local or otherwise.
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