Scenic, cheapish town less than an hour from a major city? (San Francisco: fit in, apartment)

[waywardphilosopher]

Hi everyone,

I'm looking to move to a quiet town that's 30-60 mins away from a major city - preferably SD, LA, or SF - but would also consider Sacramento. I'm looking for a place with beautiful scenery where I can rent a 600 or 700 sf apartment for less than $1500 -- but the less expensive, the better. I like mountains, trees, and the ocean (though being close to the ocean is not a necessity). The other important factors are that it be quiet, safe, and liberal (or at least not less liberal/racially diverse than, say, Orange County beach cities). Proximity to great shaded hiking / running trails would also be a big plus.

Any ideas would be appreciated. Thank you!

[bhcompy]

You might find a place near enough to Sacramento or Fresno(like, say, Oakhurst), but it's most likely going to be lily-white.

[MIKEETC]

I like the Temecula area. That seems nice.

[i don't live there; I just like driving through]

[nullgeo]

Guerneville
Monte Rio
Occidental
Sebastopol

All in the Russian River area west of 101
All within half hour - 40 minutes of ocean and Tomales Bay
All within 90 minutes (or less) to San Francisco
All in or within minutes of extensive hiking in redwood forests for cool green
All liberal to very liberal
All quiet
All pretty damn safe

[Garden gal]

Temecula is not liberal. It is pretty conservative. What about a place in SD county like Alpine, or Julian? Don't know how liberal those places are though.

[CarawayDJ]

Originally Posted by Garden gal

Temecula is not liberal. It is pretty conservative. What about a place in SD county like Alpine, or Julian? Don't know how liberal those places are though.

Hey, don't discourage the OP from Temecula. It might be good for the morale of our two OWS protesters you sometimes see by the duck pond. Those poor souls go the whole day without hearing anyone beep their horns in support. You only move to Temecula if you are looking for a relatively inexpensive place that is safe, has good schools, family friendly, people friendly, 30+ wineries....

[darkeconomist]

Petaluma, north of San Fran.

[Tis himself]

Move to Hawaii its so liberal its like another country the only thing american is the money oh yeah they speak English and have union jack on the state flag, school system stinks also , people are lazy, and generaly liberal lot of welfare some rich neighborhoods are safe usually gated sorta like south africa after apartheid you may fit in just fine , but bring food stamps, milk is 8.50 a gal. pot is very $$$$$$$

[user_id]

Though it would be in the upper range of your budget, Ventura fits your bill. Its a beach city, there are numerous hiking options within a 20 mile radius, its definitely more liberal than Orange county, its relatively safe, the drive to LA is around 40 minutes and downtown LA is around 60 minutes (without traffic).

The Conojo Valley can work as well, better local hiking, safer and closer to LA...but more expensive. No ocean (you can hike to it with 3~5 hours though!) and its more conservative.....rich people conservative. Landscape in the Conojo Valley is a bit unique for Southern California as well, a lot of trees especially old oaks. Heck, Thousand Oaks even makes builders build around old oaks....

[MovingAloha]

Originally Posted by Tis himself

Move to Hawaii its so liberal its like another country the only thing american is the money oh yeah they speak English and have union jack on the state flag, school system stinks also , people are lazy, and generaly liberal lot of welfare some rich neighborhoods are safe usually gated sorta like south africa after apartheid you may fit in just fine , but bring food stamps, milk is 8.50 a gal. pot is very $$$$$$$

You are full of the brown oozy stuff!!

I would recommend North as in North of San Francisco, my favorites are Napa and Sonoma. Also Saint Helena, Calistoga, Santa Rosa areas are beautiful. In a more Central California location, The Big Sur area is beautiful, Santa Cruz is very nice as well and is between Monterey and San Francisco.