Looking for a good all-around town/city... (San Jose, Sacramento: ski resorts, real estate)

[FlameofOsiris]

Hello to all and I would like to thank everyone in advance for any help that they might offer me. I'm 18 years old and am looking for a place for my family (Mom, dad, sister who's 21, and little brother who's 3) to move to. I'll give you guys some background information just to give you an idea of what we're coming from and what we might be looking for. We currently reside on the border of Brooklyn and Queens in NYC. We would like somewhere with access to good snowboarding and nice beaches if possible. Not too hot in the summer with nice seasons. Snow is definitely a plus. My dad is an engineer and makes 100k a year and my mom is a teacher who makes 50k a year. We own a building here and it also gives us a decent income of a little more than 40k. (Not sure if salaries matter but this might help to assess a price range.) My sister is graduating college this year and I'm in my first year, so I'm hoping for a good nearby college that offers civil/mechanical engineering, and a good job market. A town that needs engineers and teachers (Not expecting for you to look this up for me, just if you know one.) would be preferable. We would like somewhere that offers a lot within a 40 minute drive such as nice restaurants, places to shop, and places to just do stuff such as movie theaters. I don't think car insurance should be an issue considering insurance here in the city is very high compared to places directly outside the cities borders. Like I said something all around in general. I think NorCal is what I'm looking for. I found a nice house in Truckee that seems to be a very good deal but I don't know what real estate in Northern California is like either. NYC real estate is very high and you need to be willing to spend $650k+ for something DECENT, and I would say upwards of $800k for something nice and not necessarily amazing. My dad wants some land and is not looking for anything attached because he's sick of living in an apartment and wants something that's pretty much on the other side of the spectrum.

REALTOR.com: Find a Home - Listing Detail

How much does it snow around Tahoe? Are there better places to live? How about a good school district for my toddler brother? Are the cops stingy like here in NY? (Will they give you a ticket for going 15 over on an empty highway in the middle of the night with no one in sight?) I'm terribly sorry if I seem demanding but I basically do all the research on the things that my family wants to buy/invest in (Vehicles, consumer electronics, etc...) and it's very hard to compile a list of these things especially when I know nothing of the west coast. Am I overlooking some things? What else should I be considering? Is California not the place to be looking for a nice well-rounded town with friendly people? I'm only asking this because I was also considering looking into Oregon and/or Washington. I'm not looking for something in the mid-west because we like the idea of living somewhat near the ocean. We're basically getting sick of the NY lifestyle and are ready for something more outdoorsy. I hope that I didn't provide too much information regarding what we're looking for. If you have any questions please feel free to ask because I'll be looking at this thread pretty often. Thanks again.

-Robert M.-

[FlameofOsiris]

REALTOR.com: Find a Home - Listing Detail

I apologize for the link not working in my previous post so here it is again. Another thing I forgot to add was for there not to be rampant crime and if possible, good surfing within a 3 hour drive. (Considering that I want to live where there is snow and good ski resorts nearby.) Btw copy and paste the link from http until 1082464373&fhv=1. And once again I apologize for the bad link.

-Robert M.-

[jdavid93225]

The Truckee area may be a good fit with what you're looking for as far as climate goes. It does get a fair amount of snow, and the summers are very mild compared to other parts of California. There isn't a whole lot there, though, so finding work, as well as a college, might be somewhat difficult.

You will probably find that the towns near Sacramento are preferable, due to the job market and the proximity to colleges. I think with all the things you are looking for, the Sacramento area would have a lot to offer. It is fairly close to the Pacific Ocean, and also has the Sacramento and American Rivers so you can get your water fix (but not your surfing fix) without having to drive all the way to the ocean. The ski areas around Lake Tahoe are within one to two hours drive time. The biggest drawback to being in Sacramento is the heat in the summer. It does get hot. That's why I was suggesting the nearby "foothill" communities. Check out places like Auburn, Pollock Pines, and Placerville. They are a little higher, and thus a little cooler, than Sacramento. They are also close enough that you can commute into Sacramento, if needed.

Good luck on your search.

[decemberbaby]

As I was reading your post I was thinking, Tahoe but the school thing I would look into. Also, you might want to look into the Silicon Valley(around San Jose). There's good housing,shopping,movies,child activities,amusement parks, and good schools. Nearby we have a couple colleges and it's a couple hours to the snow area or less than an hour to the nearest beach. I just bought my first home for under $500,000. but it was a fixer upper. Average home starts at about$610,000 to $650,000. But you shouldn't have to do much to it at that cost. Also, The Fremont-San Jose area has a lot of engineer oppertunities. Check it out!

[OutOfSoCal]

I would think central Cali sound best from what you have posted. My first thought was Colorado with the exception of the ocean. its very outdoosy mild summers clean friendly and far less expensive.
You could come to So Cal and get mountains and beach each an hour away but the heat in the summers is almost unbearable. You could look at HuntingBeach them make a weekend of the boarding about 2 hours away and the beach is 5 mins away