Best Place for Former Californians to Retire To (Oakland, Williams: vacation home, schools)

[SunnyTXsmile]

Originally Posted by .highnlite

Well, I was a Greek, quite a long time ago. but that is a whole story all its own.
I do think the Greek Orthodox makes much more sense than Roman Catholic.

I have a multiplicity of Greece stories, one of my favorite countries. As I wrote once in a very overly romantic novel; "Everything we are, the way we think, the very way we conceive our being, we owe to the Greeks."

Last time I was in Greece, we went to Olympia, I raced my daughter on the same grassy track that the ancient Olympians ran on. No matter what else ever happens in our lives, we will share that experience.

As far as needing care? I hope to feed coyotes some day.

Well, when I die
Take my saddle from the wall
Put it on my pony
And lead him from his stall

Tie my bones to his back
Turn our faces to the west
And we'll ride the mountains
That we like the best

You'll have to tell them to me some time.

Aww, such a special and sweet memory.

[Curmudgeon]

"Te me kangaroo down, Mates
Tie me kangaroo down..."

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by Leonard64

Hi,

The person was looking for regular associates in going to dinner, etc, who were not trying to convert them. My Mormon neighbors when I lived in ID were great people BUT if you did not join them, you were an outsider when it came to any significant association. I understand their reasoning, just was pointing out the problem the OP was having which required looking for non Mormon friends in general.

My experience is limited... it was nice to be invited to weddings and things like BBQ's even though I'm not Mormon...

Some think I am because I don't smoke or drink

One of the quickest ways to join a community seems to be through church, children or work... in that order... work can be things like volunteering.

A friend in the Navy didn't know a soul when he was stationed at Alameda Naval Air a few years back... he started to volunteer at the local animal shelter and met his future bride who was also a volunteer... they have lived all over since... Santa Barbara, Washington DC, and Japan and now have decided to retire in California... Roseville to be exact.

[Sanarissia]

Bakerone,
I have a suggestion for you: Southern Oregon. Many Californians retire there, so you would not be out of place. There are several small cities, but outside the cities, the character is very rural/forested. Medford is kind of a retirement mecca, with many social activities particularly targeted for seniors to meet. It also has a large medical center. Ashland is a small cultural mecca, with the Shakespeare festival (which has spawned other theater and music venues) and excellent restaurants. The coast is an hour or two away. You easily could live surrounded only by horses and owls, yet still spend an evening with friends at dinner and a show. It is in the Agate Desert, so it does get cold and some snow in the middle of winter (but not too extreme) and hot in July/August, but the rest of the year, the weather is mild. I think income taxes are higher than in Idaho, but there is no sales tax.

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by Sanarissia

Bakerone,
I have a suggestion for you: Southern Oregon. Many Californians retire there, so you would not be out of place. There are several small cities, but outside the cities, the character is very rural/forested. Medford is kind of a retirement mecca, with many social activities particularly targeted for seniors to meet. It also has a large medical center. Ashland is a small cultural mecca, with the Shakespeare festival (which has spawned other theater and music venues) and excellent restaurants. The coast is an hour or two away. You easily could live surrounded only by horses and owls, yet still spend an evening with friends at dinner and a show. It is in the Agate Desert, so it does get cold and some snow in the middle of winter (but not too extreme) and hot in July/August, but the rest of the year, the weather is mild. I think income taxes are higher than in Idaho, but there is no sales tax.

I have to chuckle. Retire to Oregon! Oh, by the way, it's full of Californians. So how long before it becomes another California and is Californicated by the masses streaming north across the border? It seems to me it would only be a matter of time before the problems one was trying to escape showed up right and their midst. The housing prices have already increased measurably so what will happen next?

[Fontucky]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

Oh, by the way, it's full of Californians.

That's automatically a bad thing?

[.highnlite]

Originally Posted by mountainrose

You are correct, and in fact historically much of Western NC didn't consider itself the South, but rather "Mountain."

One of my cousin's lives outside of Boone, her house/barn/doghouse sits on a steep slope up a dirt track, she has 11 or 12 dogs, and appears to be a complete Appalachian hillbilly, if you saw her, you would have a hard time accepting that she has a Masters degree from U of Virginia. I done got cousins in Hendersonville, and Asheville, and all over North Carolina, as my uncle used to say, the ****** family are as thick as buzzards in a tree. My mother is from North Carolina. She married and moved to California in 1947, and soon there after, refused to go to NC in the summer. She got spoiled living on the coast of CA.

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by Fontucky

That's automatically a bad thing?

Not at all; especially if you love California but don't want to live there???

[SunnyTXsmile]

Originally Posted by .highnlite

One of my cousin's lives outside of Boone, her house/barn/doghouse sits on a steep slope up a dirt track, she has 11 or 12 dogs, and appears to be a complete Appalachian hillbilly, if you saw her, you would have a hard time accepting that she has a Masters degree from U of Virginia. I done got cousins in Hendersonville, and Asheville, and all over North Carolina, as my uncle used to say, the ****** family are as thick as buzzards in a tree. My mother is from North Carolina. She married and moved to California in 1947, and soon there after, refused to go to NC in the summer. She got spoiled living on the coast of CA.

I think I would love your cousin. Down to earth, yet educated (and a dog lover to boot)!

[.highnlite]

She is a funny girl, years ago she was married to a guy, they had one of those fine old plantation homes outside of Williamston, he is a tobacco farmer. They went to town, left the waffle iron on, burned the house down. without skipping a beat, they moved into the barn, made half of it home, and the other half the garage for his NASCAR race car.