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Old 01-08-2013, 05:43 PM
 
Location: SW MO
23,593 posts, read 37,460,272 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NatureYogi View Post
* Eureka Springs, Arizona, huh? Will look into it. The liberal little cities within Arizona, New Mexico and Texas are within pretty conservative states though, huh? So maybe California and Oregon make more sense for me to live in. And again, California is the best choice for pretty important reasons including massage laws.
Eureka Springs, ARKANSAS, not AZ. It's in the Ozarks and is gorgeous - almost entirely Victorian with tons of history and culture and comparatively very affordable.
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Old 01-08-2013, 06:15 PM
 
Location: Quimper Peninsula
1,981 posts, read 3,150,011 times
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Petaluma? Occidental? Guerneville?
Calistoga ..... A mecca of spa related activities... Might be something to look into... Warmer too, more Napa valley climate.

Trying to give some other Sonoma county choices... as it seems as if it would be a good fit.. .

Ojai too... The mountains are powerful magic as the SC mountains are..

As far as the coast goes basically wetter and colder north of SC... Drier and warmer south of SC...

Mendo coast is great biking.... Gualala a lost gem few know of. Mendocino sleepy little village, Fort bragg the town center of the Mendo coast...

West county Sonoma will have more of the vibe you are looking for but "in your face" more like SC... Mendo, it is much more subtle, but IMHO more "real" This is were you find the artists in wood to words... About as unhindered by the influences of the "outside" world as it gets... They make their own rules, and the community is super tight and their for each other... (Face to face or phone is the way to make inroads, not the internet)

It only takes a few 100 feet of elevation to get out of the perpetual late summer fog, many people live out of town... Lots of vacation homes, possibly find a vacation home to house sit/caretake at for cheap?

The natural world is epic and inspiring up their, the ocean so wild and powerful the redwoods big and nearly endless, the rivers powerful and plentiful.. Plus public land everywhere! Romantic tourists from the bay area bring their $$ to spend..

Last edited by TrueTimbers; 01-08-2013 at 06:25 PM..
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Old 01-08-2013, 06:23 PM
 
Location: Quimper Peninsula
1,981 posts, read 3,150,011 times
Reputation: 1771
Quote:
Originally Posted by Curmudgeon View Post
Eureka Springs, ARKANSAS, not AZ. It's in the Ozarks and is gorgeous - almost entirely Victorian with tons of history and culture and comparatively very affordable.
Yep a great place. A liberal thinkers mecca to boot.....


IMO some of those "oasis" in conservative states are really really great, and should not be overlooked...
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Old 01-08-2013, 08:36 PM
 
Location: Vancouver, WA
8,213 posts, read 16,685,101 times
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The first thing I thought of was Encinitas which is in SD County. It has many similar qualities to Santa Cruz without as many of the negatives and its a lot warmer. I know you said higher priced areas are out. But I disagree with looking at averages in these nicer areas. I would instead look for deals there. You only need *one* to live in especially for the timeframe you are considering. If you found a nice place in Encinitas I'm pretty sure you would never want to leave. Take a look at these:

Room in Encinitas

beautiful room for rent

Ojai is worth checking out. However its a really small town if you're ok with that. You may get a bit stir crazy, not sure. I don't know how many youngish singles you'll find there. My father-in-law's mother lives there and likes it.

Although there are many smaller, liberal towns north of SC I'm not sure they are much better/less cold/different from what you've already experienced in SC. Many are smallish, more remote and more economically depressed. So 'alternate' forms of income sources become more common such as in the Emerald Triangle. Many cheaper, liberalish places in CA also have greater drug and crime issues.

Other states will definately be more affordable. But its all a trade off with other things like harsher weather, less multicultural environments, foods, etc...

Derek
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Old 01-08-2013, 08:39 PM
 
336 posts, read 411,499 times
Reputation: 131
True Timbers, thanks so much for your help. Hugs.

So Petaluma, Occidental, Guerneville and Calistogaare are in Sonoma County and bit warmer/drier than Santa Cruz? And Mendocino area a bit cooler/wetter than Santa Cruz but sounds very special. Okay, cool.

Ojai/Ventura still sounds promising too.

Good point about not overlooking those little Arizona, Arkansas, New Mexico and Texas areas. Boulder and Asheville still seem great too (actually I've visited Asheville and did like it). Gonna focus most on California though now mainly for its beach and massage laws and ability to get ride there instead of paying for a flight.

Are there many people around 25-35 in these non-college towns though? Wonder that about Ashland too. I'm kinda an old soul and relate well with people in their 40s and 50s, but don't wanna be the only 25-35 yr. old around (I'm 29).

Sonoma County, Mendocino area and Ojai/Ventura are sounding nice enough for me to get married and start a family in even. Santa Rosa/Sebastpol too (though too expensive for now).

I am still curious about Vancouver (Sunshine Coast?) area though.
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Old 01-08-2013, 11:43 PM
 
Location: Temporarily residing on Planet Earth
658 posts, read 1,553,698 times
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that should be easy to find. I want the opposite (except for the beach part).
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Old 01-08-2013, 11:51 PM
 
336 posts, read 411,499 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MtnSurfer View Post
The first thing I thought of was Encinitas which is in SD County. It has many similar qualities to Santa Cruz without as many of the negatives and its a lot warmer.
Never heard of it. "A lot warmer" would be such a relief. Decent amount of rooms in shared homes for $560-700 on Craigslist in Encinitas. I'm honestly a little intimidated by Southern California cause of all the "people act fake and obsessed with image" stereotypes I've heard (I'm just a sorta casual person, barely wear any makeup, etc.), but I totally don't mean that rude and have never been there. What does Encinitas have in common with Santa Cruz to you?

Quote:
Originally Posted by MtnSurfer View Post
Ojai is worth checking out. However its a really small town if you're ok with that. You may get a bit stir crazy, not sure. I don't know how many youngish singles you'll find there.
Yep that's what I'm wondering about Ojai and also Sonoma County, Mendocino, Ashland, etc. Any of these places would be a wonderful place to spend 3-5 months I'm sure, but having friends and dates who are 25-35 instead of just older, and being within 1.5 miles of yoga, dance, farmer's markets, theaters and spiritual events (in addition to nature) feels pretty crucial. Plus if I could be comfy eventually starting a family there, then all the better. (Though returning to Santa Cruz or the Santa Cruz mountains to start a family could work well I guess as I'd have more $ by then and have the travel bug more out of my system.)

Quote:
Originally Posted by MtnSurfer View Post
Although there are many smaller, liberal towns north of SC I'm not sure they are much better/less cold/different from what you've already experienced in SC. Many are smallish, more remote and more economically depressed. So 'alternate' forms of income sources become more common such as in the Emerald Triangle. Many cheaper, liberalish places in CA also have greater drug and crime issues.
Similar culture and nature to Santa Cruz is fine (doesn't need to be "better"), kinda depressed economy is pretty fine, remote is okay for now I guess, but don't want more drugs/crime or too, too much colder than Santa Cruz. So if the weather won't bug me too much, Arcata (or the even safer Trinity by it) is still a very good bet.

I know I'm being pretty choosy and wordy here, folks. Thanks for bearing with me.
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Old 01-09-2013, 01:41 AM
 
336 posts, read 411,499 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NatureYogi View Post
So Petaluma, Occidental, Guerneville and Calistogaare are in Sonoma County and bit warmer/drier than Santa Cruz?
Never mind, was confused. Now I see now they're north of Santa Cruz so are probably the same temperature or a bit cooler/wetter.
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Old 01-09-2013, 03:33 AM
 
Location: Where they serve real ale.
7,242 posts, read 7,903,542 times
Reputation: 3497
"I want the sun, the moon, and the stars... Oh, but I don't want to pay for it."
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Old 01-09-2013, 03:40 AM
 
336 posts, read 411,499 times
Reputation: 131
Quote:
Originally Posted by Think4Yourself View Post
"I want the sun, the moon, and the stars... Oh, but I don't want to pay for it."
I don't think it's that unrealistic what I'm looking for. Getting pretty close to a good enough fit for sure
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