Bike-friendly, New Agey, liberal, beachy/foresty town with $400/month rooms? (San Jose: 2013, to rent)

[NatureYogi]

This website is so fun! So many details and comparisons about cities. Even though all the perspectives are subjective I still find it really helpful. Thanks!

So I'm 29, female, unmarried, no kids. I've lived here in Santa Cruz, California, for about a year and a half. I want to move somewhere else now.

There's lots I love about Santa Cruz. I really love earth-friendliness, organic and raw vegan food, the beach, hiking, free-spirited creative expression, casual and friendly and open-minded people who aren't as workaholic or rich as say Silicon Valley or DC, holistic wellness, healers, New Agey spirituality, kirtans, yoga, ecstatic dance, etc. That stuff is the norm here. My jobs (massage, nutrition, space decluttering, etc.) are the kinda thing that's popular here (practically everyone does massage here it seems!). So I feel way more "at home" and "accepted" here than I ever did in Maryland (though Takoma Park, Maryland, was a nice culture), DC or Chicago. And so love the milder weather and smaller, slower pace.

My being totally enamored with Santa Cruz is now fading enough that I do actually notice its downside too though. For example: cost of living is frustratingly high, jobs very hard to get, it's the heroin capitol of California, sorta cheesy-touristy feel in areas like the Boardwalk and Capitola, kinda trashy-shady feel in areas like Beach Flats and Ocean Street, so many homeless and druggies, overly white, sometimes not as intellectual or cultured as I'd like, sorta afraid if I raised kids here they'd just get stoned all day.

But let's not go into that too much here. There's a whole thread called "Santa Cruz still sucks" where people bash it pretty harshly. Read/post there if you want. And yes, I know every city has some crime, some homeless, some drugs, and isn't perfect. That's okay. Just sayin' I think I now have a more realistic and balanced perspective on Santa Cruz than when I first arrived here starry-eyed from the East Coast. It's been a healing paradise in many ways for me and I'm grateful. But realities like rent cost and being uncertain I'd wanna raise a family here, etc., are on my mind.

Now I'd like to move somewhere else for at least 3-5 months to have a little adventure, explore my options, and spend less on rent.

Rent here in the city of Santa Cruz is about $750-$1,000ish/month for a studio or for a room in someone's home. Plus security deposit is at least one month's rent but sometimes is more than that. I'm realizing there are other great cities with similar Santa Cruz perks where rent is more like $300/month. Saving $450-$700/month for 3 months or so really adds up!

7 things I'm looking for in a new city:

1) RENT: Pretty easy to rent a safe, comfy studio, 1-bedroom, or room in shared home (NOT a shared room like all of Berkeley seems to do!!) for under $500/month.

2) JOBS: I have some internet-based jobs I can do from anywhere with my laptop and phone, so am not too worried about depressed and overly competitive economies. I did try a long time to get a side-job here in Santa Cruz (server, bookstore, grocery store, whatever) but even with a great resume and polished interviews found it too hard so gave up. And I realize that's the situation in many other cities right now. That's okay. Though I do like living in cities with paying Swedish-Reiki massage clients and space decluttering clients (which I figure are in any city but especially cities where holistic/alternative self-care is popular). I can adjust my rates to be appropriate for the city.

3) CULTURE: New Agey, liberal, friendly, earth-friendly/sustainable, free-spirited/expressive, nature-loving, holistic, alternative sorta culture...the stuff I've already mentioned above that I'm into. Using the word "hippie" maybe isn't too helpful here since I've seen that spark discussions/debates on this forum about weed and what a "real hippie" is or isn't and pros/cons of being liberal and the homeless, etc. I don't really want people going into all that here, please. What I'm looking for is what I've described, whether someone would label that "hippie" or not. Also, I don't personally use drugs or alcohol anymore so this is so not about me wanting a city with great weed. Cities where my sorta interests are popular seem to always have lots of weed and other drugs in them. I don't love that but am also used to it. It's okay.

4) WEATHER/GEOGRAPHY: Santa Cruz has very nice, beachy summer weather. Its rainy, overcast, snowless fall/winter is okay (beats Chicago's and DC's!!!), though I so, so, so prefer summer. I don't really want to live anywhere with more rain, fog, snow or cold than Santa Cruz. The hotter the better. I adore that both beaches and beautiful Redwood forest hikes are within 3 miles (I'm a 15-minute bike ride from the beach). I'm hesitant to live further than 3 miles from a nice beach, and being within 3 miles of beautiful forest is almost as important to me. I do not want to live Midwest or East Coast (except for some exceptions like maybe Colorado, North Carolina or Florida).

5) CALIFORNIA: I'm open to living outside California, especially if it's just for 3-5 months. But California is best because for any other state I'd have to get more massage training before I can legally offer paid massage. I can't yet afford more massage training. Having to turn down potential paying massage clients would really suck. But just 3-5 months of that could be worth the sacrifice for the right city. (I'd still do massage-for-massage trades to keep my massage skills fresh.) California is also where Big Sur, Oakland/Berkeley ecstatic dance and contact improv, Harbin Hot Springs, Yosemite and many of my friends are.

6) LONG-TERM: Feels less overwhelming to commit to just 3-5 months somewhere for now. But I don't necessarily want to keep moving to a new city each year. Would love to be married with kid(s) and settled in a city that feels really right by age 36. It's 2013 and I'm 29. So finding a city that I could commit to and feel comfy raising a family in for 5 years or so would be great. Plus the longer I stay in a city the more massage/decluttering/nutrition regular clients I get. It may take some little 6-month stints in various little "hippie" towns to find my fit though.

7) BIKE-FRIENDLY: Ideally all of these within 1.5 miles (safer, less steep and prettier the bike ride the better, and bike co-ops helpful): farmer's market, yoga studio, ecstatic dance, beach, bike/hike/run trail

IN CONCLUSION:
Based on my criteria, reading City-Data posts and asking around... these could be good fits:
* Arcata, California
* Big Sur, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Carmel (beautiful but would they feel too boring/rich/old?)
* Ashland, Oregon (California is better though...and is beach too far away?)
* Mr. Shasta, California (so spiritual, yay... but is it bike-friendly, etc.?)
* San Luis Obispo (too conservative?)
* Other nearby cities such as Sebastapol or Santa Rosa? (don't know much about them)
* Asheville, North Carolina
* Austin, Texas (is it bike-friendly enough?)
* Boulder, Colorado (but is it too cold?)
* Crestone, Colorado (sounds very special for spiritual people and healers but maybe for a visit not to live there??)
* Hawaii (sounds amazing but is cost of living too high and high-speed wifi internet hard to find, etc.?)

Thanks for reading!!! Eagerly awaiting your opinions!!!

[Social Democrat]

Have you checked out Napa? I think you would find Arcata too wet and cold - and Boulder CO would be way too cold in the winter.
I'll let others chime in on the other cities you list, good luck with your search!

[NatureYogi]

Isn't Napa a sort of wealthier, fancier, conservative kinda city? Thought I'd heard that.

[NatureYogi]

I do love the sun! Curious about Ojai and Santa Barbara for example. Afraid if I go too far south it'll feel too "L.A." like. I just don't think I'm a very L.A. sorta girl from what I've heard (I'm very casual, not as into image, value super genuine and kind people, etc.).

[Social Democrat]

I suggested Napa as more of a commercial base for you, lots of people like to be spolied at the spas!
Ojai is kinda out in country and basically kind of quite. SB is very expensive and doesn't seem to embody much of what you are looking for.
Is LA just too much sprawl? There are so many areas here that may fit a lot of what you are looking for - just ignore the posers like the rest of us do!

[nightlysparrow]

Originally Posted by NatureYogi

* Arcata, California Way more rainy, foggy and chilly than SC.
* Big Sur, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Carmel doubt you can afford

* Mr. Shasta, California middle of nowhere, full winter
* San Luis Obispo (too conservative?) Yes

* Boulder, Colorado altitude effects, clannish, full winter

* Hawaii can't afford

Suggest in CA: Ventura, Topanga Canyon, Ojai
Out of state: Madison, WI

[NatureYogi]

LOVE how responsive this forum is!!! Thank you!!!

Social Democrat: Good point about Napa, but for the next 5 months living in a fairly like-minded New Agey liberal casual outdoorsy yogi-healer sorta culture is more important to me than living somewhere with lots of well-paying massage/nutrition clients (otherwise I'd just move over to say San Jose). Which L.A. areas are you thinking of for me? Yes sprawling is very bad when you don't own a car and hate pollution, and don't resonate with L.A. stereotypes! Have never heard of L.A. as having any particularly New Age, crunchy parts with cheap rent... but please tell me if I'm wrong!

nightlysparrow: Would love to hear more about Ventura, Topanga Canyon and (even if kinda remote/quiet) Ojai. Wouldn't Madison be cold and snowy? I've heard Hawaii can be cheap with internet job, working on farms and (if it sits well with you) easily getting $300/month in food stamps.

Would Arizona (Tempe, Flagstaff, Sedona, etc.) or New Mexico (Santa Fe, etc.) fit me well? What about Mendocino area stuff... bike-friendly enough?

[Curmudgeon]

Mendocino sounds almost ideal for you but it's small. The headlands are spectacular.

[nightlysparrow]

Originally Posted by NatureYogi

nightlysparrow: Would love to hear more about Ventura, Topanga Canyon and (even if kinda remote/quiet) Ojai. Wouldn't Madison be cold and snowy? I've heard Hawaii can be cheap with internet job, working on farms and (if it sits well with you) easily getting $300/month in food stamps.

Madison is cold and snowy, but otherwise meets all criteria.

Ojai: a valley up in the hills above Ventura. A number of Hollywood people have ranches outside of town, but in-town is more middle class. Active New Age vibe. SoCal hot in summer sometimes. Can drive down to Ventura for city action. Has active festivals, arty. Bike fine.

Ventura: One of the last affordable beach towns left. Mix of incomes. Some crime, but generally safe. Great assortment of shopping choices. Not primarily New Age-y but is well tolerated. The county seat. Seacoast weather, but warmer than SC. Bicycles OK. No high-rise buildings, has Victorian and Spanish architecture.

Topanga: In LA County, in a canyon between the Valley and the beach, so can drive either way. Not so good for biking. Access to LA means access to all amenities, airport, etc. Completely wooded. Hippie enclave since the 60's. The most city location, but close to wealthy areas that can afford Reiki, etc. LA weather. Funky, but with some yuppie rich, too.

Hawaii: WOOF-ing in Hawaii possible (not on Oahu), but internet access poor on those remote farms (1st hand knowledge of this). Need to establish residency for food stamps, but WOOF jobs are temporary and not stable. Some WOOF employers work you all day, so there goes Hawaii fun.

[NatureYogi]

Nice. Will check out rent prices for Ojai, Ventura and Topanga and gather a little more info on them. Well actually if Topanga is "not so good for biking" that doesn't work right now. I don't plan on being able to afford a car anytime soon.

Several synchronicities are pointing me towards Arcata or Austin... but very open and still undecided.