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Old 06-26-2013, 09:48 AM
 
6 posts, read 6,342 times
Reputation: 10

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Hello everyone, I want to start by saying thank you for the help.

My wife and I are from Denver/Boulder area and are moving to California. I'm flexible with where we live but dream is finding something that would allow me to combine my enthusiasm for hiking in the mountains with my desire to live close to an ocean area that is swim-able (I'm ok with weatsuits ). My preference would be for the ocean to be close-ish (I've no illusions of beach front) and mountains to be within driving distance (less than 2 hours). They don't have to be huge mountains (I can get that when I come back to Boulder to visit family), just somewhere I can enjoy the outdoors and tramp around through the woods/hills. My wife and I both enjoy boating, scuba, snorkeling, swimming, hiking, rafting, martial arts, competitive shooting and jet skiing. I'm a volunteer on our County's Mtn Rescue team, and in the past I've worked fire rescue and ocean rescue and would like to volunteer where we move. We also enjoy cooking and eating out (ethnic restaurants/international cuisine) I would love a place that has a large yard as we have an outdoor kitchen here. I'm also looking to purchase some unused land within an hour driving distance (something like 25-50 acres) in a more rural area.

About us: We have no children. We have aspirations for getting a dog My wife works in law enforcement and her salary is ~50k/yr (though similar positions in CA look like they are 50-70k). I will be making 250k/year, this is likely to increase by ~50% over 10 years...though its possible it could increase more than that. We currently have 100k saved up for down payment and are planning on staying in a small apt. for 6 months or longer to save more and find the perfect spot. Our philosophy in life is that we both enjoy our work immensely, however, quality of life outside of work with each other is paramount.

Places we've been looking (online): San Diego, Carlsbad, and Santa Barbara County in Southern California. Monterey/Santa Cruz region in Central/Northern California. We didn't look much further north of that as we desire a mild climate and nice water. I've visited friends in Carmel and I've visited San Diego about a dozen times, otherwise my only other experience in CA is business trips to LA. From that I know I'd like to avoid LA .

Thank you for your thoughts.
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Old 06-26-2013, 09:55 AM
 
Location: Las Flores, Orange County, CA
26,329 posts, read 93,729,143 times
Reputation: 17831
Do you work at home? If not, where would you be working?
What is your expected housing budget when it is time to purchase?
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Old 06-26-2013, 10:52 AM
 
6 posts, read 6,342 times
Reputation: 10
I work in the medical profession. ~2 days/week in hospital, variable meetings, work from home 2-3 days/week. From colleagues in California I don't anticipate difficulty finding a position within 45 min drive of the areas listed. My wife is open to working in any department that is hiring lateral transfers (most CA depts do year round).

I'm anticipating housing price range of 800k-1.5m.
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Old 06-26-2013, 11:12 AM
 
Location: Columbia, California
6,664 posts, read 30,603,599 times
Reputation: 5184
Diving up and down the state I find I like the northern beaches better. And abalone is legal game up there. North of the bay you can find very reasonable property close to the beach. Mendocino will give you very moderate temps thru the year, hottest days in August Sept might reach 78.
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Old 06-26-2013, 11:25 AM
 
6 posts, read 6,342 times
Reputation: 10
I haven't looked in that area...it might be too far from a population center; I suppose something close to Santa Rosa could be possible though I'd have to re-investigate job possibilities. Pictures look beautiful.
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Old 06-26-2013, 12:10 PM
 
Location: California
37,126 posts, read 42,189,292 times
Reputation: 34998
You really have to nail down the job first because you are all over the map and the base location means everything. It's really too huge of a state to talk details at this point.

I understand you don't think there will be a problem job wise anywhere you want but nothing is sure until it's sure and even then it's not. It doesn't matter WHAT you do for a living.

Good luck!
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Old 06-26-2013, 12:30 PM
 
2,269 posts, read 7,330,880 times
Reputation: 1839
You should look into San Luis Obispo County.
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Old 06-26-2013, 03:00 PM
 
6 posts, read 6,342 times
Reputation: 10
So far I've gotten offers from San Jose, San Diego (one north, one central), Santa Barbara, Irvine, Salinas, and have gotten an expression of interest (pending funding availability) from Santa Maria and Carlsbad. The salary is roughly the same +/- some benefits, none of which are more important to me than location.
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Old 06-26-2013, 04:13 PM
 
Location: The High Seas
7,372 posts, read 16,007,664 times
Reputation: 11867
I've lived in Santa Barbara, Carlsbad, and Capitola (Santa Cruz).
Santa Barbara, hands down.
Just go and visit and see for yourself.
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Old 06-26-2013, 05:57 PM
zdg
 
Location: Sonoma County
845 posts, read 1,972,223 times
Reputation: 1144
I second Santa Barbara from that list (assuming, as you said, the money will be there to afford you the expense of living well in SB).
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