Single 30s girl, where to live? (Oakland, Huntington Beach: for rent, house, employment)

[Caligirl716]

I know this question has been asked thousands of times, but here I am asking again...

Looking to move to Cali from the PNW. I spent a month living in SD but felt it was a bit too military/conservative for me. I'll still consider it as I loved SD but wanted some opinions on other cities.

I prefer to live near water. I don't need to live on the beach but need to see it in the distance...I've lived in AZ and the Midwest and that was rough.
I prefer to walk to things, grocery store, drugstore, a cafe, coffee shop, farmers market, etc. no suburbs or LA.
If I'm moving to Cali from rainy PNW I want to get away from the rain...are people as affected by the rain in SF as they are in Seattle?
I have liberal values and travel a lot...need to be around other similar people, diversity, well-travelled folks, etc
I'm athletic so I like to be able to do outdoorsy stuff, hike, bike ride, camp, play soccer, tennis, etc
I'm a nurse that doesn't work in hospitals, but rather home health, outpatient, etc.
Easy to meet girlfriends, I have a few acquaintances throughout Cali but will of course want to increase my circle of friends. I find meetup.com works for me and want to be in a place with plenty of meetup events.
Can I get by with $1500/month rent with a W/D in unit?
Lastly, while not huge on the list, I enjoy music and dancing. I enjoy going to the symphony, ballet, opera, theater. I also enjoy dancing. I don't like top 40 EDM clubbing music but a good underground techno house lounge would be great.

I'm debating between Oakland, beach cities of LA (Huntington, Santa Monica, etc) and SD. Can you guys pick my brain between the 3 areas?? I plan to take a road trip to see but it will be in the summer time when everyone is happy and out and about no matter what. LOL! Ideally I'd like to go now in the winter time but it's just not feasible at the moment.

[ccm123]

Well, Huntington Beach is pretty conservative and Santa Monica is expensive. The South Bay beach cities of Redondo and Hermosa may be good. Here in Northern California, you can look at Oakland (certain areas), Berkeley, Santa Cruz, etc

People here in SF are not as affected by the rain as in the PNW, because it simply does not rain as much.

[Ruth4Truth]

California's currently in a drought, it's not at all clear how long it will last. In fact, if this turns out to be the new "normal" with global warming, locating way north in CA, up towards Oregon might be a good idea, as there's more water and rain up there, usually. Just a thought. No symphony, ballet, or opera, though.

For a liberal atmosphere, there are many choices: Santa Cruz (university town, great beach, redwoods, hiking and biking), Marin County (north of SF Bay)--beaches, redwoods, good employment opp'ties in your field, great hiking, walking & bike trails. Both Santa Cruz and Marin County towns are close enough to SF and the Bay Area that you could drive in for good entertainment, the symphony, opera, etc. But if you want to be closer to those more sophisticated amenities, then you're right--Berkeley, Oakland, Albany and El Cerrito (East Bay) would be more convenient, though much more urban than those smaller towns I suggested.

In the East Bay, you could get a 1-br. apt. for your price point. In Marin, it would be closer to a studio, maybe a 1-br., depending on location. Santa Cruz--I'm not sure. You'll have to prioritize your wish list items.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Have you looked at Santa Barbara? It seems like it has everything you want. My daughter went to the community college there. Gorgeous.

Here's a Craigslist search I did with maximum $1500 rent. I filtered it to be most expensive first, so you wouldn't have to weed through all the rooms for rent, etc.

santa barbara all housing classifieds - craigslist

Finding units with W/D in-unit is rare in your price range. An alternative that I use, is either finding someone to pick it up, clean it, and drop it off to you ( I found a great service when I lived in Santa Clara that would do this), or, find a laundromat that will do it for you if you drop it off and pick it up. It's worth the money, if you can't find an apt with W/D in unit.

Good luck to you!

[Ruth4Truth]

Right, I always forget about Santa Barbara. That should work, though I don't know what they have in the way of highbrow entertainment (symphony, ballet, etc.). You could look it up, though.

[5thgenSF]

oakland was my first thought before i saw you listed it.

[blu4u]

I can think of a few that fit all critera except the "cultured-urban entertainment"

VENTURA!!!

San Clemente.

Not a beach city but San Luis Obispo (but soooo close to Moro Bay and Montana del Oro.....)

Mission beach (the Navy but...)

Santa Cruz?

El Segundo (no hiking)

Santa monica will give everything on your list but $1500 even for studio is a tough call. How 'bout Mar vista or westchestr?

[lrmsd]

If you want to consider SD again, then look at Encinitas or Solana Beach for living (they're on the coast and very vibrant); you have the rest of the metro area for urban amenities that you mentioned. They are not conservative nor military influenced-not sure where you were in SD before; it has different atmospheres depending on the area. [Especially in the last 10 years, it has changed demographically, too.]

Also, Laguna Beach is fantastic and has a strong arts community, plus not far from other parts of OC or even LA for additional options [theater, opera, etc.]

Marin: Mill Valley would be my vote based on your list of interest. Maybe parts of San Raphael if you want a bigger city.

All of these would give you the type of people and activities that you listed.

Additionally, if given the choice, I'd pick marin over santa cruz, too. I don't think SC is worth the money these days. Marin lives up to the hype, however. My .02.

Also, I agree that Santa Barbara is amazing and a potential good fit. May be too small for you for long term, however.