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Old 12-04-2007, 10:36 PM
 
Location: Phoenix, AZ
4 posts, read 13,485 times
Reputation: 10

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-A new job has afforded me the opportunity to move to California in the coming months (Feb or March) and my Girlfriend and I have started to look for a suitable place to settle. We've hit some road blocks along the way and we're looking for some suggestions. My budget is anywhere between $350 - $425K and I will be working out of the home primarily. Any commuting will be done via small single-engine airplane -so I need to be near a suitable airport. We've already searched CA's "inland empire" (Riverside, Temecula, Murrieta, Wildomar) and we hated it. So I'm looking more towards the central coast and it looks like there's a few options. SLO is a bit pricey, Santa Barbra is out of this world, and, from what I've read, Santa Maria has a growing gang problem and no real culture. I'm not tied to any specific population center, so moving as far North as Eureka isn't out of the question. Where else should we look??


Note: In terms of ocean, the closer the better.
Nothing too hot (we live in PHX now and we need to escape the heat)
I'd rather avoid the more "flammable" parts of CA.
I have nothing against tract housing and "smaller" plots of land.

Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Old 12-04-2007, 11:49 PM
 
8,256 posts, read 17,281,064 times
Reputation: 6225
Sacramento is the best part of CA for the price. The beach may be a little far (well, I guess quite far), but your money will get you much further there than LA, SF, or SD. Areas of the eastern Bay Area are nice, except Oakland.
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Old 12-05-2007, 01:19 AM
 
130 posts, read 523,498 times
Reputation: 72
look into orcutt, which is "basically" south of santa maria. i wouldnt worry about gangs in orcutt, most if not all of "that" kinda of activity occurs in santa maria and not orcutt. orcutt is centrally located between l.a. and s.f., close to beaches, weather is mild year round (never have to really use heater/a.c. year round), great place to raise kids, housing is half the price or more when compared to slo and sb. also....the beaches (pismo, avila beach, shell beach, and oceano dunes), are within 30 min. also.......hardly any traffic when compared to most cities in CA like la/sf/sd. also......the air quality is very good on the central coast when compared to most other cities. also.....there is a bigtime housing slump in the valley and there are deals to be made in your price range for a house.

i will agree with u that the area doesnt really have a "cultural" feel when compared to san luis obispo or santa barbara. theres no nightlife in "santa maria valley" instead u will have to travel north 45 min to slo or 110 min to sb to see a live ban or go bar hopping. shopping....according to some woman its not the greatest, all we got is a shopping mall with a few outlet stores along with macys and gottschalks and sears, and like the usual places: kohls, mervyns, target, walmart, best buy, staples, circuit city, office depot, home depot, ross, big 5, sears, to name a few. orcutt is not the greatest place to live in the world but it sure aint the worse i can not think of a cheaper place to live that is within a reasonable distant to the ocean/airport that meets your criteria?

heres a link Moderator cut: link removed
best of luck on your decision.

Last edited by Yac; 12-05-2007 at 02:26 AM.. Reason: competitor's site
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Old 12-05-2007, 07:31 AM
 
Location: Las Flores, Orange County, CA
26,338 posts, read 93,537,811 times
Reputation: 17829
I used to do a lot of flying in SEL aircraft. One thing about being close to the ocean is that you will have IFR conditions quite often, not sure if this will inhibit you.

Also, SLO, Santa Maria, and Santa Barbara are all expensive and there are very nice homes/neighborhoods/schools in each region.

Your idea of living in far northern California sounds good. I am not familiar with the housing prices up there (it would only take you five minutes to check them out...) but I know it is very pretty. I used to fly up there myself. Did some short field and grass field take offs and landings up there.
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Old 12-05-2007, 05:15 PM
 
Location: Phoenix, AZ
4 posts, read 13,485 times
Reputation: 10
I guess I don't mind a short drive North from Orcutt to SLO to get my culture. -Everything I've read about Eureka makes it sound great - but I don't know if I could deal with the isolation and chilly weather. On the other hand, the price is right. For $400K you can get a 1/4 acre plot with a nice (OLD) house biking distance to the ocean. On the central coast I've looked at Orcutt and Nipomo and they seem pretty affordable. It all looks like tract housing with Very small plots. Sacramento is OK (I lived there as a kid) but it's a bit too hot and inland. Can I afford Santa Ynez valley? What's the scoop on Arroyo Grande?
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Old 12-05-2007, 06:55 PM
 
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
1,482 posts, read 5,164,819 times
Reputation: 798
How about the Concord/Martinez area in the San Francisco Bay Area? Concord has Buchanan Field. It's not quite as uncomfortable as Sacramento and much closer to the ocean.
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Old 12-06-2007, 09:11 PM
 
130 posts, read 523,498 times
Reputation: 72
a friend of mine that grew up in eureka told me that the air quality is bad because of the tree pulp mills and chemicals in the air?

u can find a place in orcutt for abou $400k no problem, and less than a mile from the airport. nipomo is further away from the airport, about 14 mi, and the housing will most likely be likely be around $50k more than orcutt. you can find comparable housing in arroyo grande for about $400k, but also look into oceano and grover beach, its close to the beach and i think u will like it? santa ynez valley is just to expensive.

one thing u must consider living by the beach in the central coast is the amount of days a year it is foggy and overcast. in the middle of summer it can be a sunny day in santa maria or san luis obispo, and it would be foggy and overcast at the beach , keep that in mind if u consider ag/oceano/grover beach. one more thing, lake lopez is close to arroyo grande, nice place to boat, jetski, camp, and fish (however, its always too windy and i never catch any fish whenever i go)
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Old 12-07-2007, 12:30 AM
 
2 posts, read 4,033 times
Reputation: 10
Check out Oxnard. We have an airport. There is also another airport in the neighboring city called Camarillo. Oh, and most important, we have a nice looking coastline (about 10 miles away) :-)
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Old 12-07-2007, 04:43 AM
 
Location: Las Flores, Orange County, CA
26,338 posts, read 93,537,811 times
Reputation: 17829
Quote:
Originally Posted by chiques View Post
Check out Oxnard. We have an airport. There is also another airport in the neighboring city called Camarillo. Oh, and most important, we have a nice looking coastline (about 10 miles away) :-)
Not sure if the Oxnard Plain is in this guy's budget. Look at the original post, "My budget is anywhere between $350 - $425K". Perhaps a very inexpensive condo? Not sure.
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Old 12-08-2007, 06:37 AM
 
5,323 posts, read 18,223,149 times
Reputation: 3855
Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles View Post
I used to do a lot of flying in SEL aircraft. One thing about being close to the ocean is that you will have IFR conditions quite often, not sure if this will inhibit you.
I was going to bring that factor up as well. Not to mention the Central Valley which is chock full of the Tule fog in winter and many times grounded for a few hours. Then again, doesn't sound like the Central Valley is truly what he's looking for.
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