Another relocation thread. Looking for my rare unicorn. (Berkeley, Santa Barbara: tech jobs, college)

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by Return2Paradise

OP here. Thanks so much for the replies.

Salinas looks interesting, but I never took the time to learn Spanish, and with a Hispanic population of over 50%, I'm guessing many employers would be looking for someone bi-lingual. That might limit my options.

Monterey, Arroyo Grande, Santa Maria look like possibilities as well.

Someone mentioned Santa Cruz and it sounds like a great area, but jobs seem to be in short supply and I wasn't able to find a single 1 bedroom apartment listed for rent for under $1300. Does that seem accurate? Do most folks in Santa Cruz commute to San Jose for work?

Rents in Santa Cruz proper are higher than in the surrounding communities. Try Aptos, Scotts Valley, Ben Lomond, Bonney Doon, Fulton. There's job potential at the university in town, and yes, some people do commute to San Jose. Why are you limiting yourself to such low rent, when you have good earning potential?

[pch1013]

Originally Posted by Return2Paradise

Haha, sorry, didn't mean to ignore your suggestion. Wiki says Ventura County population is just shy of a million humans. Is there any real separation between Oxnard, Thousand Oaks and Ventura, or is it pretty much one large city now? How's traffic in general?

Oxnard and Ventura do blend into each other, but T.O. is separated from Oxnard by a large hill.

[Return2Paradise]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Rents in Santa Cruz proper are higher than in the surrounding communities. Try Aptos, Scotts Valley, Ben Lomond, Bonney Doon, Fulton. There's job potential at the university in town, and yes, some people do commute to San Jose. Why are you limiting yourself to such low rent, when you have good earning potential?

I'll research those places as well. As for wanting to keep expenses low, I have pretty aggressive savings goals and my income potential is less than it would appear on paper.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

You don't need to learn Spanish to live in Salinas. Not required by a long shot. Live in Salinas, work in Salinas or Monterey. Depending on the job they may say they prefer bilingual, but it's not required. No more than any other area in CA.

[eccotecc]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Rents in Santa Cruz proper are higher than in the surrounding communities. Try Aptos, Scotts Valley, Ben Lomond, Bonney Doon, Fulton. There's job potential at the university in town, and yes, some people do commute to San Jose. Why are you limiting yourself to such low rent, when you have good earning potential?

Try Felton, up the road a few miles from Santa Cruz. Personally, I like it better than SC.

[nightlysparrow]

Originally Posted by Return2Paradise

Haha, sorry, didn't mean to ignore your suggestion. Wiki says Ventura County population is just shy of a million humans. Is there any real separation between Oxnard, Thousand Oaks and Ventura, or is it pretty much one large city now? How's traffic in general?

As already noted, there is a specific 'west county' and 'east county' that are quite separate. They are at different elevations and have completely different climates. Even Ventura and Oxnard have miles of farmland and a river between them. Everything is really spread out. More than 28% of all the county land is agricultural. There are only 2 highrise buildings in the county (Oxnard) and except for downtown Ventura (barely), none of the 10 cities feels urban or crowded.

Traffic is not bad at all by California standards. I commuted from the east to the west for the recent 7 years and only got stuck twice, by major accidents (not mine).

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by eccotecc

Try Felton, up the road a few miles from Santa Cruz. Personally, I like it better than SC.

Oops, yeah, I meant Felton. (typo)

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by Return2Paradise

I'll research those places as well. As for wanting to keep expenses low, I have pretty aggressive savings goals and my income potential is less than it would appear on paper.

There's a 1 br. apt. in Bonny Doon for $1200, and a 1 br. cottage in Soquel (another suburb of Santa Cruz) for $1150. You should be able to find housing that suits you in the general area.

[Return2Paradise]

Thank you all for the feedback. My wife and I will be taking a few weeks in February to scout numerous locations in the recommended areas.

[Think4Yourself]

Your rent estimate is unrealistic but if you are willing to actually become more realistic about what it costs to live in nice places then maybe certain parts of San Luis Obispo County or Santa Barbara County would work for you. Bring your own job though. If having a job does matter to you two then stick to the larger cities.