Cheapest place to retire in CA? (San Jose, Fresno: rentals, home, neighborhood)

[Info Guy]

Where is the cheapest place retire in CA with a good neighborhood and Bay Area, CA like weather?

Is Modesto one of them?

[nullgeo]

Originally Posted by Info Guy

Where is the cheapest place retire in CA with a good neighborhood and Bay Area, CA like weather?

Is Modesto one of them?

Uh, no.

Cheaper yes ....

[Info Guy]

Originally Posted by nullgeo

Uh, no.

Cheaper yes ....

Modesto is part of Bay Area though right?

[nullgeo]

Originally Posted by Info Guy

Modesto is part of Bay Area though right?

Uh, nope ...

Modesto is in what would generally be considered the northern 1/3 of the San Joaquin Valley ... while only about 80 or so miles to the waters of the Bay, it is different as day to night in just about every respect: people / culture, employment, weather, scenery, activities ... a different world altogether.

There is no "cheap place to retire in the Bay area" ... but perhaps you should define your idea of "cheap" to help us zero in the info for you. For instance, there are a few communities in the Delta, which area is created by the convergence of the Sacramento, San Joaquin, Mokelumne, Cosumnes and Calaveras rivers, which convergence then flows into the S.F. Bay. This district is quite hot in the summer, though a jump in the rivers is always a solution, and the typical Delta breeze comes up late afternoon to bring temps back to sane levels. Winters see some pretty thick and persistent tule fogs, but temperatures are nearly as mild as the Bay temps. Fishing is awesome pretty much all year too.

A couple of those communities have properties at lower pricing than the Bay, and reasonable rentals can certainly be found in Rio Vista, the largest of the true Delta towns.

Then there's always Sacramento and Stockton to consider, also connected to the Delta waterways by riverways.

North of the Bay area about an hour and a half is the Russian River canyon with towns like Guerneville and Monte Rio which are also less expensive than the Bay. Some towns in the Russian River area, however, are really steep, price-wise for housing -- such as Healdsburg and Sebastopol. Weather is better to the north, imo ... summers can get hot but not as hot as the Delta generally. Winters are quite mild and easy and fairly fog-free.

[ferretkona]

Originally Posted by Info Guy

Modesto is part of Bay Area though right?

No
Look at a map, Modesto is central valley and near desert conditions. No where near beach weather.
Cheaper to retire out of state than in CA.

in the yellow leftish of center

[Malloric]

No. Modesto is in the Central Valley. Tracy sometimes gets thrown into the Bay Area, but really shouldn't be. Dublin is the Bay Area. They get very warm. Modesto and Tracy get downright hot. You can't beat Modesto or Stockton for being cheap though.

Mt. Shasta or Crescent City would be my best places to retire. But they're pretty much as un-Bay Area as one can get.

[Woof]

I seem to remember one of the villages around San Luis Obispo being a bit cheaper than the others, but I don't think by much. Pretty much all the coastal "good weather" places are either expensive or very expensive, at least until you get up to Eureka which is cheaper, but also less desirable.

Nothing much inland has a Bay Area type nice climate.

[Info Guy]

I grew up in San Jose so is there any cheap place overall to live in
Bay Area that is safe?

Well I am 34 and I want to retire in .

California which is my home. My retirement age is 55. $1 Million in liquid assets in year 2033.

What about Madera, Fresno, Bakersfield?

Basically, I am looking for a gateway to SF at a 1.5 to 2 hour drive from home for outings.

Originally Posted by nullgeo

Uh, nope ...

Modesto is in what would generally be considered the northern 1/3 of the San Joaquin Valley ... while only about 80 or so miles to the waters of the Bay, it is different as day to night in just about every respect: people / culture, employment, weather, scenery, activities ... a different world altogether.

There is no "cheap place to retire in the Bay area" ... but perhaps you should define your idea of "cheap" to help us zero in the info for you. For instance, there are a few communities in the Delta, which area is created by the convergence of the Sacramento, San Joaquin, Mokelumne, Cosumnes and Calaveras rivers, which convergence then flows into the S.F. Bay. This district is quite hot in the summer, though a jump in the rivers is always a solution, and the typical Delta breeze comes up late afternoon to bring temps back to sane levels. Winters see some pretty thick and persistent tule fogs, but temperatures are nearly as mild as the Bay temps. Fishing is awesome pretty much all year too.

A couple of those communities have properties at lower pricing than the Bay, and reasonable rentals can certainly be found in Rio Vista, the largest of the true Delta towns.

Then there's always Sacramento and Stockton to consider, also connected to the Delta waterways by riverways.

North of the Bay area about an hour and a half is the Russian River canyon with towns like Guerneville and Monte Rio which are also less expensive than the Bay. Some towns in the Russian River area, however, are really steep, price-wise for housing -- such as Healdsburg and Sebastopol. Weather is better to the north, imo ... summers can get hot but not as hot as the Delta generally. Winters are quite mild and easy and fairly fog-free.

[Info Guy]

Originally Posted by Malloric

No. Modesto is in the Central Valley. Tracy sometimes gets thrown into the Bay Area, but really shouldn't be. Dublin is the Bay Area. They get very warm. Modesto and Tracy get downright hot. You can't beat Modesto or Stockton for being cheap though.

Mt. Shasta or Crescent City would be my best places to retire. But they're pretty much as un-Bay Area as one can get.

The main would be the rent though. What about Sacramento?

How does Mt. Shasta or Crescent City's cost of living compares to other part of CA?

[Malloric]

They're both cheap. They're isolated enough that gas and food cost more than they would, but rents are going to be inline with Stockton or Modesto which are a bit cheaper than Sacramento which is a lot cheaper than the Bay Area.