Small Town + Nature + Healthy Lifestyle (San Diego, Bell: rentals, low crime, home)

[wildintheforest]

I have lived in Austin, TX and San Diego, CA over the past 15 years. I am ready to leave the traffic + city life behind for small town living.

I prefer a quaint liberal environment + access to healthy food + plenty of natural elements not invaded by concrete/buildings. I am a nature lover and enjoy spending time outdoors in fresh air. I love the forests in Northern California but find the cost of living too expensive. Any suggestions on affordable + quaint small towns in the U.S. that meet my criteria? I'm currently researching Santa Fe, NM + Taos, NM + Arizona + California. I'm open to areas I've not listed as well. I would be grateful for any insight.

[NW Crow]

I dunno how expensive the rentals are in these CA areas but you might check on Fortuna, McCloud, Weaverville, Burney, Quincy and Bishop.


In AZ: Williams, Camp Verde / Cottonwood, maybe Jerome, maybe Payson.


In NM: Silver City.

[wildintheforest]

thanks, nw crow! i'll research them today.

[Tulemutt]

OP - “the U.S.” is an awfully big geographic area given the sparse criteria you’ve listed.

“Affordable” would be what for you?

Climate considerations?

Economy base?

Your profession (if you need to find work)?

Recreational venues (mountains, rivers, ocean, lakes, fishing, skiing, hunting, hiking, etc)

...

[wildintheforest]

tulemutt, thank you for responding. all good questions. (yes, i am pretty open to location right now.)

i will be renting a home and would like to keep it under $1400/month.

i prefer warmth to snow, but i also love the forest so i'm open to cooler winters for the sake of the trees. i will be working from home so i will not need to find work although i'd like to be able to teach classes at a nearby yoga studio.

safety/low crime is important. i love hiking so outdoor trails are always a bonus but i don't need any recreational venues other than trees and space to roam. i hope this information helps. thanks for any suggestions you may have.

[Ruth4Truth]

The far north coast of CA would fit your budget: Fortuna, Ferndale, McKinleyville, Trinidad, Arcata. Rents are currently within your budget (not sure about Arcata, a college town, but probably), but no guarantees that they'll be stable longer-term. Redwood forests to beat the band, hiking trails, scenic rivers (fishing!).

he more affordable rents in the Taos area are around the outskirts. Look south, in Ranchos de Taos. and Arroyo Seco, north of town. You should able to find rentals easily within your budget in Santa Fe, too, though the COL is a little higher there. Make sure the rentals you're considering have A/C. Surprisingly, some don't, and many don't have A/C, but evaporative air, i.e. "swamp cooler". It's better than nothing, but on more humid days, you'll wish you had A/C.Taos is more beautiful, by far, IMO, but is much smaller, and tends to get dust storms.

Port Townsend, WA, is affordable to you, is at the foot of the majestic Olympic Mountains, and is on a corner of land bordered by both Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. It's a hiking town, biking, kayaking and sailing. All stores are locally-owned except for.a Safeway. There's a great food co-op, and there are farms around the outskirts and beyond--fresh, local produce, etc. Very scenic, winter snow is rare, and it stays cool even during heat waves, for the most part, due to the ocean breezes blowing past along the Strait, and cool air coming down from Alaska and Canada, from the north. Near the scenic San Juan Islands, for more hiking and biking.

[Tulemutt]

Originally Posted by wildintheforest

tulemutt, thank you for responding. all good questions. (yes, i am pretty open to location right now.)

i will be renting a home and would like to keep it under $1400/month.

i prefer warmth to snow, but i also love the forest so i'm open to cooler winters for the sake of the trees. i will be working from home so i will not need to find work although i'd like to be able to teach classes at a nearby yoga studio.

safety/low crime is important. i love hiking so outdoor trails are always a bonus but i don't need any recreational venues other than trees and space to roam. i hope this information helps. thanks for any suggestions you may have.

NW Washington (Olympia area, south of Seattle metro ... or Mt. Vernon north to Bellingham and Blaine, north of Seattle Metro.) Wet ½ the year, though.

A particularly interesting spot would be Port Townsend, WA on the Olympic Peninsula. Small, quaint to the max, historic seaport town. Endless forests, hiking, biking. Nicest people on the planet. Skews retirement age but active, not fuddy-duddy. Loads of liberal, hippie, natural food, yoga lifestyle types. Absolutely my personal favorite town in the world (though I don’t live there), not that what I like should be important to you

Port Townsend is also situated in a unique climatic anomaly. There is a weather pattern called locally a “blue hole” that swirls around Port Townsend’s location on the tip of the Quimper Peninsula the juts into Puget Sound. The two mountain ranges, Olympics right near Pt. Townsend, and the Cascade Range across the Sound, act with the ocean opening into the region to push cloud around the mountains in a way that leaves Pt. Townsend with ½ the rain, or less, than most of the surrounding NW area. There isn’t really much difference in winter sunshine (which is rare from later October through March) and temperatures are the same ( quite chilly, but rarely any freezes) as most of the far NW. Just less wet.

Years back I answered a guy from Wisconsin with some similar criteria. He’s a niche farmer. He came out and stayed with a friend of mine in the San Juan Islands (also low rainfall in same pattern as PT) and toured Pt. Townsend when I was there. Turned into a great friendship. He bought property the same year and moved his family. Says it’s the greatest match for him / family he could imagine. I visit him multiple times a year still.

Good luck.

[Tulemutt]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

The far north coast of CA would fit your budget: Fortuna, Ferndale, McKinleyville, Trinidad, Arcata. Rents are currently within your budget (not sure about Arcata, a college town, but probably), but no guarantees that they'll be stable longer-term. Redwood forests to beat the band, hiking trails, scenic rivers (fishing!).

he more affordable rents in the Taos area are around the outskirts. Look south, in Ranchos de Taos. and Arroyo Seco, north of town. You should able to find rentals easily within your budget in Santa Fe, too, though the COL is a little higher there. Make sure the rentals you're considering have A/C. Surprisingly, some don't, and many don't have A/C, but evaporative air, i.e. "swamp cooler". It's better than nothing, but on more humid days, you'll wish you had A/C.Taos is more beautiful, by far, IMO, but is much smaller, and tends to get dust storms.

Port Townsend, WA, is affordable to you, is at the foot of the majestic Olympic Mountains, and is on a corner of land bordered by both Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. It's a hiking town, biking, kayaking and sailing. All stores are locally-owned except for.a Safeway. There's a great food co-op, and there are farms around the outskirts and beyond--fresh, local produce, etc. Very scenic, winter snow is rare, and it stays cool even during heat waves, for the most part, due to the ocean breezes blowing past along the Strait, and cool air coming down from Alaska and Canada, from the north. Near the scenic San Juan Islands, for more hiking and biking.

Yes. Ruth has answered similarly while I was typing.

[Csonka]

Originally Posted by wildintheforest

I have lived in Austin, TX and San Diego, CA over the past 15 years. I am ready to leave the traffic + city life behind for small town living.

I prefer a quaint liberal environment + access to healthy food + plenty of natural elements not invaded by concrete/buildings. I am a nature lover and enjoy spending time outdoors in fresh air. I love the forests in Northern California but find the cost of living too expensive. Any suggestions on affordable + quaint small towns in the U.S. that meet my criteria? I'm currently researching Santa Fe, NM + Taos, NM + Arizona + California. I'm open to areas I've not listed as well. I would be grateful for any insight.

If you prefer a liberal environment, I would think any college town would be great for you. And there are a lot of them.

[wildintheforest]

ruth4truth, thank you so much for your suggestions! i LOVE the redwood forests (prairie creek in particular). by far the most magical place i've visted in the states, so i will do some more research on the smaller towns in northern california.

i've been feeling a strong pull toward the taos area. i'll check out the two nearby towns you mentioned.

and port townsend, wa sounds dreamy. my only concern would be the cold weather. other than that it sounds right up my alley in every way. i've heard about it but not in detail the way you described. so thank you for painting that picture for me. truly appreciated!