California has quaint towns, right? :) (Sacramento, Redding: rental, motels, good schools)

[Amberyl]

I am looking for a quaint town, much like the town of Stars Hollow in Gilmore Girls. I want to live somewhere where everyone knows everyone else.

I live in Mesa, Arizona and I am considering moving to California because I have been without the four seasons for too long. I really want to live somewhere where each season gets equal time share.

I also have two small children (5+6) who will both be starting school this year, so I want to move before school starts so they will not have to switch schools later on. I need to move somewhere that has great education either in the town, or very nearby, so we could commute.

I would like to be close enough to at least one larger city. And close enough to a decent college.

I am planning for this to be my last move. I want to settle down and raise my family. Can anyone please suggest a town that sounds like what I am looking for?

[mono#9]

You might take a look at Placerville, near Sacramento. I've known people who lived there and loved it.

[bigdave01]

I've never watched Gilmore Girls, but I think there are many towns that would fit your needs.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by Amberyl

Can anyone please suggest a town that sounds like what I am looking for?

Before you get ten more random responses spray painted all over the place how about a little more significant information?

Price range or rental budget?
What line of work are you in?
Where do you think you will work?
What does your spouse do? Where will he/she work?

[TheDragonslayer]

There is Ferndale here in Humboldt county.Ferndale, California - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There is also Weaverville in Trinity county. The closest large town is Redding. Weaverville gets snow in the winter and definitely has four seasons. It is a small town where every one knows everyone. Weavervilleinfo.com - Your One Website for information regarding Weaverville and Trinity County, California! Run, Swim, Hike, Bike and enjoy our Historic Community of Weaverville, CA in Trinity County

[itlchick]

It depends a lot on the amount of money you make. Quaint, perfect, safe, good schools are expensive.

That being said, San Luis Obispo might fit the bill.

[Bette]

My husband and I visited the SF area and Northern California and found Healdsburg, CA to be delightful.

[jenoweisz]

Hi to all. i am native to southern ca. lived here most of my life. i am now homeless living in motels, cuz no one will rent me an apt. i come from the san fernando valley and also hollywood, and believe me when i tell you most of soutern ca. is horrible and like hell. i recently went to the santa clarita valley and palmdale and it too turned into rubbish. sand diego is bad too. so is the san gabriel valley. so is most of orange county. you have to be very very rich to live in southern ca. ventura county and conejo valley also bad. oxnard, camarillo ventura bad bad bad. need to know more .ask me. i'm up in oxnard/ camarillo now in a comfort inn, looking to move somehere. everything changed too, really fast and drastically. it seems the whole world moved here.it's seems to be the most most expensive area to live in the world and the worst quality of life, esp. los angeles county.your'e playing russian roulette if you move anywhere in los angeles county unless you have a lot of protection and a lot of money. i am someone that knows. what are esp. horrible is the nastiness, and crime, and cruelty and corruption, and the gigantic over inflated prices. so. ca should be destroyed and the world will be a better place. so, does anyone know of a place i can rent. i have the money, there is just no room.

[jenoweisz]

i wanted to ,move to a quaint town like the gilmore girls ,or Ed too, but those are just movie sets. i guess up north ,ca. still isn't destroyed.

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by itlchick

It depends a lot on the amount of money you make. Quaint, perfect, safe, good schools are expensive.

That being said, San Luis Obispo might fit the bill.

That's the trick. Quaint towns seem to be the kind of place where its either difficult to make a living or the housing is for the rich and retired. I look at a lot of towns and see lots of low paying retail jobs but wonder where the family-supporting types of jobs are. Does SLO have many $100k/yr jobs outside of being a full prof at Cal Poly? The housing isn't really much cheaper than OC either.