gay friendly affordable small town in northern california (San Francisco, Santa Rosa: relocate, apartments)

[justmesea]

Hi Everyone,

My partner and I are looking to relocate to a small gay friendly town in Northern California. We currently live in Seattle and have had enough of this over priced, rude, and arrogent city. We want something smaller and affordable. Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated

[bigdave01]

There aren't many affordable places in northern California, so I would go with Arcata, Eureka, or Chico.

[tangodoodles]

Originally Posted by justmesea

Hi Everyone,

My partner and I are looking to relocate to a small gay friendly town in Northern California. We currently live in Seattle and have had enough of this over priced, rude, and arrogent city. We want something smaller and affordable. Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated

Guerneville, most definitely. It's only about 3,000 people but it has a large gay population, is only 20 miles from Santa Rosa, is very liberal, and is probably considered affordable by California standards. I looked at a book in the library a few months ago and Guerneville was listed as one of 50 gay friendly places to live.

[Petrala]

Originally Posted by justmesea

Hi Everyone,

My partner and I are looking to relocate to a small gay friendly town in Northern California. We currently live in Seattle and have had enough of this over priced, rude, and arrogent city. We want something smaller and affordable. Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated

Arcata is terribly small. Eureka bigger but it's not like Seattle in terms of community events if that's what you're into.

The problem is that areas that have access to larger gay communities are more expensive. The downside is that smaller towns can have very small gay communities.

[tangodoodles]

Yeah, I forgot to point out that Guerneville's median home price is pretty close to California's median home price (somewhere around $500,000). But that's not too horrible considering that it is California. Affordability and California don't really go hand and hand unless you're looking at the central valley and the desert.

[CA central coast]

I've always heard that San Luis Obispo was a lesbian mecca.

[Sassberto]

Guerneville is place you want. It is on the Russian River north of San Francisco. It is not cheap.

[happ]

You would feel welcome pretty much wherever you go in California but Chico offers a nice community surrounding a university w/ affordable housing [lots of apartments]. It is rather hot in summer though so if you like a Seattle summer than you might want to consider a town closer to the coastline.

[Ernie4]

Petrala, how true it is that where there is a large or larger gay influence follows a higher tax bracket, more expensive housing and cost of living. There was a study, can't remember the name of the study off the tip of my fingers, but it shown that when gays move into a run-down area, we fix it up, move in shops and businesses and the area revitalizes. Thus the standards of the area go to a higher tax bracket. Isn't that marvelous?

Originally Posted by Petrala

Arcata is terribly small. Eureka bigger but it's not like Seattle in terms of community events if that's what you're into.

The problem is that areas that have access to larger gay communities are more expensive. The downside is that smaller towns can have very small gay communities.

[Steve97415]

The affordability issue is going to be a problem. Don't let that lure you into considering somplace in the State of Jefferson. You don't want to go north of a line drawn through Arcata and Chico.