Places in California that meet my criteria? (San Diego, San Francisco: living, airport)

[songbirdsmile]

I know that both Napa and Sonoma counties are heavily Democrat, but are they very in-your-face about it?
I've lived in some very, very woke places in California, where I thought I had made friends, but as soon as I said one thing against the current radical narrative, they ostracized me. Those places had a vibe of heightened political correctness to the point of insanity.

On the contrary, I currently live in Tennessee and have been able to make friends with both conservatives and liberals and it doesn't even matter. We rarely even talk about politics, and it doesn't infiltrate our every interaction the way it seemed to in the parts of Cali I've lived in before. People seem to just go about their normal lives and aren't constantly monitoring other people's beliefs. When issues of politics do come up, we can have respectful discussions about issues and learn from each other as well.

So what is the vibe in Napa and Sonoma? Are either or both of them places where people live and let live, go about their lives, can accept differences in opinion, etc?

I created a similar thread about Sacramento, and one poster said that she was asked to leave certain groups (like a knitting group) as soon as she was found out to be a Republican because the other members "didn't feel safe" with her there. Is that something you could see happening in Napa and/or Sonoma?

Furthermore, are there any particularly conservative or moderate towns or neighborhoods in either county that you would recommend above others?

Thanks for any suggestions!

[Ruth4Truth]

You can look this up yourself. 28.7% of voters in Napa County are Repubs.
Moderator cut: link removed, competitor site
Google is your friend, OP.


I looked up St. Helena, in Napa Co., in response to your query about specific areas within the county. No good news for you there:

Individual Campaign Contributions in St. Helena, CA

In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 4,234 contributions totaling $585,583 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $138 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 326 contributions totaling $92,362 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $283 per contribution.

Maybe part of the issue you're encountering is, that in social situations in some areas, there's might be an unspoken rule that it's not polite to bring up politics? Just a guess. Not feeling "safe" in your presence might have meant, that the group felt you were disruptive of the group equanimity by raising a controversial topic.

[Chimérique]

No where in California except Sacramento Burbs on up north, and inland, is it an old-fashion "let's have a fair political discussion" where we listen with an open mind". Either fear, intimidation, sheep-mentally prevents folks from expressing other perspectives. San Joaquin Valley sort of a mixed bag.

FYI: The Sacramento Valley is every place north of Stockton including of course the whole Sacramento Region.

All else including Stockton down to Bakersfield is the San Joaquin Valley.


Napa County: Traditionally, Moderate-Conservative, working-class, very wealthy employing service workers in their fancy winery estates and boujee (bourgeois). Napa County has a strong cultural connection with the Sacramento region as much as with SF. Very much a very wealthy area with service working class that don't really live there.

Sonoma County: Traditionally, Hippy-dippy, granola crunchy, liberal politics, San Franciscan, urban Bay Area types wanting to escape to open space larger housing. But now it is fairly crowded, still suburban with a commuter train connection to the Golden Gate (Marin County).....where you can take a Ferry to SF. Sonoma County has a good cultural connection to the Sacramento region as well, not as much as Napa.

Both are beautiful places, expensive, you can't find exactly a Napa/Sonoma equivalent in SoCal.

[songbirdsmile]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

You can look this up yourself. 28.7% of voters in Napa County are Repubs.
Moderator cut: link removed, competitor site
Google is your friend, OP.

That's not at all what I was asking. I said I know they both are heavily Democrat. I'm asking about the actual vibe/culture there, which is not something you can know simply from voting stats.

Maybe part of the issue you're encountering is, that in social situations in some areas, there's might be an unspoken rule that it's not polite to bring up politics? Just a guess. Not feeling "safe" in your presence might have meant, that the group felt you were disruptive of the group equanimity by raising a controversial topic.

No, not at all. If I merely said something that was questioning the dominant radical narrative of the time, people would call me a homophobe, racist, transphobe, etc. For example, if someone was talking about the "bathroom bill" controversy, I might say I don't support the idea of "use whatever bathroom or gym facilities of the gender you feel like at any given minute", and rather, that people should use the facilities of the gender they look most like/are presenting as; this would make these woke radicals call me a transphobe and not feel safe in my presence. Ironically, I'm a gay trans man myself. I'm simply capable of actually looking at the nuances of issues.

Originally Posted by Chimérique

Napa County: Traditionally, Moderate-Conservative, working-class, very wealthy employing service workers in their fancy winery estates and boujee (bourgeois). Napa County has a strong cultural connection with the Sacramento region as much as with SF. Very much a very wealthy area with service working class that don't really live there.

Sonoma County: Traditionally, Hippy-dippy, granola crunchy, liberal politics, San Franciscan, urban Bay Area types wanting to escape to open space larger housing. But now it is fairly crowded, still suburban with a commuter train connection to the Golden Gate (Marin County).....where you can take a Ferry to SF. Sonoma County has a good cultural connection to the Sacramento region as well, not as much as Napa.

Thank you; this is very helpful to know!

[DCMann2]

The place you're looking for does not exist in California. Nowhere outside isolated pockets in the Sierra or Trinity Alps experience a true four season climate in California. Most of our oldest buildings in the state are from the mid to late 19th century, and any town/city with buildings that old are either going to be 1) bustling, or 2) a ghost town and precisely none of them will meet your additional criteria.


You're better off looking at other states east of CA.


Oh, and stop using the word "woke."

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by songbirdsmile

That's not at all what I was asking. I said I know they both are heavily Democrat. I'm asking about the actual vibe/culture there, which is not something you can know simply from voting stats.

The page I linked for Napa County, though also gave the actual vibe there,which they said was moderately liberal. "Moderately" as in--moderate. What else could you possibly be asking?

[evening sun]

Just avoid political conversations, I never talk politics. I know some people that are right wingers, but as long as we leave politics out of it, all is good. If you want to talk politics, you need to do it in a political group. This is why I don;t care what my neighborhood is, politically, I have my own thoughts & they have theirs.

Why do you want to move to CA? The 4 seasons thing is hard here. We do get winter, but it seems Spring is very short & we move right into summer. which is fine with me.

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by songbirdsmile

That's not at all what I was asking. I said I know they both are heavily Democrat. I'm asking about the actual vibe/culture there, which is not something you can know simply from voting stats.



No, not at all. If I merely said something that was questioning the dominant radical narrative of the time, people would call me a homophobe, racist, transphobe, etc. For example, if someone was talking about the "bathroom bill" controversy, I might say I don't support the idea of "use whatever bathroom or gym facilities of the gender you feel like at any given minute", and rather, that people should use the facilities of the gender they look most like/are presenting as; this would make these woke radicals call me a transphobe and not feel safe in my presence. Ironically, I'm a gay trans man myself. I'm simply capable of actually looking at the nuances of issues.



Thank you; this is very helpful to know!

Napa and Sonoma counties don't meet any of your criteria except maybe for historic, beautiful architecture.

[songbirdsmile]

Originally Posted by DCMann2

The place you're looking for does not exist in California. Nowhere outside isolated pockets in the Sierra or Trinity Alps experience a true four season climate in California. Most of our oldest buildings in the state are from the mid to late 19th century, and any town/city with buildings that old are either going to be 1) bustling, or 2) a ghost town and precisely none of them will meet your additional criteria.

I never said "true four season climate", just a real and beautiful autumn, which I know first-hand exists after living in the Stanford area for two years. I also never specified what time period of architecture constitutes "historic" but you can't really believe there are no beautiful, historic buildings in California.

Oh, and stop using the word "woke."

Your reasoning?

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

The page I linked for Napa County, though also gave the actual vibe there,which they said was moderately liberal. "Moderately" as in--moderate. What else could you possibly be asking?

What the vibe/culture actually feels like to people who live there. Personal anecdotes and opinions. What "moderately liberal" looks like in these specific areas.

Originally Posted by evening sun

Just avoid political conversations, I never talk politics. I know some people that are right wingers, but as long as we leave politics out of it, all is good. If you want to talk politics, you need to do it in a political group. This is why I don;t care what my neighborhood is, politically, I have my own thoughts & they have theirs.

The places I've lived in Cali have had a way of turning everything political, which is what I can't stand. It seemed like people couldn't just talk about normal things without potentially stepping on someone's fragile sensitivities.

Why do you want to move to CA? The 4 seasons thing is hard here. We do get winter, but it seems Spring is very short & we move right into summer. which is fine with me.

I grew up here and want to be reasonably close to my family, who live in SD. I don't care about a place having four seasons, as long as it has a distinct, cool, and beautiful autumn.

Originally Posted by Cloudy Dayz

Napa and Sonoma counties don't meet any of your criteria except maybe for historic, beautiful architecture.

They have beautiful autumn, at least in my opinion.

[CalWorth]

Julian, Mt. Laguna, Palomar Mtn., Santa Ysabel, all in San Diego County.