Thinking about California

[jav_era]

I forgot to mention our living situation as of now. This may help to get a feel of what we are looking for. We live in Downtown Milwaukee, by Lake Michigan in a 2 bedroom, 1.5 bath loft. If I remember correctly, it is 1,500 sq ft. We are close to the water, but I do love the ocean much more We dont have a private yard outside, but we do have a balcony and there are parks near by, which is o.k. seeing as we only get a few nice months of warm weather. Living anywere in Cal it would be nice to have a yard for our son to play in with year around nice weather. We would also love to get a family dog, so that would come in handy then.
Thank you all very much for your in-put and time.

[CA central coast]

I would suggest you make San Luis Obispo of your 3-4 cities to visit. If you like the area, I'd recommend you expore the county as a whole. This is probably the nicest area of CA to live. I grew up here and still live in the area, so if you have any questions. The city of San Luis Obispo (SLO) may be the nicest place to live in the U.S. It does have a snob element, but not an overly elitist one. It's really not an issue, but there are some spoiled kids. I live in Los Osos, 10 minutes from SLO and on the ocean. It's more blue collar and beautiful. But don't get me wrong about SLO. I personally prefer Morro Bay or Los Osos, but SLO is unbelievably wonderful. You'll be missing out if you don't give it a look.

[tawang]

Went to Berkley - No. Cal can be cold in July - more of a NYC vibe/not beach - You would need private schools
Worked in Rancho Santa Fe/Fairbanks Ranch- small wealthy villiage-Old money
Pacific Palisades-Great neighborhood with a mix - near LA
Del Mar next to Rancho Santa Fe except Ocean view
LaJolla-Clean Ocean Beaches shopping-Private Schools
Newport and Laugna - BEAUTIFUL inbetween LA and San Diego
West LA- Hit or miss communities
All California Gangs stay in their neighborhoods, they do not bother comming into other neighborhoods, very rare, same as Chicago, NYC

We are now currently in Temecula, Bedroom Community - You would only live here to raise a family, clean and safe. All public schools are 10 out of 10, threee huge private high schools. BEAUTIFUL homes now availablity in the hills surrounding the Trac Homes for great prices.

I beleive they are building a new hospital, because Temecula does not have one for 80K city size.

[hsw]

Not sure anywhere in LA/SD is particularly good for education-oriented families...LA's Westside is great for wealthy singles

Would suggest Woodside....home of some of wealthiest and smartest people in world from the various SiliconValley tech cos. and financial industries....homes usually on >>3 acres each....easy, <20min drives to many major office centers of region...local private schools reflect both parents' own educational/career accomplishments and focus on education of kids...some of world's best weather...more bucolic, wooded terrain than more arid, treeless LA hills/canyons....good/excellent air quality...not cheap, but no more costly (actually slightly cheaper) than Chicago's east LakeForest nr lakefront

[Charles]

Originally Posted by hsw

Would suggest Woodside....home of some of wealthiest and smartest people in world from the various SiliconValley tech cos. and financial industries....

Could Silicon Valley Become the Next Detroit? | Newsweek Daniel Lyons | Techtonic Shifts | Newsweek.com

[UB50]

A lot of the hilly areas north of LA are nice: Encino, Sherman Oaks, Studio City, La Canada, La Crescenta, Montrose, Pasadena, etc. I don't know much about the schools but if you are sending your kids to private school, I don't know if it matters much. Lots of doctors and medical professionals live in the Crescenta Valley (north Glendale -- that valley).

[MtnSurfer]

It seems like you have received a lot of posts representing SoCal which is where I am from originally (Hemosa/Manhattan Beach) and where most ppl in CA live. If you prefer SoCal then I recommend Manhattan Beach, Palos Verdes, Encinitas & La Jolla. All of these are nice beach communities with different personalities and good to very good schools.

However after moving away from CA for all the typical reasons (over crowding, pollution, increasing crime, traffic, etc...) to CO then back to CA, we had the choice to live anywhere in the state upon our return. Once you live somewhere like CO with wide open spaces LA, OC and SD are not as attractive anymore. Suffice it to say we no longer wanted to live in SoCal.

Our first choice was Monterey. With Big Sur in our back yard, San Jose and the Bay ~ 1 hour away, Yosemite 4 hours away it is really hard to beat. We no longer have to deal with the traffic of SoCal or the 'concrete jungle' as we affectionately refer to it. And if you enjoy the coast Big Sur is one of the nicest stretches in the state. Because the area can be somewhat expensive growth has stabalized. And from an environmental standpoint it is much nicer. Similar to other states like CO and OR, over development is frowned upon and the natural environment respected unlike some of the over developed regions to the south.

Then there are limitless things for families to do. As a resident of Monterey you get free passes to the world class Monterey Aquarium. Yesterday we took our kids to the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History. They were having family day and all kinds of special things for kids to do and learn about. Last weekend we went and watched the whales migrating south from Point Lobos State Reserve:



Next weekend we are going on a local whalewatching boating tour. Monterey Bay is a marine sanctuary with a lot of rich history ann abundant sealife and seabirds. We can actually walk down to the beach and watch sea lions and sea otters playing in the surf.

As to the weather it ranges from ~60-70 year round. It can be 90-100 inland in parts of San Jose and SF in the summer while maybe reaching the uppers 70s here. The one thing 'some' ppl complain about is summer fog. But there are places within the Peninsula known as sun belts where folks tend to live who cannot tollerate the fog as much. Carmel Valley for example gets a lot less fog in the summer. And places along the Monterey Salinas Hwy are also popular alternatives for folks wanting to go a bit inland to get more sun. But to be honest with you we haven't seen the fog since August. It is 72 degrees and sunny today. Flowers are blooming and it is mid-Winter! Plus I love being able to walk outside and see the ocean and smell the salt air and watch the sunset while taking a stroll along the beach with my family. We can hear the sea lions barking at night. So living close to the beach has its advantages.

Here is a shot of our kids playing at the beach in Nov. and it is at least this warm and sunny today:



As to the nicer cities along the Peninsula take a look at Carmel, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach and Monterey.

Bottom line - don't sell you and your family short by spending all your time looking at SoCal when Central and Northern Cal have so much more to offer if you enjoy some of the things which I mentioned above.

My 2c,

Derek

[jav_era]

Originally Posted by MtnSurfer

It seems like you have received a lot of posts representing SoCal which is where I am from originally (Hemosa/Manhattan Beach) and where most ppl in CA live. If you prefer SoCal then I recommend Manhattan Beach, Palos Verdes, Encinitas & La Jolla. All of these are nice beach communities with different personalities and good to very good schools.

However after moving away from CA for all the typical reasons (over crowding, pollution, increasing crime, traffic, etc...) to CO then back to CA, we had the choice to live anywhere in the state upon our return. Once you live somewhere like CO with wide open spaces LA, OC and SD are not as attractive anymore. Suffice it to say we no longer wanted to live in SoCal.

Our first choice was Monterey. With Big Sur in our back yard, San Jose and the Bay ~ 1 hour away, Yosemite 4 hours away it is really hard to beat. We no longer have to deal with the traffic of SoCal or the 'concrete jungle' as we affectionately refer to it. And if you enjoy the coast Big Sur is one of the nicest stretches in the state. Because the area can be somewhat expensive growth has stabalized. And from an environmental standpoint it is much nicer. Similar to other states like CO and OR, over development is frowned upon and the natural environment respected unlike some of the over developed regions to the south.

Then there are limitless things for families to do. As a resident of Monterey you get free passes to the world class Monterey Aquarium. Yesterday we took our kids to the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History. They were having family day and all kinds of special things for kids to do and learn about. Last weekend we went and watched the whales migrating south from Point Lobos State Reserve:



Next weekend we are going on a local whalewatching boating tour. Monterey Bay is a marine sanctuary with a lot of rich history ann abundant sealife and seabirds. We can actually walk down to the beach and watch sea lions and sea otters playing in the surf.

As to the weather it ranges from ~60-70 year round. It can be 90-100 inland in parts of San Jose and SF in the summer while maybe reaching the uppers 70s here. The one thing 'some' ppl complain about is summer fog. But there are places within the Peninsula known as sun belts where folks tend to live who cannot tollerate the fog as much. Carmel Valley for example gets a lot less fog in the summer. And places along the Monterey Salinas Hwy are also popular alternatives for folks wanting to go a bit inland to get more sun. But to be honest with you we haven't seen the fog since August. It is 72 degrees and sunny today. Flowers are blooming and it is mid-Winter! Plus I love being able to walk outside and see the ocean and smell the salt air and watch the sunset while taking a stroll along the beach with my family. We can hear the sea lions barking at night. So living close to the beach has its advantages.

Here is a shot of our kids playing at the beach in Nov. and it is at least this warm and sunny today:



As to the nicer cities along the Peninsula take a look at Carmel, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach and Monterey.

Bottom line - don't sell you and your family short by spending all your time looking at SoCal when Central and Northern Cal have so much more to offer if you enjoy some of the things which I mentioned above.

My 2c,

Derek

Thank you so much for this. You have give us a lot to think about. Those were beautiful pictures, and your children are precious
I have been convinced to focus on No, or central Cal. Yet we will still visit SoCal. Thank you all so much for sharing your opinions with me, it has greatly helped with this process. My list now, though well past 3 or 4 cities, is alomst finished. I wish I had more time to tell you all how much I appretiate your input, but work has been crazy this week and I havent had time to sit back and relax. Just know, we are taking into consideration many of the places that were suggested in the past few days. When we do decide, and go visit the areas I will let you all know how it went.

[jdf718]

If money is no issue, I'd take a good look at Santa Barbara. Pretty unbeatable combination of great weather, dramatic landscape, and wonderful lifestyle. I've lived there and dream of going back some day. It's an amazing place.