Where is the most down to earth community in Northern Cali?

[SoCalTwinkie]

From your description, I would pick SANTA CRUZ (perhaps FELTON) area.

[coldswan]

Originally Posted by bitburgsarah

okay heres the issue... im 27 i have a beautifull 5yrold son and my very cool harley man... We are stuck in a bad situation that we thought would be beneficial to our future unfortunatley the 3yrs stay plan in fort myers fl is not going to work. We have been here since 2006 dec i know .. very short stay and want to bail. I am from alot of states and was born in germany airforce brat..to name a few Maine,new hampshire, staten island, way way upstate new york and upstate ny catskill area where we left to come to fl.I loved our tight knit small community in new york we are right by bethel (original woodstock site) and our community was super down to earth but we had to leave because my boyfiend got a really great offer in florida for a job transfer to harley davidson. Honestly said this is the scariest place i have ever lived. We are seeking to move to northern cali. My boyfriend rides alot, we all snowboard, my boyfriend hunts, i am very artistic, eco friendly, vegan, we all hike and we all love love the outdoors. We want to find an area that is affordable with a small town, liberAL minded,off the chart friendly and diverse community... i could care less for house to house streets im talking about 10 acre land for my organic garden, small well educated school for my son, driving 15 to 20 minutes to town at a non brand name organic grocery store, where the only thing that is trespassing on my property is a deer or some other beautifull wildlife.Very close mountains and rugged terrain. We are done with americas brand name villages if you get my drift. ALso biker and jeep friendly. extreme weatehr condtions we dont mind we have lived it all we just want to be happy . Any ideas at all i would greatly appreciate but we do have to be close to a harly davidson dealership. Thanks so much... much love!!!!! and if people know other states on the west coast close to my criteria i would love to hear about those place toooooooo!!!!

Sorry Bitburgsarah, but if your ultimate goal is to end up in Alaska, liberal it is not. With the oil industry so many people here are Texas transplants that this is something like 65% Republican. Eco-friendly? We don't even have the basic ability to recycle to the curb as the cost to get it shipped out of state is so huge, people throw everything away! Bottles included! I know you said you like the snow, but eight months of the year?! Your boyfriend won't be riding his bike much up here. It is bitter cold from October to mid May. I would stay with the California northern cities idea. Oh, and the cost of living aside from no state income tax is horrendous! Housing just keeps going up and food is overpriced and vegetarian-forget it, you will be eating rotten veggies by the time they get up here! Sorry, I am one person, but am counting the days until I can get out of here! Nice from the cruise ship rail but not for me!!

[AlaskaJack]

Originally Posted by bitburgsarah

yeah it did although my good friend said when she was in eureka arcata area it was really like a road kid town which she was at that time... and said it was not in my taste because it was too flashy or something i guess we are just going to have to travel out there . i have been reading alot of the threads and noticed alot of people are escaping ca basically for the same reasons people are escaping new york is that mostly concentrated in southern cali or is northern cali also too populated and americanized??? Neversink is so beautifull your lucky your fam has got a farm for you to visit there!!!! california just is one step closer to alaska we hope to buy land there someday
cam

[/quote]

There are several Harley dealerships in Alaska. One each in: Anchorage, Fairbanks and Kenai. Not many riders in the winter tho, just a few "hardy souls" with their trikes!

[cloud dweller]

Attention,in search of Normal Northern California
Durango,Colorado is One Large T-shirt Shop,it is shameful,but America is doing just that to many Beautiful Western towns.Commercialism can go too far.May I suggest that you visit a town many times,in all 4 seasons,before you decide to move there.Nevada City,California,Grass Valley.
What is happening to California under our current National leadership is the an unspeakable horror.Japan,an island nation who attacked the USA with such cowardice at Pearl Harbor,would not allow ONE single human being to invade their little country now,2007,without considering it an invasion.But we all know what is happening to California and Arizona.INVASION by people from all over the world.
This is why you are having trouble finding a normal California,because it is gone.

[Applegater]

Try I-80 corridor east out of Sacramento into foothills. Start at Newcastle, through Auburn, then to Colfax. From Colfax, Highway 174 to Grass Valley/Nevada City area. "Above the fog, below the snow" (most of the time) Harley dealers in Auburn and Rocklin. Small towns, rural mountain living, National Forest, skiing 30 miles to the east, great biking territory, good schools, down to earth people. Land and housing not cheap, but more reasonable than Napa Valley or North Coast.

[zoetman]

wht about oregon. lots of down to earth stuff happening there.