Quote:
Originally Posted by SilentAngel
If the move happend for certain... we will be making in the ball park of $150-$180K+ a year. The towns I would like to be in would be the far north CA and the central coast of CA.
The locations however in CA are as follows:
Long Beach
El Segundo
Huntington Beach
Anaheim
Seal Beach
Edwards AFB
Sylmar
Palmdale
West Hills
Irvine
Carson
Vandenberg AFB
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Here's a quick rundown of these areas' climates:
The following communities are close to the beach, and therefore would have the mildest climates in the state: Long Beach, El Segundo, Huntington Beach, Seal Beach, and Vandenberg AFB. Of these, Huntington Beach and Seal Beach are in Orange County, Long Beach is just to the north, at the southern edge of Los Angeles County, El Segundo is in the "South Bay" part of Los Angeles County, right next to L.A. International Airport, and Vandenberg AFB is in the northern part of Santa Barbara County along the "Central Coast." The Central Coast area probably has the coolest summer temperatures of all these areas, but all of them are pretty mild, with high temperatures normally below 90 degrees (F) throughout the summer. Of these beach communities, I think the Central Coast is probably the most affordable (though I'm not too familiar with the real estate markets in these areas).
Carson is just slightly further inland, but is still very close to the "South Bay" area, near El Segundo. It may get just a few degrees warmer in the summer, but is still kept pretty cool by the marine influence. For either of these locations, living in the South Bay area would make an easy commute (relative to SoCal).
Irvine and Anaheim are in the inland part of Orange County, but still kept pretty cool by the onshore flow from the Pacific Ocean. Anaheim is where Disneyland is, in case you've been there in the summer. The temperatures will likely be about 5-15 degrees warmer than the coastal communities on the hottest days of the year, but will remain a lot cooler than the inland valleys. Irvine is a bit closer to the ocean than Anaheim, so it will likely be a little milder in summer. I think the winter low temperatures generally stay above freezing, but might occasionally dip below a few nights a year.
Speaking of inland valleys, both West Hills and Sylmar are in the San Fernando Valley. Here you will experience hotter temperatures than the areas mentioned above, but not quite to the extremes of the Mojave Desert. In the S.F. Valley, the hottest days of summer almost always exceed 105 degrees (F), but this is usually only about two weeks each year. I've seen them as high as about 115. The winter temperatures usually drop just below freezing a few times each year, but only down to the high twenties, usually. This past winter was about the coldest one in recent memory, and the low temperatures in the valley were in the low twenties for nearly a week. These lows are generally only nighttime temperatures, and the valley usually warms well above freezing through the daytime in winter. Of the two locations in the valley, West Hills is generally a nicer area, but has some less desirable areas nearby, mainly in Canoga Park. Parts of Sylmar are very nice, while others are somewhat less desireable. There are some other nice areas nearby, as well, such as Northridge.
Last on the list are the desert communities. These include Palmdale and Edwards AFB. The temperatures in the desert vary greatly from day to night, and from summer to winter. It's not unusual for the summer temperatures to top 110 degrees during the day, and for the winter temperatures to drop into the mid to high teens at night. Generally, the area cools down at night, and warms up during the day throughout the year, but there are a few summer nights that remain above 100 degrees each year, it seems. There's been quite a bit of discussion about Palmdale and the Antelope Valley on the City-Data forums, so you can look those up to find out about the Palmdale area. If work takes you to Edwards, you will probably want to look into living in Tehachapi, since it is in the mountains rather than the desert, and is quite a bit cooler, both in summer and winter. The desert communities near Edwards are Rosamond, Mojave, and North Edwards.
Getting back to the original post, based on the climate you were seeking, I would recommend looking into the Vandenberg AFB location. The nearby communities are Lompoc, Orcutt, Guadalupe, and Santa Maria, among others. I think you would likely be able to find someplace in one of these communities that is to your liking, and with the salary range that you indicated, you should be able to afford something there. You can search the City-Data forums for information on this area, and I think you will find that it is a place that you will find to your liking.
My second choice based on your criteria, would be the South Bay area. There are a lot of communities in the area, including Torrance, El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, Hawthorne, and several others. I think you should be able to find something in this area to your liking, also.
As to your concern about folks running around in Bikinis, I wouldn't worry too much in any of the areas mentioned, with the possible exception of Huntington Beach. Generally, this is not something that is common except on the beach, and/or at swimming pools. I don't recall ever seeing anyone just walking down the street in a bikini in any residential area of California, unless it was within walking distance to the beach.
I know this was a pretty long post, but I wanted to provide you with some valuable information. I haven't lived in most of the areas you mentioned, so the information I provided is fairly general for most of those areas. If you have some specific questions about any of these areas, feel free to ask them, and I'm sure you will get plenty of good responses. I hope this information helps you in your search.
-Joe
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Thinking of mo.to CA asap..Need advice.
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