Areas with lower cost of living (San Diego, Oceanside: real estate, 2010, rent)

[dlyoung123]

I am a single retired guy. And am hoping to move to California in 2010. And I am wondering which reagines have the lowest cost of living. Preferably within an hours or so bus ride to the sea shore.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by dlyoung123

I am a single retired guy. And am hoping to move to California in 2010. And I am wondering which reagines have the lowest cost of living. Preferably within an hours or so bus ride to the sea shore.

What do you mean by low cost of living? I will tell you, seeing you are in Iowa, I wouldn't count on finding anything that is reasonable by mid west standards anywhere near the ocean..

Nita

[Clarks]

Lowest housing costs are probably along the Colorado River from Needles south, just a short jaunt to the Salton SeaOther costs are likely to even out and be about the same across the state, except for the mountains areas in the East and North, because of shipping costs, prices tend to be higher.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by Clarks

Lowest housing costs are probably along the Colorado River from Needles south, just a short jaunt to the Salton SeaOther costs are likely to even out and be about the same across the state, except for the mountains areas in the East and North, because of shipping costs, prices tend to be higher.

hadn't thought about Needles, but for some reason I don't think the Salton Sea is exactly what he had in mind when he mentioned being close to the ocean..

[humboldtrat]

Check out El Centro or Calexico (if you can stand the 110+ summer heat). Imperial county has a low cost of living. The beaches at San Diego would probably take 2 hours by bus.

[City Boy]

Even Compton is expensive.

[Steve97415]

The Law of Supply and Demand in real estate

most desirable = most expensive

least expensive = least desirable

Some of the characteristics that make an area less desirable are remote location, lousy climate, inner-city decay, poor local economy, high crime, poor city planning, congested roadways, outdated infrastructure, lack of public amenities, bad schools and gang activity. Those are the things you want to look for if you're going to make low cost of living a top priority.

[Hawk J]

Originally Posted by dlyoung123

I am a single retired guy. And am hoping to move to California in 2010. And I am wondering which reagines have the lowest cost of living. Preferably within an hours or so bus ride to the sea shore.

By Marina,CA i think they still rent homes in Fort Ord, close to Fritsche airfield. Years ago my bil rented there at a reasonable rent.

Best of Luck to you Bro.

[UB50]

You might try Humbolt County and the area around Eureka/Crescent City in Northern California. There are small towns right on the ocean. There isn't much employment up there so the area has remained pretty reasonable.

Also, Oceanside might not be too bad since it's near a military base.

[user_id]

Most areas that are within 1 hour of the beach don't have "bus rides to the ocean". I think you'll get better responses if you state what you'd find affordable, whether you want to buy or rent, etc.

There are some coastal communities that are not too expensive, they just don't have a lot of jobs. But of course that is not relevant if you are retired.