Northern California??? (Santa Clarita, Santa Rosa, Concord: new home, living in, moving)

[DzzRed]

Is there an Northern California section? I'm looking, I may have over-looked it. Talking about the mountains, like the Sonora/Sierra/Yosemite areas.

Thx,

Yvette

[Inthesierras]

I like Arnold, Angels Camp, and a few towns in that direction.

[kettlepot]

There is no northern California section. People just start a thread in the main CA section. Though the area you've described is Central California.

[jaada]

mt ranch is awesome. the best place to live i think in california if you dont need to work or dont mind traveling.

[CADRMNDANES]

Grass Valley, Auburn, Truckee and Lake Tahoe are in the N. CA mountains.

[SeekingMayberry]

Hi, everyone,

I'm brand new at this, so please bear with me. My husband and I have been living in Santa Clarita (40 miles north of LA) for the past 15 years, and although it's been a wonderful town to raise kids in, we're thinking of moving north to cooler temps now that we'll be empty-nesters soon. It does get pretty hot here in the summer (100+). Not sure if the answer is in northern CA, Oregon, Washington, etc. We love Humbolt and Mendocino Counties, but other than vacationing there a few times, we haven't heard a lot about what everyday, "real" life would be like.

Ideally, we'd love to live in a small town with a great community of caring people with medical facilities not too far away; low humidity (been there and had enough of that as I'm a native Houstonian!); cooler temps; laid-back lifestyle; and oh, if there's a lake nearby, that would be even better for my fisherman husband. I'd appreciate any suggestions you may have. Thanks!

[kettlepot]

What is your tolerance for snow?
How close do these medical facilities have to be?

I would suggest Paradise which is in the Sierra foothills and close to the medical facilities of Chico. I'm sure Paradise gets some snow, and some of those summer days will certainly be in the 90s.

Burney, which is in the mountains and near the Hat Creek fish hatchery (not that I'm suggesting that your husband throw his hook and bait into the fish ponds ). Burney is cold in the winter and warm but dry in the summer, but not as warm as the Central Valley. Redding's major medical facilities are an hour away, however.

And lastly Medford, Oregon. I don't know a lot about Medford, but it is located on I-5 and at the southern end of the Willamette Valley. It will surely be on the rainy side as everything up there west of the Cascades is. This location is probably your best chance of avoiding almost all higher than 90 degree temperatures, other than the northern CA and OR coasts.

The issue with Humboldt and Mendocino counties is their isolation, and your tolerance for cool and humid. Regarding isolation it is a 3-4 hour drive over the mountains to Redding, and then from Redding any other place on the interstate system. I'm not sure how long the drive from that area is to the Bay Area, but it's probably not as easy as one minute per mile. The other is is the amount of rain up there. You might want to try a months vacation at a time other than late summer to see if after a long time in the Southern California sun you can adapt to that much gray sky and fog. Personally, I love the fog and the gray, but other people are constantly complaining about how it affects their moods.

[CA central coast]

Originally Posted by SeekingMayberry

Hi, everyone,

I'm brand new at this, so please bear with me. My husband and I have been living in Santa Clarita (40 miles north of LA) for the past 15 years, and although it's been a wonderful town to raise kids in, we're thinking of moving north to cooler temps now that we'll be empty-nesters soon. It does get pretty hot here in the summer (100+). Not sure if the answer is in northern CA, Oregon, Washington, etc. We love Humbolt and Mendocino Counties, but other than vacationing there a few times, we haven't heard a lot about what everyday, "real" life would be like.

Ideally, we'd love to live in a small town with a great community of caring people with medical facilities not too far away; low humidity (been there and had enough of that as I'm a native Houstonian!); cooler temps; laid-back lifestyle; and oh, if there's a lake nearby, that would be even better for my fisherman husband. I'd appreciate any suggestions you may have. Thanks!

San Luis Obispo or the coastal communities of SLO County. Great system of lakes here and your husband may want to get into surf fishing off the beach. Great place to live.

[Adriatica]

Originally Posted by SeekingMayberry

Hi, everyone,

I'm brand new at this, so please bear with me. My husband and I have been living in Santa Clarita (40 miles north of LA) for the past 15 years, and although it's been a wonderful town to raise kids in, we're thinking of moving north to cooler temps now that we'll be empty-nesters soon. It does get pretty hot here in the summer (100+). Not sure if the answer is in northern CA, Oregon, Washington, etc. We love Humbolt and Mendocino Counties, but other than vacationing there a few times, we haven't heard a lot about what everyday, "real" life would be like.

Ideally, we'd love to live in a small town with a great community of caring people with medical facilities not too far away; low humidity (been there and had enough of that as I'm a native Houstonian!); cooler temps; laid-back lifestyle; and oh, if there's a lake nearby, that would be even better for my fisherman husband. I'd appreciate any suggestions you may have. Thanks!

You might look at Sebastopol in Sonoma County. It's near Santa Rosa's medical facilities, but off the 101 corridor and a nice community. There are lakes and the ocean nearby. It's an expensive area, though.

[TheDragonslayer]

I live here in Humboldt county in McKinleyville which is 12 miles north of Eureka and 3 to 5 from Arcata. During the day the humidity may fall to as low as 20 % and return to as high as 90 % at night on the foggy nights. The humidity makes a 65 degree day feel comfortable and anything over 70 is warm ( at least to me ), I too like it cool and foggy. We do get some days in the low 70's and even in the 80's once in a while. 90's are rare and 100 even rarer, though we hit 100 on this last May 15th. McKinleyville is unincorporated and is around 16,000 people and that is double what it was 10 years ago. There are new homes in Eureka and Arcata, but neither of those is growning at the rate of McK. If you google Humboldt realestate, I think you will find many new homes here starting at just under $300,000. All the towns here are small with rural and even bucolic atmospheres, most have a parade or fair based on the rodeo or pony express or a combo of similar events. When I moved here in 1992, it felt like I had moved back in time to the Pittsburg, Antioch and Concord area of the S F Bay Area of the early 60's. Most people are very friendly here.