What town in California or the Southwest is most like The South? (life, difference)

[Sampaguita]

Lived in San Diego for 8 yrs until 2008 and don't recall ever having to turn off our water due to high fines if we accidentally used too much. We definitely had periods of drought but never to the level where we were rationing water. My husband lived there for 20 yrs and he doesn't recall ever rationing water either.

Santa Ynez is gorgeous and expensive. I spent some time there because my boss's ranch was there. It's a more conservative crowd than in LA. Santa Barbara is like the big city compared to Santa Ynez. My boss wanted me to move to SY when I first moved out there but his wife immediately sized me up & told him I would die of boredom there. For rural, I think you have to go inland, over the mountain ranges, into Bakersfield and Lancaster. I've only been there a couple of times but imo, those were pretty much cow towns. Not much to do there. Friends who are natives of Bako LOVE going back home but have said they'd never actually live there again.

South of Santa Barbara is Summerland, Carpinteria and then Ventura County. Still expensive areas. I'm not a huge LA fan so VC is getting too close to LA for me. I'd rather live in SD at that point (although I complained ad nauseum about SD when I moved there from SB ). You'd definitely have a lot of options in SD County over areas in the central coast (which yes - is foggy & wet/cold). But as already mentioned, you'd need a bit of dough to live there and then some to buy.

[Jkgourmet]

Unless you have lots of money, I'd stay away from San Diego.

I've lived in the Phoenix Area for over two decades, and I like it, but I don't think what you are describing fits most of Arizona. Or Nevada. I'd think that SE and South Central California (Temicula, Hemet and that vicinity) might make sense, and will also offer a much cheaper COL than San Diego. You'll have to give up the beach, but I think you'll find lots of lakes, rivers, trees, hiking, farms and some wonderful family oriented communities.

You're not going to find anything Gulf Coast - like in a dry climate. But if you can give up the beach for other water, you'll find some great options in S. Cal - just stay away from the Coast!

[Willy702]

Give up the need for trees and you'll have some options. Where there are trees you will be up in the mountains with some rather cold winter weather, but wonderful summers. And in the SW mountain settings generally don't come cheap.

[Buzz123]

Where exactly are the relatives that you need to visit? Northern Arizona only has a couple of towns, and the Central Coast of Cal is hundreds of miles long.

But a quick answer is you won't find anything like east Texas west of Austin. Should we assume that you want to be halfway between AZ and Cal? You might like the town of Victorville, CA. Or Bakersfield, CA. It would be fairly easy to go to either the coast or to AZ from there, especially Victorville.

In the 80's I kept telling my wife we should move to Victorville and start a radio station when we could have done it on a shoestring. Now I'm very sorry we didn't. It is starting to remind me of Las Vegas in the 60's when it wasn't crowded and still had plenty of wide open spaces to enjoy. It's close enough to Las Vegas and LA for shopping, or even San Bernardino, but still has a very rural feel. It is close to Big Bear lake for fishing, hiking, and skiing. And you could have a horse there with plenty of places to ride.

Bakersfield is near I-5 and part of the Central Valley farmland. Might be a little more difficult to go to AZ from there, but you said within a day. It is close to the Sierra Nevadas too, with some of the most beautiful National Parks in the world nearby. And it's not too far from beautiful downtown Burbank (Los Angeles).

St. George, Utah, might be good for you, but it's a little out of the way for trips to the coast, and unless your Northern AZ relatives live in the Arizona Strip, you'd have to go around the Grand Canyon to get there.

[Buzz123]

Also, you might look at small towns along the Pacific Coast, or maybe inland a little bit, Paso Robles, CA, or even Solvang. But if you have respiratory problems you probably don't want to be near Central California unless it's on the ocean. BTW, doctors keep sending people here because they need a dry climate, then when their mucus membranes dry out they get worse. Las Vegas and Phoenix have the highest rates of respiratory problems in the country. But dry ocean air like you find on the Pacific coast is good for you. Those negative ions keep you healthy.

Let us know what you decide.

[happyhunting]

I second the whole Victorville thing (minus the fact that it's stuck in CA with their politics/taxes/social problems). It's hi-desert, so more bush, wildflowers, trees. There's plenty of farmland, the minute you cross into San Bernadino. It's has warm/hot dry summers and isn't a huge metropolis like Vegas, Phoenix or LA would be. We pass through there several times a year and it keeps growing and getting more restaurants and services.

[testmo]

back in college all i heard from an ex was how horrible the city was running restrictions and rationing. you can read about the restrictions and past rationing online periods 2004 - 2009. i dont know whats going on there now

"Significant improvements in weather and water storage in 2011 led the San Diego County Water Authority to end mandatory urban and agricultural water supply cutbacks and to lift the agency’s regionwide call for mandatory water use restrictions, effective April 29, 2011"

ah looks like they are doing better now at least. http://www.sdcwa.org/water-shortage-...ought-response

[Westerntraveler]

las cruces, albuquerque,phoenix or prescott or yuma

[HoustonRonnie]

Originally Posted by Dopo

I would move to the only city that I've been to in the SouthWest.

Tucson, Arizona
and you'd be 200miles from Puerto Peñasco, Mexico

Puerto Penasco

Best shrimp I've ever had, bar none.

Just sayin'...

Ronnie

[PinkString]

Overton and Logandale. Wide open country like, farming in Logandale. Probably cheaper to live in Overton and it does have 1 supermarket, Lins. My favorite was Logandale. It feels so peaceful there.
More tree's and more of a country feel try Caliente. About 90 miles north of Las Vegas. The people are friendly down home types. I know a few up that way. Of course housing might be an issue there. Lots of mosquitos and other weird bugs there though. More than Las Vegas. I know because one of my friends gives us a running commentary on what bit them when, where, and every single other thing that crawls, slithers, hops, flies, etc.

If you want more tree's, try Southern Utah around St.George and surrounding area's. Rains there more too versus here in Las Vegas. Or try Kingman, AZ, probably closer to your relatives.