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

[BCEagles01]

Thousand Oaks in the LA area. San Diego.
Old town San Diego was a really nice spot.

As Sampaguita said Ventura County is pretty nice. At least what I saw was nice.


But as it has been said, hope you have some deep pockets, well to do roommate, or a trust fund.

[DelaneyRudd]

St. George, Utah
It's large enough to have a variety of religious options but conservative and family oriented.

[homegrown tomatoes]

Thank you all for your replies!

The relatives are in Monterey (Salinas) and Sedona / VOC / Verde.
I know, these are all nice small places with trees, which makes my question seem funny. BUT

1. I am trying to cover both of them (maybe not possible)
2. They are both expensive places, and
3. even though the price is dear, there is something missing - for me. (Not completely sure about Sedona, but I know this is the case in Monterey) Not real life. (Values are bent by tourism, retirement,

Not sure how to describe it, its not only trees or farms (it would be too picky just for trees).
Its something in the community, the way of life... how the kids there spend their time, what is valued, are there more people to be found outdoors or in malls. Also social differences. Some areas are more reserved, some are more with open-arms. Slow vs fast-paced. Degree of political correctness, regulations, (I cannot even mention taxes, kind of out-of-my-control if I'm considering California. I think Nevada is better in this regard?)
Independent spirit / free spirit, neighborliness,

Outgoing Friendliness! In some places, people think its forward. But its not.

(Its also music and food, but I can't even go there... without going there.)

Anyway, the trees just go with it. Its a different culture when people grow food, etc.
It may also have something to do with being settled / investment. You plant trees, water them, treasure their shade...
As opposed to just building crazy, maximizing everything, zero-lot line kind of thing.
(I think you can make dense and affordable housing to accommodate a lot of people while still respecting open and productive space, but this is usually not what the demand is for. Alas, I wander, that's another forum I'm sure...)
_________

I never thought of Victorville! That's a really interesting idea! I will check it out.
And its good advise to visit first, I just want to target it. So I really appreciate the advise.

I am really curious about Logandale, too.

Shocked to hear about bugs in Caliente. In Nevada? What's up with that? Scorpions?

Kingman is a possibility. Do a lot of people come to Vegas for shopping, etc. from there?

Thanks also for the warning re. the air maybe being too dry. That makes sense.

These are some really great ideas

[homegrown tomatoes]

Thank you all for your suggestions!

[Buzz123]

You know, you just might like Elko, NV. It's great little cow town. Lots of outdoors stuff nearby. It's on I-80 so getting to Calif within a day is easy enough.

Driving Directions from Elko, Nevada to Salinas, California

Getting to Arizona is harder.

Driving Directions from Elko, Nevada to Sedona, Arizona

They have a lot of fun in Elko. The Western Folklife Center

[homegrown tomatoes]

You have brought up good points. Thank you!

[An0nym0us88]

I'd say Chandler, AZ. Nice suburban of Phoenix.

[cacto]

Central,northern, and especially southern AZ get summer thunderstorms. West AZ,NV, and CA rarely do. West AZ/ the Colorado river towns are the hottest parts of the desert with the least amount of trees, the desert around Phoenix and Tucson is a lot more green compared to the Colorado River towns.
Strawberry has plenty of summer t-storms and a ton of trees to climb, though work is extremely hard to come by unless you are in with the local mormons. Pine and Strawberry were founded by the Church of LDS and are still very mormon. The only work I've seen there was construction/handy man stuff, a handful of restaurants(which aren't open as long as city restaurants), or the 17 mile drive into Payson for Home Depot or Walmart, both of which I'm not knocking as you can live off that kinda pay around there.
There's farms around the desert cities in AZ, but not the barn and chicken kind with the farmer family and their tractor, more like cotton fields, bean fields, and orange orchards.
I don't think any town in AZ, NV, or CA is anything like the South but I suspect Arizona is a little more culturally like the South than CA or NV.
AZ is a great place to grow up. Depending on where you live there might not be a whole lotta trees, but you got tons of mountains and canyons to explore and camp in. A lot of people here drive 30 miles out of town(phoenix) and they're pretty much in wilderness. Hunting, fishing, mountain biking, atv's, hiking, rock climbing, and all that are huge here. There's 5-6 pretty big lakes around Phoenix that are real good for fishing, boating, and are gorgeous. Phoenix is a big city but there's plenty of smaller towns around it close to the mountains. The summer's hot and long but the thunderstorms kick in during July/August and you get a little rain and wind to cool you off while you kick back and watch the lightning show.
If it has to be Western Arizona, I've been hearing a lot of good things about Kingman, but honestly I've never spent any time there, just passed through on the way to Las Vegas. Don't know much about it.
Good luck on your search.

[KC6ZLV]

Originally Posted by homegrown tomatoes

KC6ZLV, thanks for posting the music video!

Have you heard of the Bakersfield Sound?

That BAKERSFIELD SOUND Home Page

[homegrown tomatoes]

cacto,
Thank you so much for the info, especially re. Strawberry.
What is your favorite town near Phoenix, closer to the mountains?

Have a great day!