Manhattan Beach Weather & Housing (San Francisco, Sacramento: apartments, rentals, condo)

[Sunbella]

I am divorced with no kids and considering a move from Sacramento to Manhattan Beach. I will most likely be able to work from a home office, so commuting is a non-issue. I like the idea of a small town feel with easy daily creature comforts (restaurants, clean streets, great yoga studio, wine bar, shops, coffee houses).

I will be renting and have a golden retriever, but don't really need a yard, as we walk a great deal.

Weather is fairly important to me and in the past I have enjoyed Mountain towns, (lived in Boulder, Colorado ) for college and Aspen, Colorado for post college and also enjoyed Lake Tahoe and Truckee, although I haven't lived there. I didn't mind the snow, given there were so many days of sunshine. In contrast, lived in San Francisco and couldn't stand the overcast weather. Guess, Portland isn't my place! :-)

I have never lived at the beach and am wondering how often it is overcast?? Sterling claims 244 days of sunshine??? Do you wake up to sunshine or is it cloudy?

Lastly, would I be able to find a cute duplex for $2,500? I am guessing most of the rentals are older apartments versus cute bungalow type rentals??

Mucho Thanks!

[JTGJR]

Manhattan Beach isn't really a big Apartment Rental market. Yes, there are some, but you'd be better off looking for condo or townhouse rentals. These are mostly along Highland Avenue which is probably the most heavily trafficked road in MB. Don't know your age, but the rental market is filled with 20ish to 30ish wannabes, so if you're into that, you're good to go. Not that it's a bad thing, necessarily. Just not for everyone.

As for the weather, there is what we call "May Gray and June Gloom" that usually run from mid-May through June. It's not cloudy, but it's overcast most of the day as inland becomes warmer and the ocean temperature tries to keep up. And there is seasonal fog. Then again, I was in Thousand Oaks early this week. It was 102 and sunny when I left and it was 73 and sunny when I arrived in El Segundo (next to MB).

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by Sunbella

I am divorced with no kids and considering a move from Sacramento to Manhattan Beach. I will most likely be able to work from a home office, so commuting is a non-issue. I like the idea of a small town feel with easy daily creature comforts (restaurants, clean streets, great yoga studio, wine bar, shops, coffee houses).

I will be renting and have a golden retriever, but don't really need a yard, as we walk a great deal.

Weather is fairly important to me and in the past I have enjoyed Mountain towns, (lived in Boulder, Colorado ) for college and Aspen, Colorado for post college and also enjoyed Lake Tahoe and Truckee, although I haven't lived there. I didn't mind the snow, given there were so many days of sunshine. In contrast, lived in San Francisco and couldn't stand the overcast weather. Guess, Portland isn't my place! :-)

I have never lived at the beach and am wondering how often it is overcast?? Sterling claims 244 days of sunshine??? Do you wake up to sunshine or is it cloudy?

Lastly, would I be able to find a cute duplex for $2,500? I am guessing most of the rentals are older apartments versus cute bungalow type rentals??

Mucho Thanks!

Manhattan Beach is one of the nicer places to live in LA County. I grew up there and have seen it change quite a bit. But I'll try not to go into all that.

In answer to some of your Qs Mahattan has a very warm, mild climate. It is sunny most of the time, yet not hot like Sac. And it gets much less fog than SF although there is still some June gloom. However I would say even that is light relatively speaking. Summer is warm enough to swim in the ocean and lay out on the beaches without getting cold most days. I used to spend practically every day of the summer at the beach growing up. And I didn't wear a wetsuit in the water even though I spent hours at a time surfing, bodysurfing, bodyboarding, etc... In the winter a wetsuit is needed vs. here in Monterey where it is needed year round. Ppl walk around in short and flip flops most of the year.

I've also lived in CO and I would say Manhattan and Hermosa have a similar young vibe like Boulder. Many 20, 30 somethings strutin' their stuff. They are also liberal in a similar way I guess. And they are both outskirt areas to much larger cities (LA/Denver). Instead of the Rockies you have the Pacific Ocean in your backyard. Ppl are really into being active, eating healthy, etc... Its a bit more pretentious now that so much money have moved in. Its the great escape from LA for pro athletes, hollywood folks, etc... that like living away from the rest of the mess of LA/Hollywood. RE is crazy high for small beach houses developers refer to as 'scrapers.' Check craiglist for prices. Yes, most houses and apartments are older. Why? Because owners can and the area has always been popular. So you have older properties.

It is definately more materialistic now than Boulder. Think Aspen or Vail. No place is perfect. But it is still nice based on your criteria I guess. Everyone has their preferences. I hope this helps some.




Derek