Monterey County for Grad School

[SportyandMisty]

If it were me, I would ask several faculty members an administrators at the school for some recommendations. Monterey is beautiful and certainly you will find areas that exceed your budget. You will also find areas that fit your budget. Coming from SLC, if you happen to be LDS, you might want to go through LDS connections.

[roadwarrior101]

I grew up in Salinas and there was a substantial LDS community where I lived. Personally, I wouldn't live in Salinas itself, as the city has gone downhill. However, some of the communities along the Hwy 68 corridor are very nice (Toro Park, San Benancio, Corral De Tierra, Laguna Seca). Now, these are disconnected from a downtown area. If that's what you're looking for, you can't go wrong by living close to either downtown Monterey, Pacific Grove or Carmel (if you can afford it).

[Rand McNalley]

We plan to visit both Monterey and Denver this month. Cost of living is much lower in Denver, but school is more expensive. How tough is it to get around the Monterey area? Is it worth it pay more to live close enough to bike? How is traffic?

[jeffredo]

Its easy to get around Monterey by car - traffic is a cake walk compared to larger cities. Marina is the most far flung area of the Peninsula and you can get to downtown Monterey from it in 15 minutes. South Salinas is the farthest I would live and on Hwy 68 and its maybe a half hour in good traffic. I personally would pay more to be within biking/walking distance. I worked in the Ryan Ranch area of Monterey (bunch of office buildings just out of town) and commuted from Salinas for years. I then got an apartment in New Monterey (west of the Presido) and it was so nice not to have to fight the traffic on Hwy 68. Plus there's just lots more to do and see in the immediate area - not to mention the restaurants.

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by Rand McNalley

We plan to visit both Monterey and Denver this month. Cost of living is much lower in Denver, but school is more expensive. How tough is it to get around the Monterey area? Is it worth it pay more to live close enough to bike? How is traffic?

We moved from CO to Monterey and the difference is like night and day in so many ways. It really depends on what you would enjoy more as every family is different. If you are only going for school I don't think you could go wrong with either. But they are very different. In Denver your starting point is a mile high. And once you head into the mountains it is much higher. Since I love the mountains and the coast I really enjoyed both. However given the choice for the longer run I much prefer the coast, specifically Monterey. Traffic can get really bad in Denver depending on where you live and are working/going to school. Its a pretty large city, especially compared to Monterey. Smog can get bad as well as the heat in the Summer months reaching the 100s. I would say for a family you can do more outdoor activities over in Monterey year round. The milder coastal weather allows for that. In CO the weather is extreme by contrast and changes on a dime. But some love snow country. We enjoy *visiting* the snow more than living in it, working and driving in it daily. So it really depends more on you and what you'll enjoy more. Also Denver isn't as close to nature as Monterey. If you live in the city closer to downtown you'll need to drive toward Boulder, then up toward Estes Park to get into the Rockies. That can take much longer during snow season. You can't just go hiking in the mountains after work for example. The lakes and associated hiking trails are typically frozen until May/June timeframe in the Rockies. By contrast the coastal mountain hiking trails are accessible year round in Monterey. Here is February for example:





By contrast here is a hike I took in Rocky Mountain National Park in March:





Snow season lasts for most of the year in CO with lakes beginning to freeze over in the Fall. Here is October in RMNP:





I wouldn't make housing your primary deciding factor since you are only there for school. There are so many other quality of life factors to consider beyond the size of an apartment/house you will live in temporarily. For me that would be a minor issue compared to other more important pros/cons to consider. If cheap housing is of paramount importance then your decision is already made = Denver. However with the school cost offset it sounds like this is more of a wash at best. If you get a bit smaller place in Monterey it may even end up being less depending on the tuition difference.

BTW, if you miss the snow too much we have that here too. The High Sierra is easy to visit on the weekends with Yosemite, Kings Canyon and Sequoia NP a few hours away. Here is an example from Sequoia NP:




Derek

[carmel123]

Rand:

There is a nice bike path that runs along the coast from the beginning of Pebble Beach at the Pacific grove end to somewhere north of Seaside. You could bike to Monterey Institute (MIIS) easily if your family lives anywhere near the bike path. I personally prefer the old Monterey area between MIIS and Naval Post Graduate School (NPGS) or the New Monterey area that is past Defense Language Institute (DLI) and goes to David Street. David Street divides New Monterey from Pacific Grove and Pacific Grove itself of course is nice. The terrain is steep in New Monterey so you may want to live closer to Hawthorne Street to make the commute from home to school more convenient. Parking around MIIS is in demand, so a bike is ideal. Don't forget a good bike lock!

I hope this helps.