Would Greatly Appreciate Advice on Possible Relocation from Maine (San Jose: how much, hotel)

[trixie09]

Hi!
I know that you asked your question several weeks ago, but I'd like to add a suggestion. Have you looked at San Luis Obispo County? It would fit several of your criteria. There is an airport there, with connecting flights to major hubs, or you could drive to Santa Barbara airport for bigger trips.

I think you'd find the people very in tune with your way of life, very open. You can definitely find places to live where you could walk or bike to the farmer's markets, and the beach. It's a bit challenging with renting with pets, as SLO County is notoriously stingy with renting to pet owners. Here is a link to their visitor's bureau: Welcome to San Luis Obispo, the Happiest Place in America | Visitors Guide I lived there for many years, and it will always be home to me. Just a super nice lifestyle. It's sort of a combo between Monterey and Santa Cruz, but with more diverse weather.

[tinmancd]

We bought a quaint Victorian cottage in Pacific Grove because we love the many miles of accessible shoreline (unlike most CA municipalities, the shore is virtually undeveloped), quiet place with no traffic but easy access to city amenities, rarely gets hotter than 80° or colder than freezing and VERY dog friendly. Rent first, definitely. You might also love SLO area. I would avoid SantaCruz -- too congested.

[RescueDogs]

Hi Trixie and tinman, Thanks so much for the great advice - it is greatly appreciated. We are actually doing a house swap with someone in Aptos in about two weeks. We'll bein CA for a a little over a week. We're looking forward to checking out Santa Cruz, the Peninsula, and we do think it would be worth a trip down to SLO. We'll see how the different energies hit us!!

Thanks again :-)

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Originally Posted by RescueDogs

Hi Trixie and tinman, Thanks so much for the great advice - it is greatly appreciated. We are actually doing a house swap with someone in Aptos in about two weeks. We'll bein CA for a a little over a week. We're looking forward to checking out Santa Cruz, the Peninsula, and we do think it would be worth a trip down to SLO. We'll see how the different energies hit us!!

Thanks again :-)

Well done! Aptos is the perfect location. Enjoy your trip and welcome to CA!

[RescueDogs]

Thanks nomoresnowforme!! We are very excited to finally check things out :-)

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Please come back and tell us about your experiences.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by RescueDogs

Hi Everyone!

My wife and I are from the East Coast. I'm from Boston and my wife is from Portland, Maine. We have lived in the Northeast our entire lives except for a couple of years in Chapel Hill, NC (we moved back because we missed living near the ocean). Long story short, we are contemplating an adventure to live out in California. We are in our mid 30's, we have two children, both of which have four legs and are rescue dogs. They are our children 100% and are our top priority. We both work via phone so our clients come with us although we are toying with the idea of getting into real estate on the side because we both enjoy it. We'd obviously be renting for a while to test the waters before making any solid commitments. We've saved up roughly 500K and at some point in the future would want to buy a tiny cottage or possibly condo of 700-1000 sq. ft. We are minimalists - low on materials and high on experiences. We want to be outside as much as possible so a small safe place in a decent neighborhood would be great at some point :-)

I'm posting in the Monterey forum because after reading hundreds of posts and doing tons of research online, it seems (on paper) that this might be the best area for us. We're coming from the Portland Maine area which is a population of about 70,000 in this area, which I know can be peanuts for CA. So we'd be looking for something small city-ish or smaller town - ish, not a huge metropolis. We've been to San Diego (liked the vibe and weather a lot but way too congested) and San Francisco (again, good vibe but too overcast and again, way too congested). What we would be looking for in our ideal community (we've been around the block enough and traveled enough to know we won't find everything we are looking for, and that is fine. Most of everything is your attitude and we are very positive!)...


Meeting great friends and having a great community worth investing is of the utmost importance
Sunshine! (obviously, living in Boston and the Portland Maine area, the weather is awful 3/4 of the year, it is severely depressing for us - also my wife suffers from poor circulation so she gets frostbite easily)
Great places to walk the dogs (hiking, beaches, neighborhoods, parks, wide open spaces)
Pretty close to the ocean or relatively easy access 10-15 min drive (obviously not on it for budget reasons)
Nothing too overpopulated (we want to be in a good community but nothing like a huge city)
Nothing against people having kids at all, but we want to meet friends that don't only talk about their kids
Laid back environment for the most part (I often wonder how much more intense the northeast can get)
Tons of outdoor opportunities (we want to live outdoors as much as possible - we love running, biking, rollerblading, swimming, hiking, kayaking, obviously walking the dogs - anything outdoors!)
Safe areas to live (Obviously, I don't know anyone that wants to live near crime)
Would love to be able to ride a bike to farmer's market, around town (limit use of car)
Close to things going on around town (we aren't party animals but don't want to live in a dead community)
Population accepting of transplants (we can make friends with anyone, we are very friendly)
Would be nice to meet other vegans
Would love to meet lots of likeminded individuals (outdoorsy, vegan, active, loves dogs and animals, couples, progressive, forward thinking)

Also, I did a quick scan on meetup.com and it looks as though there are some wonderful meetup groups in the area for outdoorsy type stuff, socialization, hiking, and raw food - vegan. That seems like a good start.

We're going to take a vacation out in the area at some point soon and see how it feels. I'd love and appreciate any input, guidance, and advice from the locals and from those who are transplants (especially from the northeast and east coast). Do you think we would fit in well here and if not, which direction in CA would you point us? Thanks so much!

Well it sounds to me like you have done your homework, which is a start and your taking a vacation to the CA coast is the second step. I can't think of a better way to get an idea about what would work for you. It certainly sounds like you would fit into the CA scene very well. You might also want to consider someplace in Sonoma County or any of the areas on or near the coast, from Santa Barbara all the way up to northern California.

Now that I have read the entire thread, I see you are already in CA checking everything out. Be sure and let us know how things turn out for you. And take care of those 2 kids, we have a couple we rescued as well.

[seahorselvr]

RescueDogs,

Looking forward to hearing how your trip went as my husband and I are looking to move to Monterey in the next year. I appreciate your willingness to share your story and be honest about how you feel and what you are looking for.

We aren't looking for exactly the same things because we have a 7 year old son, a sweet 75lb Goldendoodle, and my elderly mother-in-law moving in with us from San Jose, Costa Rica. But the quiet outdoors part near the Ocean definitely appeals to us.

To anyone who wishes to comment:

I am an artist (Glass fusing/casting, stone sculptor) I also had a small interior redesign/staging business in B.C., Canada. I also knit, sew and make my own jams and jellies. I love gardening too. My husband is a Ph.D in Computer Science who works from home. I grew up in a small town in Northern California and my husband and I have lived over the past 18 years in Emeryville, Oakland Hills near Piedmont, Montclaire in the East Bay of San Francisco, Evergreen in the Mountains of Colorado, Marina Del Rey in Southern California, 4 1/2 years on Vancouver Island in British Columbia and now presently in El Dorado Hills in the foothills of the Sierras. We miss the Ocean. Once you live near it...it is hard to be away from it. Don't want to go back to the San Francisco area and all the crazy hustle and bustle of the city or L.A.. My husband is 50 and I am 40. I want quiet, calm where I can begin focussing on my art again, smell the ocean air and be a part of a more international community similar to what we had in Victoria, B.C. but here in California. Language learning is important to us...as is my sons education and access to culture and the arts. We just returned from a trip out to Monterey. We actually stayed at The Sanctuary in Marina and we loved the quiet endless beaches. Enjoyed watching the Dolphins swim in the morning. The town was quiet and peaceful. The restaurants weren't fancy but the food was good. We went during the week so I suppose it was quieter than the weekend. Not sure the town itself will support all of our needs but we loved the dunes and beaches. Sort of felt that Monterey would have more to offer us as a whole family after taking my son to the aquarium and hanging out there. Carmel and Pebble Beach felt a bit suffocating for me as an artist and I am wondering what it would have to offer artistically/culturally? Any comments or advice is appreciated. We are giving ourselves a year to research all of the possibilities.

[RescueDogs]

Thanks everyone! I'll definitely report back on how things go, it will be interesting and fun for sure. One last question I have for those willing to chime in before I leave. I'm only going to be out there for a week and want to check out the Santa Cruz area, Monterey/Carmel Valley area, and now - definitely San Luis Obispo area (have heard lots of info that this may be a great place for us). I know that is not a lot of time and these areas are expansive so I'd love to hear some opinions on a few must see or must do things from each area - given the criteria about our personality in the original post (besides just driving around and getting a sense of the energy in each area). I understand this trip is part research, part vacation give that it is just a week. This I would greatly appreciate from all of you. Thanks again for your time and wisdom! :-)

[loveautumn]

Peronally I'd vote for Monterey/Carmel or Santa Barbara (better weather). Santa Cruz may be a little to "hippy-ish" for you.