Family moving from uk - South Lake Tahoe, Santa Cruz or Pismo beach? (Santa Barbara: RV park, for sale)

[TIMJUK]

Thinking of escaping our climate to come and live in California. I have businesses in the uk and would need to buy one there in order to qualify for a visa so this makes the move a very big decision and relatively permanent,
My kids will be 10 and 12 so schooling and crime levels are important.
We all love the outdoor life and must be near water hence coastal or Tahoe.
Having visited on different occasions I loved central to Nor Cal but unsure how big a deal living with the fog would be further north of central?
Looking for ideas and inspiration please!!......

[2sleepy]

what is your budget? What kind of business? South Lake Tahoe is ok for a vacation but I wouldn't want to live there and the schools aren't great. If you really want to live in the Tahoe area, Incline Village Nevada might be more to your liking. I have no idea how the schools are in Incline, Nevada schools are notoriously bad (underfunded) but Incline is a wealthy area so my guess is the schools reflect that. If money were no object I would live in Carmel California (near Santa Cruz).

[tanglenet]

If you can afford it, Santa Cruz, but you will be competing with workers of Silicon Valley who live there and commute over the hill. Its also a dangerous and deadly commute known for its accidents.

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by TIMJUK

Thinking of escaping our climate to come and live in California. I have businesses in the uk and would need to buy one there in order to qualify for a visa so this makes the move a very big decision and relatively permanent,
My kids will be 10 and 12 so schooling and crime levels are important.
We all love the outdoor life and must be near water hence coastal or Tahoe.
Having visited on different occasions I loved central to Nor Cal but unsure how big a deal living with the fog would be further north of central?
Looking for ideas and inspiration please!!......

Almost everyone in Santa Cruz smokes weed, I don't know if that will be an issue for you.

Have you considered Santa Barbara or Monterey / Carmel by the Sea?

[jribe]

Originally Posted by TIMJUK

Thinking of escaping our climate to come and live in California. I have businesses in the uk and would need to buy one there in order to qualify for a visa so this makes the move a very big decision and relatively permanent,
My kids will be 10 and 12 so schooling and crime levels are important.
We all love the outdoor life and must be near water hence coastal or Tahoe.
Having visited on different occasions I loved central to Nor Cal but unsure how big a deal living with the fog would be further north of central?
Looking for ideas and inspiration please!!......

what's your budget for housing? Pismo and Santa Cruz are both very expensive, with Tahoe shortly behind.

[TIMJUK]

Thanks for the replies, very grateful for the input.

Need to buy a business and a house so could combine the two by looking at RV park, motel or similar.

Are the schools good in Santa Cruz? weather, etc.

Would Pismo/Arooyo Grande be too quiet for young family?

Is South Lake Tahoe a good year round destination or Truckee better with a family?

I know all this looks a bit random but these are the places I have most liked after a number of visits over there - maybe im missing something else? Maybe as far North as Clear Lake but not sure as nice as Tahoe...

Grateful for any opinions - they all count!

[Ruth4Truth]

The weather in Santa Cruz is as perfect as it can get. In a California context. Which means, the fog comes in in the evening, and departs in the late morning. This is what keeps temperatures cool. We love our fog. If you're allergic to fog, you might not like it. But if you could understand and gain an appreciation of our fog, you might view it differently. In a region where temperatures could be hellish otherwise, fog is a blessing. You're not a true coastal Californian if you can't appreciate the fog. It's a thing with us. It's different from the London fog that just settles in and rarely leaves. Change your mindset, and you, too, can come to love the fog! Especially if it comes packaged with beautiful beaches, colorful towns, and afternoon sunshine daily.


You could look at Half Moon Bay, north of Santa Cruz, which I hear has good schools. But as a small agricultural community on the fringe of the Bay Area tech development, you might find it "too quiet". There are other very nice places to consider, though. You could try Mill Valley in Marin County, which has a nearby beach, redwood groves in the middle of town, hiking trails leading up Mt. Tamalpais, and is a gem of a town. Good schools all over Marin. You could go up the coast to Mendocino. Clear Lake is out. It's not "nice", not good for kids, not low crime, too isolated, and very hot in the summers. There's very little tourism, so there's no base upon which to support a business.

[tanglenet]

Entry level decent motels and B&Bs will be around US$2 mil. I would not recommend Tahoe for motels unless you work with a real estate attorney. At one time South Shore was littered with cheap motels and a lot have been bought to be torn down by the govermental agency doing the redevelopment. You may be paying more for a place that will eventually be bought for less to be torn down. There are motels in Cambria for sale, but Cambria has no water. Truckee relies on skiers and winter sports, but there is no snow. The drought is forcing a lot of people to sell as they are losing money. A lot of trailer parks were bought up years ago by large corporations and REITs. It will be difficult if not impossible to find anything on the coast that could be bought and operated for a mom and pop operation.

[2sleepy]

Originally Posted by TIMJUK

Thanks for the replies, very grateful for the input.

Need to buy a business and a house so could combine the two by looking at RV park, motel or similar.

Are the schools good in Santa Cruz? weather, etc.

Would Pismo/Arooyo Grande be too quiet for young family?

Is South Lake Tahoe a good year round destination or Truckee better with a family?

I know all this looks a bit random but these are the places I have most liked after a number of visits over there - maybe im missing something else? Maybe as far North as Clear Lake but not sure as nice as Tahoe...

Grateful for any opinions - they all count!

South Lake Tahoe or Truckee would be high risk for a motel or RV park investment, they are highly dependent upon snow for winter sports and the snow pack is at 17% of normal. and there are more than enough motel rooms in those areas for summer travelers. I think Santa Cruz (or anywhere on the coast in that part of California) would be a better bet, but it's an expensive area and what you are looking for won't come cheap.

[phantompilot]

Originally Posted by 2sleepy

what is your budget? What kind of business? South Lake Tahoe is ok for a vacation but I wouldn't want to live there and the schools aren't great. If you really want to live in the Tahoe area, Incline Village Nevada might be more to your liking. I have no idea how the schools are in Incline, Nevada schools are notoriously bad (underfunded) but Incline is a wealthy area so my guess is the schools reflect that. If money were no object I would live in Carmel California (near Santa Cruz).

Washoe County ranks 57'th out of the largest 100 school districts nationally (while Las Vegas Unified ranks 5th) in terms of per pupil spending so its not underfunded by any objective measure.

And BTW, CA spends even less per pupil than Nevada overall.

The quality of a school district has a very low correlation with per pupil spending - what makes a good school system is good students. Not the amount of money spent.

Bad students (and parents) = bad schools
Good students (and parents) = good schools.

The best way to identify a good school is to look carefully at the rankings on greatschools.net
Probably the single largest factor in school quality is demographics (some of this data is also included on the site)