Do you know of a place like SF, (liberal, arts, culture) on the West Coast where a middle aged family can live cheaply? (San Diego: house, neighborhoods)

[Italianmama]

Do you know of a place like SF, (liberal politics, environmentally green, arts, culture) on the West Coast where a middle aged family can live cheaply?

We are looking to downsize to a lower cost of living, work less, maybe live on a small farm or just have a plot of land large enough for a garden, but do want to be in a green town with liberal politics? We were thinking of looking towards Sonoma, or South or East Bay or up in the hills, but don't know where to start looking! We don't want to spend more than 250-275K for property, and schools are important (or if there are good charter schools) or we can homeschool. We really want to lower our costs, and don't mind being one hour drive from SF museums and arts, and we can drive in or BART in off-peak non-rush hour times.

We would also consider moving out of state, NM or OR or WA if we could find something similar to SF but without the high inflated prices!

Thanks for your help.

[Gentoo]

On the west coast beside San Francisco Bay Area? Perhaps Seattle. I cannot speak about Oregon or New Mexico. Seattle is considered expensive to National standards but compared to Ca. it's actually not that bad at all. It has a lot of what you may be looking for and is perhaps the most similar to SF if that's what you're looking for. The neighborhoods there are really nice especially Woodland Park and the Green Lake area. Magnolia is nice too. Seattle is also perhaps the greenest city in the nation both in living and in actual lush green land. Ok I'm having a terrible time phrasing this but I think you get what I mean lol.

If you decide on the Bay Area, be prepared to fork out A LOT of money for a reasonable standard of living.

[azdr0710]

somebody once called Ashland, OR, the "San Francisco of Oregon"....

I don't know in what aspect(s), though.....just an idea

[zitsky]

Seattle and Portland would both be expensive. You might consider Eugene, OR. It's a small college town but does have it's own performing arts center. The University of Oregon is there. I am sure they have a lot of lectures, talks etc. Plus you could take classes there if you are retired and have the time. It's about 90 minutes south of Portland, and about 90 minutes from the coast.

Oregon can be beautiful if you don't mind the rain and gray skies in winter. It's not all bad in winter because you will get quite a few beautiful days when the sun comes out and everyone goes outside. Some people say that Eugene has too much of a drug problem, but I disagree. I lived there for 2 years and never had problems with crime. I felt perfectly safe there.

[humboldtrat]

Originally Posted by Italianmama

Do you know of a place like SF, (liberal politics, environmentally green, arts, culture) on the West Coast where a middle aged family can live cheaply?

No. Sorry.

[ssmaster]

you mean a west coast city with world class museums,opera,ballet,symphony,sports team ,fine dining where you can buy a house near great puplic schools for less than $275,000.


no ,in northern ca if you are paying that amount the schools probably suck.

[bellalunatic]

Originally Posted by Italianmama

Do you know of a place like SF, (liberal politics, environmentally green, arts, culture) on the West Coast where a middle aged family can live cheaply?

We are looking to downsize to a lower cost of living, work less, maybe live on a small farm or just have a plot of land large enough for a garden, but do want to be in a green town with liberal politics? We were thinking of looking towards Sonoma, or South or East Bay or up in the hills, but don't know where to start looking! We don't want to spend more than 250-275K for property, and schools are important (or if there are good charter schools) or we can homeschool. We really want to lower our costs, and don't mind being one hour drive from SF museums and arts, and we can drive in or BART in off-peak non-rush hour times.

We would also consider moving out of state, NM or OR or WA if we could find something similar to SF but without the high inflated prices!

Thanks for your help.

Greetings from Sonoma County...I doubt you'll find a place that you'd want to actually live in, with land to garden or farm on for that price anywhere in the county....sorry.

[kristin1]

A friend of mine grew up in SF and recently relocated back to the West Coast from the NYC area. They chose to live in the suburbs of Seattle and on a recent visit she told me it "is so much like SF without the stress of the high cost of living". Enough to sell me on Seattle!

[Kense]

I find Seattle to still be expensive. It's not THAT much cheaper than SF, the suburbs to SF are less expensive as well. The bad thing about up there is all the rain/overcast. Regardless of what people up there will tell you, it does rain a lot and if you're not used to it, it can make you depressed.

[Gentoo]

Seattle is slightly cheaper than San Diego which is just about on par with the east bay so it's certainly cheaper than SF.