urgent: moving from san luis obispo. rec's? (Orcutt, Arroyo Grande: renting, health insurance)

[sertanista]

i moved to slo from l.a. to have my baby, thinking it'd be a great place to give her a peaceful and good start. long story short, i have to move asap.

as many previous threads have said, housing's tough and pricey here. if i have to move out of slo, i'll do it. i'll list the things i like/hate about slo below; can anyone use these factors to offer me suggestions as to safe, affordable cities with good schools? much appreciated.

what i'm grateful for:
-safe; even the transients are declawed kittens compared to l.a.
-bike/bus friendly (i don't have a car)
-few extremes in weather; only a few days of heatwaves last year
-costco/target are close by; they're cheap, and i can't imagine lugging groceries onto RTA buses
-my baby has Medi-Cal and, after much frustrating red tape, now has CenCal through the city
-i literally have a mountain/nature reserve with miles of hiking six minutes from my door. this is huge
-my s/o can bike to his work (food retail)

what i won't regret leaving behind:
-paying $700/mo for 120 sq. ft., not including util.
-way too many old, rich, white people
-no seasonal changes; i miss having a few hard months of winter, just not the long grey slush after
-those heatwaves---i'm a total heat/humidity wimp. lived in india two years

assume i'll les miz and sell my teeth and get a car off craigslist. where should we move? los osos? norcal? montana? idaho? oregon? colorado? i got lost in the himalayas for a coupla months and loved living off the land---i would love to bring that kind of raw, majestic nature into my baby's life.

checklist for suggestions:
is it as safe as slo?
is it more affordable than slo?
what's the state's health insurance look like (if not in cali)?
how are the city's schools?
is "big" nature easily accessible? (e.g. montana de oro in los osos)
are there heat waves?
and lastly... air quality? lead levels in soil? new mom here, can't help it.

also: how do i cross-post this thread so people from other states can chime in? thanks.

[.highnlite]

I think you need to reprioritize your lives. Why not have a $2,000 or $3,000 dollar a month mortgage payment and be happy about it? Do you have no desire some day to be an old rich person? Do you really aspire to some day be an old poor person?

Starting salary at Calfire is $2,250.

There is no job that will give you more more pay and more time to spend with each other and the kids than firefighter.
Here are some more local salaries.

Both of you need to up your skills, toward the goal of owning a home, raising some kids, buying a new car, Walking along the Seine holding hands, or sitting in a Gondola in Venice, in the moonlight, on a summer night with the Gondolier singing to you.

[sertanista]

trolllllolol. all condescension and no direct answer to my question. next?

i have no desire to be an old rich person, highnlite. that would mean i spent my life accumulating wealth for myself; it literally means that for every dollar i could've invested in another person's life, i instead chose to hoard it for my aging decrepit self so i can hug it to my carcass to the grave. if that's what you wanna do with your life, cheers. no need to attack me for my personal values.

this forum is not for unsolicited life advice precisely because you have no way of knowing why or how i've arrived at this place in life.
-i'd love to up my skills, but how i will manage paying for childcare and go to school and hold a job is (1) and (2) nunya business. wanna talk life investment? investing in my child's earliest years as her primary caretaker is, to me, beyond quantifiable value, and i am willing to starve to make that happen.
-owning a home is a personal value, one which i do not share; fiscal theories abound over the merits of renting vs. owning for life.

again: walking along the seine and living a life where you are capable of indulging yourself when and how you please may be your ultimate idea of the good life, but it is far from mine. don't project your personal insecurities onto complete strangers simply because it's easier to do so behind the anonymity of the internet. not all 'dem poorz are the same.

does anyone have factual suggestions for cities without the rancid and oblivious commentary?

[nightlysparrow]

Originally Posted by sertanista

investing in my child's earliest years as her primary caretaker is, to me, beyond quantifiable value, and i am willing to starve to make that happen.

You are getting free health care for your kid (and yourself, presumably) on the taxpayer's dime, so don't get so high and mighty.

[sertanista]

Originally Posted by nightlysparrow

You are getting free health care for your kid (and yourself, presumably) on the taxpayer's dime, so don't get so high and mighty.

you presumed, and you did so incorrectly. also, you have no idea what forced me to get it for my child.

can we answer the original question here? anyone?

[Steve97415]

Originally Posted by sertanista

trolllllolol. all condescension and no direct answer to my question. next?

The scarcity of capital letters must be a downside of living in SLO, too, I would think.

[MtnSurfer]

I think you have experienced a huge improvement in quality of life compared to living in LA. You've got a lot more pros listed than cons and reasons to stay in SLO county including the healthcare for your child. I would start looking there first, for example, check out Los Osos. It is more affordable yet retains many of the positive qualities of the city of SLO. Plus its cooler along the coast during the heatwave seasons. Next look around at the other smaller towns such as Arroyo Grande, Nipomo, Orcutt, etc...

I lived in CO with small children and you have many more than a 'few' months of very cold weather depending on the year which is a huge challenge without a vehicle. Think of walking around in sub freezing temperatures with your baby in the ice, snow, wind, hail and rain. The road and sidewalks ice over quite a bit. Many people have slip and fall accidents. Then there is thunderstorm season with torrential rain, very strong winds and hail so large it frequently breaks windshields. Almost eveyone's car has cracked windshields. I'm not joking or making this stuff up, seriously. Here's a picture of our house in CO:





Thunderstorms anyone?





Not having a car and waiting at bus stops, especially with children is not the greatest or safest idea in places like CO, WY, MO, ID, etc... Please be careful when thinking romantic thoughts about places like this, especially with a young child. Living in these states is a lot different than visiting for a few weeks or months. The number of comfortable weather days are far fewer than harsh weather days. That's one of the reasons housing is so much cheaper as are wages. Also most are not very racially diverse if that is something you are looking for. CA is much more so in that regard.

Derek

[Senno]

Originally Posted by sertanista

checklist for suggestions:
is it as safe as slo?
is it more affordable than slo?
what's the state's health insurance look like (if not in cali)?
how are the city's schools?
is "big" nature easily accessible? (e.g. montana de oro in los osos)
are there heat waves?
and lastly... air quality? lead levels in soil? new mom here, can't help it.

Twin Falls, ID.

Safer than SLO. Lower crime than national average.
More affordable than SLO.
Check to insurance.
Idaho Health Plan for Children
Schools are good.
Twin Falls Schools - Twin Falls Idaho School Ratings - Public and Private
Big nature is right outside. Snake river is great. Sawtooths close by.
Heat waves aren't so bad. A bonus for you would be an actual hard winter.
Air quality is good, as long as you tolerate cow smells ok.
Twin-Falls, ID Air Quality Index - WeatherBug.com
Soil = good for potatoes.
http://soildatamart.nrcs.usda.gov/Ma...id704_text.pdf

Lots of white people, but they aren't so rich if that's a concern.

I really don't think you have it so bad in SLO, but there ya go.

[nightlysparrow]

Originally Posted by sertanista

i got lost in the himalayas for a coupla months and loved living off the land---i would love to bring that kind of raw, majestic nature into my baby's life.

The Himalayas does sound like a great idea!

[.highnlite]

Originally Posted by sertanista

trolllllolol. all condescension and no direct answer to my question. next?

i have no desire to be an old rich person, highnlite. that would mean i spent my life accumulating wealth for myself; it literally means that for every dollar i could've invested in another person's life, i instead chose to hoard it for my aging decrepit self so i can hug it to my carcass to the grave. if that's what you wanna do with your life, cheers. no need to attack me for my personal values.

No, you accumulate wealth to insure your children get to go to college, you don't take your "wealth" to the grave, you use it to accomplish good in this life.

this forum is not for unsolicited life advice precisely because you have no way of knowing why or how i've arrived at this place in life.
-i'd love to up my skills, but how i will manage paying for childcare and go to school and hold a job is Something that thousands if not millions of people do all over this country (1) and (2) nunya business. wanna talk life investment? investing in my child's earliest years as her primary caretaker is, to me, beyond quantifiable value, and i am willing to starve to make that happen.
-owning a home is a personal value, one which i do not share; fiscal theories abound over the merits of renting vs. owning for life.

When one rents, one lights hundreds of dollars and watches it go up in smoke, when one buys a home, one builds equity. In other words, your money makes money for you.

again: walking along the seine and living a life where you are capable of indulging yourself when and how you please may be your ultimate idea of the good life, but it is far from mine. don't project your personal insecurities onto complete strangers simply because it's easier to do so behind the anonymity of the internet. not all 'dem poorz are the same.

Yeah, what was I thinking, why would anyone want to visit Paris with someone they love, silly old me.

does anyone have factual suggestions for cities without the rancid and oblivious commentary?

Did you look up the word rancid before you used it? If not, do it at this time, using language appropriately helps one get and keep good jobs.

If you consider rational advice, condescension, if you think having a decent job is some how a negative, if you think being unable to put your kids through college is an appropriate way to live, if you claim you got lost in the Himalaya and lived off the land for several months, then you have a series of problems that changing your geography is not going to fix.

Remember, whether you think can or think you can't, you are right.