Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
"I want the sun, the moon, and the stars... Oh, but I don't want to pay for it."
This is very doable... Mainly because she only needs to rent a room, AND does not need some big city. Large desirable urban areas with a job base are very expensive... Small sleepy communities are much more affordable, because they do not have the job base. If one picks a tourist destination, then you can have all the amenities without the expense... Because only the service class lives year around for the most part in these places....
I know this because I live in that kind of community now, and will be moving to another tourist destination once our place sells... Being a market farmer and wood worker, I make part of our living off those tourists/seasonal residents.
Being self employed and catering to tourists may not get you rich, but it allows one to live in places you folks in the real world with straight jobs can only dream of..
Being a market farmer and wood worker, I make part of our living off those tourists/seasonal residents.
Being self employed and catering to tourists may not get you rich, but it allows one to live in places you folks in the real world with straight jobs can only dream of..
Yep, self-employment can be very rewarding (and challenging).
By the way I've begun emailing and calling dozens of Craigslist housing ads in Arcata, Sebastopol, Santa Rosa...some fun eco-friendly housing co-ops in Berkeley and Oakland (though Berkeley and Oakland are generally too expensive and urban for me)...and Ojai. Will do Ashland too.
Not sure which listings in Ventura or Mendocino/Ft. Bragg area would be bike-friendly, crunchy and young enough.
Would Esposito feel crunchy/green/liberal/hippie at all? It's near San Diego and San Diego is said to be so conservative.
Yep that's what I'm wondering about Ojai and also Sonoma County, Mendocino, Ashland, etc.
Going stir-crazy in Mendocino is possible, but I wouldn't worry about most of Sonoma Co. or Ashland. The deal with Ojai is that it's kind of an end-of-the-road destination -- basically one way in, one way out. There's nothing behind Ojai but Los Padres National Forest so it can feel a bit isolated. Some people who live there find themselves wearing out the highway 33 between Ojai and Ventura. In the other places, you have places to explore on all sides of you.
This is very doable... Mainly because she only needs to rent a room, AND does not need some big city. Large desirable urban areas with a job base are very expensive... Small sleepy communities are much more affordable, because they do not have the job base. If one picks a tourist destination, then you can have all the amenities without the expense... Because only the service class lives year around for the most part in these places....
I know this because I live in that kind of community now, and will be moving to another tourist destination once our place sells... Being a market farmer and wood worker, I make part of our living off those tourists/seasonal residents.
Being self employed and catering to tourists may not get you rich, but it allows one to live in places you folks in the real world with straight jobs can only dream of..
You got to be realistic....in all these destinations discussed here (the ones relatively by the ocean especially)--you won't get a livable place for $400. If you do find those "rooms"--they will want you to hold a full time job outside the property and be OUT of property for most of the day. Work from home/internet, etc (as OP had mentioned)--they won't rent you under these conditions in most of these sleepy or touristy places. Mostly, the landlords will hit you with full time job outside the house reqirement + show income/show proof of employment and be out of the house most of the time. They won't want someone who sits in the house doing their work over the internet, just the current (unfortunate) reality.
Never heard of it. "A lot warmer" would be such a relief. Decent amount of rooms in shared homes for $560-700 on Craigslist in Encinitas. I'm honestly a little intimidated by Southern California cause of all the "people act fake and obsessed with image" stereotypes I've heard (I'm just a sorta casual person, barely wear any makeup, etc.), but I totally don't mean that rude and have never been there. What does Encinitas have in common with Santa Cruz to you?
Encinitas is an exmaple of this as a somewhat sleepy North County surfer, hippie, liberal place into many of the things you've mentioned. Many of the coastal towns tend to be more liberal vs. their inland counterparts. In Encinitas there is surf spot called Swamis because the the surf breaks below the cliffs of a self-realization temple. http://www.yogananda-srf.org/tmp/Loc...il.aspx?id=938 In terms of the 'fake' stereotypes I would think the North County coastal towns are generally more down to earth with less of that pretentiousness as well. But let's face it, even in liberal places like Santa Cruz, you can find folks like that, more into their 'external image' than who they really are. Again not all of Southern California resembles these stereotypes, though certain places definately do. In the same way not all Republicans or Democrats are the same. Be careful before neatly categorizing and stereotyping everyone and everyplace. If you look closer you will discover that you were wrong on more occasions thn you originally thought. In writing off 'all SoCal' based on stereotypes before you even visit does yourself a diservice.
Quote:
Yep that's what I'm wondering about Ojai and also Sonoma County, Mendocino, Ashland, etc. Any of these places would be a wonderful place to spend 3-5 months I'm sure, but having friends and dates who are 25-35 instead of just older, and being within 1.5 miles of yoga, dance, farmer's markets, theaters and spiritual events (in addition to nature) feels pretty crucial. Plus if I could be comfy eventually starting a family there, then all the better. (Though returning to Santa Cruz or the Santa Cruz mountains to start a family could work well I guess as I'd have more $ by then and have the travel bug more out of my system.)
Similar culture and nature to Santa Cruz is fine (doesn't need to be "better"), kinda depressed economy is pretty fine, remote is okay for now I guess, but don't want more drugs/crime or too, too much colder than Santa Cruz. So if the weather won't bug me too much, Arcata (or the even safer Trinity by it) is still a very good bet.
I know I'm being pretty choosy and wordy here, folks. Thanks for bearing with me.
The reason I bring up age is that many 20-30 something singles do have the desire to meet friends and potentially date wherever they live. And some places are simply not that conducive too that, while others have many more folks their own age or at least somewhat closer to it. If you move to a town of lets say ~ 5000 ppl there will simply be fewer who you will have the chance to interact with. That doesn't mean it won't happen. Its just less likely and more remote. While many of these places may be fine for an extended visit, you wouldn't necessarily want to live there longer term. Maybe you will end up back in SC afterall.
But let's face it, even in liberal places like Santa Cruz, you can find folks like that, more into their 'external image' than who they really are.
I'd say that the concern with "external image" is most specific to "liberal towns". At least in CA and North OR. As to Encinitas... $400 is way out of range there.
I'd say that the concern with "external image" is most specific to "liberal towns". At least in CA and North OR. As to Encinitas... $400 is way out of range there.
I'm not disagreeing with your first point. This speaks more to one's perception of 'fake' personas. In other words if you 'look' a certain way you are less/more 'fake.' In almost all societies there is an accepted uniform of some type. And even in liberal areas obsessions with appearances can and does occur.
Its just different in liberal, hippie areas than in more conservative ones. That said when I lived in LA County I did notice cosmetic surgery being more popular along with an obsession automobiles and stuff in general (bling factor). Though that sort of thing ocurrs in both liberal and conservative regions throughout the nation and world for that matter.
With regards to the second she did state she would be willing to spend more for the right place. That's why I posted some listings in SD County. If she can find a *deal* in location such as Encinitas it might be a lot closer to what she is looking for longer term vs. a podunk coastal town in NorCal for example or even larger ones such as Arcata. The gloomier, colder weather combined with the depressed economies and resultant societal problems aren't for everyone.
I'm not disagreeing with your first point. This speaks more to one's perception of 'fake' personas. In other words if you 'look' a certain way you are less/more 'fake.' In almost all societies there is an accepted uniform of some type. And even in liberal areas obsessions with appearances can and does occur.
Its just different in liberal, hippie areas than in more conservative ones. That said when I lived in LA County I did notice cosmetic surgery being more popular along with an obsession automobiles and stuff in general (bling factor). Though that sort of thing ocurrs in both liberal and conservative regions throughout the nation and world for that matter.
With regards to the second she did state she would be willing to spend more for the right place. That's why I posted some listings in SD County. If she can find a *deal* in location such as Encinitas it might be a lot closer to what she is looking for longer term vs. a podunk coastal town in NorCal for example or even larger ones such as Arcata. The gloomier, colder weather combined with the depressed economies and resultant societal problems aren't for everyone.
If she's willing to spend as much as required in Encinitas... she might as well stay in Santa Cruz, CA as it's in no way worse than Encinitas. Rental price dynamics will be upward from now on in both places--and there's always someone in CA who can pay extra $100 over what you can. Yeah, there're different types of preocuppation with "appearances" in different places--be it plastic surgery, expensive car, or being a "wannabe artist", wearing certain style of clothes and looking like a hipster, or riding certain bike, or working for Apple, etc, whatever it is, it's very prominent in most "liberal" areas of CA. If you look at the red-blue map posted in another thread, the reddest/conservative counties are the most unassuming about appearances, being rural. You can drive old pickup wearing camping clothes in Lassen county, it's normal. Try this in some of the "liberal" locations and you may even have a cop on your tail.
If she's willing to spend as much as required in Encinitas... she might as well stay in Santa Cruz, CA as it's in no way worse than Encinitas. Rental price dynamics will be upward from now on in both places--and there's always someone in CA who can pay extra $100 over what you can. Yeah, there're different types of preocuppation with "appearances" in different places--be it plastic surgery, expensive car, or being a "wannabe artist", wearing certain style of clothes and looking like a hipster, or riding certain bike, or working for Apple, etc, whatever it is, it's very prominent in most "liberal" areas of CA. If you look at the red-blue map posted in another thread, the reddest/conservative counties are the most unassuming about appearances, being rural. You can drive old pickup wearing camping clothes in Lassen county, it's normal. Try this in some of the "liberal" locations and you may even have a cop on your tail.
Santa Cruz and Encinitas have many similarities with regards to their local sub-cultures - the kinds of things she's looking for. While I would prefer Santa Cruz or Monterey because I don't mind the cooler weather, others prefer San Diego for its overall warmer, drier climate. And that is something she said she likes. Now of course there are trade offs with that. In SD you won't have the redwood forests in your backyard simply due to its warmer weather like you do SC. You simply can't have both. Cooler, rainier locations have more green and that's why I like the Central Coast more. Santa Barbara and even places like Ventura/Ojai are more green in comparison to SD.
Whether she moves to NorCal or SoCal I think it will help her get a better idea of what she really likes or doesn't like. And so moving and experiencing different locations while still young is a good thing IMO.
Santa Cruz and Encinitas have many similarities with regards to their local sub-cultures - the kinds of things she's looking for. While I would prefer Santa Cruz because I don't mind the cooler weather others prefer San Diego for its overall warmer, drier climate. And that is something she said she likes. Now of course there are trade offs. In SD you won't won't have the redwood forests in your backyard simply due to its warmer weather like you do SC. You simply can't have both. Cooler, rainier locations have more green and that's why I like the Central Coast more. Santa Barbara and even places like Ventura/Ojai are more green in comparison to SD.
That's a thing about SD county--you have the deserts in the back, no redwood forests, and to get to those deserts is quite a drive, actually. The SD coastal land overall is much more developed--in Santa Cruz you literally have forests next to the city. In SD area you don't have extensive empty stretches of coastline, unlike North of Santa Cruz, with Waddell Beach entrance to Big Basin SP, etc, and with places like Big Sur being not too far. Many people like to bike on weekends along hwy 1 between SF and Santa Cruz, and I can't blame them...
Last edited by alexxiz; 01-09-2013 at 01:36 PM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
