Bike-friendly, New Agey, liberal, beachy/foresty town with $400/month rooms? (San Diego: renting, vacation home)

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by NatureYogi

And what alexxiz wrote about San Diego county having no redwood forests, having deserts a drive away, and no extensive empty stretches of coastline....unlike Santa Cruz area with its Waddell Beach, Big Basin, Big Sur, etc., pretty close, and yes, beautiful, bikeable highway 1.

Very helpful comparison of Encinitas and Santa Cruz nature/weather/culture. Thank you!! Warmer weather sounds great...not loving this rain and fog especially owning no car! Different kinda nature sounds fun to try something new and see which I like better. I could picture winters in Encinitas and summers in Santa Cruz maybe even. Does Encinitas winter get any rain or fog? How much?
...

Encinitas as well as all of SoCal is warmer than SC overall. But even Hawaii gets rain in the Winter, hence the lush, green areas. The main weather differences are overall temperatures which are warmer and yes, less rain in the Winter. I think Summer is actually much better in SoCal because you don't get the Central or NorCal coastal fog bank. Santa Cruz and Monterey get the most fog during Summer months and the ocean never warms up significantly. In SoCal Summer is much warmer/sunnier and most people can enjoy the ocean without wetsuits during this time. I grew surfing these areas and remember how much I enjoyed that aspect of the warmer summers - walking the beach with shorts and towel and staying for hours. Though the show 'Baywatch' stereotyped much of the area it did accurately show how many people enjoy the beaches/ocean and hence can need rescuing, not just surfers in wetsuits like up north.

Though no redwood forest SD is not without beauty. The beaches are very nice, especially north county where you have less people - Calsbad, Cardiff, Encinitas, Del Mar, Solana Beaches are really nice. Biking is very popular and can be better in some ways to SC because of the overall nicer year round weather. I helped a youth group do ~ 40 mile bike ride along the coast from San Clemente to Solana Beach and they had a great time. Since then SD County has been improving the biking lanes along the coast (Coast Hwy). Check out some of the biking these guys do: San Diego Century Bicycle Tour | Century Ride - Encinitas

Derek

[eureka1]

Addressing Arcata only: anyplace you can get for under $500 will be pretty crowded/sketchy. The crime problem in Arcata is property crime more than assaults etc. Anything left in a car is subject to rapid extraction. Good luck finding a place to meet your requirements.

[spoonido]

I'd stay in Santa Cruz, personally.

[NatureYogi]

Wow. Okay, oh my gosh. I am not here for career advice and am not even complaining about my income.

Like I said, I can afford Santa Cruz, just also really like the thought of saving money for at least a few months by paying cheaper rent. Saving money is a nice thing. I'm not dependent on massage for my income right now....I do freelance/long-distance computer stuff, as many, many people do, which gives me plenty of income. I just happen to enjoy doing some of it at home instead of only at coffee shops and libraries. This is a pretty common thing, as are home-based massage practices (and legal by the way). Zero desire to be a nurse or chiropractic assistant or whatnot. Have had nurse friends and trust me it's not for me. I love my jobs - all of them. There is tons of freedom in them. Of the many landlords and housemates I've spoken to through the months about renting from them, most haven't minded at all about home massages, or if they do it's no problem cause I could rent a cheap massage studio (as I have in the past) instead. Again, if I have the option of saving money though I will, cause that's frugal.

Anyway this is all getting a little too personal and intrusive, and people who even hint at massage as being shady or impractical do tend to rub me the wrong way, as we deal with rude stigmas already sometimes like "Are you a prostitute?" from people who just don't get the wonderful honor it is to therapeutically help people with Parkinson's or who have been in car accidents or who have chronic anxiety to deeply relax for 90 minutes.

Okay, think I'm done with this thread.... but I so, as in SO do appreciate all the help with my moving decision. It was really valuable and I really appreciate everyone who contributed. Bye!

[Curmudgeon]

So THAT's what "crunchy" means. Ommm!

[NatureYogi]

Originally Posted by alexxiz

May be good for someone whose major is in life sciences/agriculture and who needs farm practice...or someone who's got enough cash backing and wants to start own homestead/needs to learn.

Yep, that's the type of WWWOOFer I'd be. Am aware it's hard work for usually no pay except free room and sometimes some free food and doesn't sound "fun" to many. I see it as a beautiful opportunity to grow closer to nature, improve my gardening skills, travel, make friends, and help out farms. Will probably wait till I own a car so I don't feel too stranded on the farm. And till I feel at a place where I can really cut down on hours of working my other jobs for awhile to just focus on farmwork, nature and friends.

But anyway, enough about me for now. Happy 2013 everyone....best of wishes to you co-creating whatever it is YOU wanna co-create...we have the power and we are worthy...follow your bliss. Peace!

[MtnSurfer]

Let us know where your journey leads? Sorry for the unsolicted advice regarding careers. I certainly didn't mean anything derogatory by it, that's for sure. I have known other fine people who do legitimate masseuse work. Never heard of WWWOOFers BTW. I guess I'm not hip in the crunchy sort of way.

Derek

[NatureYogi]

I appreciate that, Derek. I may be a little oversensitive about the topic.

[Woof]

Originally Posted by NatureYogi

I totally appreciate you sharing your opinion, but seems it might be a little exaggerated / overly pessimistic, cause like I said, scanning through Craigslist home/room rentals, I see for example:

* Ojai: $450-900
* Ventura: $300-850
* Ashland: $300-800
* Arcata: $280-800
* Austin: tons of $200-400 options

Of course I'm finding others are too expensive (Santa Barbara, Carmel, Pacific Grove, Ocean Beach...), but that's okay. Haven't checked on Taos, Santa Fe or Vancouver prices yet. Still no clue if Mendocino are would be bike-friendly enough.

That being said, the link about Arcata shared above really has me rethinking if Arcata is safe enough. Arcata = weed capitol of U.S., Santa Cruz = heroin capitol of California? Hmm

I'm really puzzled at the reason you're finding prices like that. If those prices were available, I'd have moved there yesterday.

One thing about Craiglist is that it has scams and sales gimmicks. The gimmicks are usually a low move-in price like$300, but then they hit you with the regular monthly rent of $800-1200. The scams are often based on a "rent to own" advertisement, or they simply have a phone number where they will give you a hard sell on rent to own.

Of places you mentioned, Mt Shasta probably has the lowest rents at maybe $600+ for studios, but that's such a low price because of isolation and the winter. Right now I'm watching snow falling down yet again. However it does have all the New Age stuff and the nature stuff, and beaches on Lake Shasta. World class hiking and biking.

Most of the other california cities you mention are about like Santa Cruz in rents, minus 100-200.

[Woof]

Nature Yogi, have you been doing some creative visualizations with those rental figures? Here's a sample for Ojai:

Jan 10 - granite counters, onsite manager, laundry, pool, spanish tiles, d/w - $1100 / 1br - (Ojai) img
Jan 10 - Private, Spacious, Lush Setting, Convenient Location! - $1300 / 2br - 850ft² - (Ojai) img map
Jan 10 - Lovely 3+2.5 home with pool/spa on quiet cul-de-sac near town in Ojai - $2900 / 3br - 2000ft² - (Ojai, CA) pic
Jan 9 - 3411 Thacher Road - 3411B, Ojai, CA 93023 - $950 / 1br - img
Jan 9 - PRIVATE VENTURA HOME! - $1050 / 1br - (Nye Rd. ) pic
Jan 9 - Ojai - $1800 / 3br - 1500ft² - (Oak View CA) pic map
Jan 9 - Downtown Ojai 3 bed/1.75 Bath - $1895 / 3br - (Ojai) map
Jan 9 - Spacious Downstairs Unit w/Vaulted Ceilings, Private and Tranquil - $1300 / 2br - 850ft² - (Ojai) img map
Jan 9 - $1900 / 2br - D/T Ojai artists' Home Utilities Included- AVAILABLE 2/1 - pic