urgent: moving from san luis obispo. rec's? (Atascadero, Ashland: to rent, find a job)

[AlwaysSmiling]

I am just sitting here shaking my head. What the HELL is up with people? The attitude of 'free living' is literal and figurative for these folks. When did the culture change of working hard for acquiring your dreams into sitting on your ass waiting for ME to pay for all your desires????
The OP is talking about wanting the best for her newborn, which is wonderful........but you don't even have a car in case of emergency??? I'm really, really trying not to judge, because we don't know the whole situation, but seriously??? You want advice on where you can go to get MORE.
I better stop....if you can't say anything nice........

[Social Democrat]

I was going to suggest just down the coast, Ventura, but it's not four seasons there either.
The Idaho idea seems pretty good whcih leads me to point you to places like Placerville, Truckee, etc.
I'm thinking in terms of quality of life, four seasons and access to nature but I don't know how the schools are.
You may want to look at Nevada as well - not Las vegas but the Reno/Carson City/Minden/Gardnerville areas. Again, I don't know how the schools are but lots of info is out there for you to check out plus looking here of course! I'm sorry SLO didn't work out for you as I love that area but we all have our lifestyle choices and appreciate your number one priority is a good environment for you daughter.
Good luck with your search!

[rockinmom]

Burbank, Calif is LA county but there own school district and water&power. Rent is high, starting at least $950+ for a studio or 1 brdrm., but well worth it. Burbank is more chill. Small town feel, Family oriented. I drive there everyday and have noticed it going a little downhill, but it's still the best in LA I think after Calabasas but, C is very expensive to rent.

Nor Cal - Santa Clara or San Jose (West) is good but check out GreatSchools - Public and Private School Ratings, Reviews and Parent Community to get a feel for the area even though you have a baby, they grow up really fast and also National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Home Page, a part of the U.S. Department of Education is a great site for school stats/demographics, etc.

Nor Cal - Marin County is very expensive but in the future if you can afford it, Tiburon has absolutely the best schools!!!!!!!

If you can do a room for rent, I'm not sure if you said that or not, but Thousand Oaks or WestLake Village has good schools. Expensive but a room for rent could possibly be more affordable.

Good luck to you, I hope you find something.

[sertanista]

hey people! glad to see this forum isn't just a den of trolls.

@MtnSurfer: thank you for turning this thread around. i've seen your posts on related threads and was wondering if you'd stop by with amazing photos...

• yeah, slo's a huge upgrade. we're really lucky to live here. i couldn't have asked for a better place to raise a baby. would've loved to stick around a bit longer.
• good call, los osos is on my radar.
• i agree that living in the sticks with a baby and no car is a bad idea. that CO snow looks solid! not prohibitively so, though---i grew up in the northern midwest, and kids snowmobiled to school. haha: yes, we have to get a solid car.
• you're right: it's easy to romanticize places like those. that's why i'm here, asking for local opinions. i'm looking for people who've made their homes in these places and still love them, barren tundra and all.

@Senno: awesome. perfect. thank you for the stats and concise descriptions---just what i was looking for.

you're very right: i don't have it bad in slo at all. i listed some cons for posters to have an idea of what (not) to look for, but i'm moving asap for entirely unrelated reasons.

@nightlysparrow: right??

@Social Democrat: thanks for the suggestions and kind wishes. and for restoring my faith in the members of this forum!

@rockinmom: tiburon: duly noted. thank you for the heads-up.

[sertanista]

trolls gotta eat too.

@.highnlite: "rancid: (of an odor or taste) rank, unpleasant, and stale; offensive or nasty; disagreeable." transposing kinesthetic adjectives onto unlikely nouns is actually a pretty sophisticated literary technique (g.g. marquez ftw!). i used it precisely as i intended to.

@AlwaysSmiling: do you even go here?

[Onething6]

SLO sounds like a dream come true to me. I disagree with Mtnsurfer that winter weather is dangerous for a small child, and living in Cleveland, we get plenty of snow. But, each year, this weather is harder to take which is why my wife and I are planning on moving to the LA area sometime this year. Stay in California where your child has access to some of the best natural beauty, fantastic weather, progressive attitudes, and a state government that will invest more in his/her education.

[sertanista]

@Onething6: word. the inuit, danes, russians... they're all still having babies.

[.highnlite]

Originally Posted by Onething6

SLO sounds like a dream come true to me. I disagree with Mtnsurfer that winter weather is dangerous for a small child, and living in Cleveland, we get plenty of snow. But, each year, this weather is harder to take which is why my wife and I are planning on moving to the LA area sometime this year. Stay in California where your child has access to some of the best natural beauty, fantastic weather, progressive attitudes, and a state government that will invest more in his/her education.

Shoveling snow at 60-70 years gets real old. You will love it here, there is no end of things to do. Lots of volunteer activities, I am partial to the Botanical Garden and the Land Conservancy. My wife is heavily involved in our town's beautification work, I do work for the Forest Service that they no longer have the budget to do. Generally on horseback. We don't have time to have real jobs!

In any community, get involved in volunteer activities, you find a group of people that enjoy the same activities as you. It really does make all the difference. You become a part of the community instead of just skipping along the surface. Someone complained about the "old rich white people". They are precisely the demographic that does volunteer in a wide range of activities that benefit everyone.

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by Onething6

SLO sounds like a dream come true to me. I disagree with Mtnsurfer that winter weather is dangerous for a small child, and living in Cleveland, we get plenty of snow. But, each year, this weather is harder to take which is why my wife and I are planning on moving to the LA area sometime this year. Stay in California where your child has access to some of the best natural beauty, fantastic weather, progressive attitudes, and a state government that will invest more in his/her education.

Its so common for ppl here to mistate what one said its almost comical. Just to be clear I did not say living in cold winter climates is dangerous for children. duh! What I said was that living in these harsher environments is dangerous without a car. Try functioning in Cleveland with an infant and no car. Then come back and tell me how practical that is. Walk or take a bus everywhere during the Winter including doctors appointments, pharmacies and various stores when the child gets the flu, etc... Sure the eskimos do it. But they also own dog sleds which is their normal means of transportation, not walking around for miles in sub zero temps with an infant or waiting at a bus stop.

[Senno]

Originally Posted by .highnlite

Shoveling snow at 60-70 years gets real old.

This.

I figured out I didn't want to live in snow when I was 10 and got handed the shovel for the first time. I spent many a christmas vacation digging out both grandparents driveways and walks. Fine to visit, but a big NO on the live there if I could help it.