Where from here?

[Ruth4Truth]

Yeah, I'd agree that you should check out Berkeley and north Oakland before deciding. North Berkeley, the Elmwood area (around College Avenue north of Oakland), and the hills. But Santa Barbara is definitely nice, too.

I wouldn't call the West Coast "chilly" in the summer. Except in the evenings when the fog rolls in, in NorCal. I'd call it just right. Perfect weather. And fyi, the fog is what keeps it that way, it's nature's air conditioning. Without it, temps on the coast around the Bay Area would be in the 90's and low 100's all summer.

[lrmsd]

Originally Posted by Grayfox117

I posted something like this before but not in the right place. So here goes again

My name is Ryan, I'm 28 and I currently live in New York City. For the past year or so I've been working this Kick-A job as a consultant flying around the country working on projects for clients. For a work prospective where I make my home is totally up to me as long as I'm close to an airport. Being from the East Coast my understanding of California didn't go much further then San Diego, LA, the Bay Area and Wine country. A friend mentioned Santa Barbara to me saying he had gone to school there. He said it had a really good vibe, culture and diversity of things to do. He also mentioned it being a healthy difference from the Bay Area and LA. Now as it turns out I'm actually on a project in the bay area and just the other weekend I loaded up the car at 5AM and drove all the way down the Coastal Highway to Santa Barbara. Having only been there for a few hours I may not really know what I'm talking about but it seemed pretty darn cool to me.

I'm putting together a tentative plan around moving there and I was hoping to ask some more knowledgeable people about the areas Good, Bad, and Ugly aspects. I hear people speaking about price allot but as I currently live in Downtown Manhattan where a barebones one bedroom apartment will cost you $2,100, $1,400 sounds like a dream. Im assuming my pay should be able to get me a cozy little place.

I'm looking for a change in my life. I'll spare you the personal details about why but having come from an environment of being in the middle of everything and being a little tired of it I don't have to be in the heart of downtown to be happy. In my heart of hearts the idea of settling down in a little Paradise though and calling it home seems like a wonderful prospect.

Skip ahead two weeks and Im still not really 100% on the names and borders of the different areas. In any case after reading more of these posts as well as some other material i'm not really sure anymore. I'm just getting tired of living in a crazy city. Don't get me wrong New York City is Awesome and anyone who gets the chance to live here totally should but after a few years it starts getting tiresome. I want to have a car again so i can go camping, do road trips and just be free. Theres also the issue of being single. I mean I'm in no hurry but at 28 I'm not getting any younger and I really don't want to end up in some place where everyone is old or a college student. From what i understand that makes up a large chunk of the SB population.

That said I'm struggling to figure out exactly witch place would suit me best.

The Bay area i've been to many times and it's amazing but moving to SF would be more or less the same existence I have now. The peninsula is a beautiful and cultural area but the gentrification is totally out of this world. It also suffers from this feeling of hyper suburbia. In many ways it reminds me of Long Island. I'm not really familiar with the rest of the bay area but in my heart of hearts I kind of want to be a in Beachtown towards Southern California.

I passed through a bunch of small towns on my way down the coast but most of them felt just a little too small. That said i never really spent any time in them.

LA I find totally overwhelming witch is funny coming from some one who lives in Downtown Manhattan. I think thats mostly related to the fact that LA which to us on the east coast is the entire LA area and it seems massive. I don't even know where to start looking for an area that would suit me. Theres also the idea of having to drive a million miles in traffic to go or do anything. A totally unfair analysis but not knowing any better thats what I'm imagining.

SD was never really in the cards and wile the areas in-between LA and SD were beautiful for sure they looked a little glitzy. Also the area looks kind of boxed in by SD and LA requiring you to drive through them to get anywhere. Again may not really know what I'm talking about.

Now i understand that all of my thoughts, ideas and concepts are totally half baked and totally unsubstantial, but that's why I came here.

If you folks were in my shoes where would you go or what would you do. Like i said my job gives me the ability to live almost anywhere so it's not like I wouldn't have a job. Your state is so damn big and awesome it's hard to take in on these small drive throughs.

Many thanks
~ Ryan

Okay, after thoroughly reading your post, here is my .02: Santa Barbara to start, b/c you are only an hour or so out of LA, so...if you had a change of heart, it's an easy [easier?] move to LA or SFO if you decided to head back to the city.[many people move to the polar opposite of what they are sick and tired of...I've seen this many times, and it ends up being too extreme... Though sometimes you just need a break at a given time and things evolve...so SB is great for that, too.] At any rate, the LA metro is a place you could visit on the weekends if you wanted a break from SB.

SB is pretty darn cool; I agree w/you. And, while it's small, it feels bigger [which is good] with tourists, students and LA day trippers, etc. SB has so much emphasis on art, architecture and having been a well heeled place for a long time (hollywood burb) plus university and tourists, is a place with a more cosmpolitan vibe and great amenities, restaurants, etc. Plus, it's always attracted artists due to the light, giving it a creative vibrancy. It sounds like you have enough cash flow to actually enjoy it; and if you're traveling for work a lot anyway, it sounds like a great place to come home to and chill.

Other thoughts: If you'd like to be near but not in SFO, have you checked out Marin at all? Mill Valley, Sausalito, maybe even San Raphael or Fairfax? [google them]. You'd have easy and amazing access to pt reyes national seashore, plenty of great restaurants and a local brewery [lagunitas], muir woods at your doorstep [redwoods!], stinson beach, marin headlands, sausalito, Mt. Tam, etc etc. Bike across the GG Bridge into the city for the day, less than an hour from sonoma and napa wine country, etc. [sonoma and mendocino have an awesome contingency of old school aspects too-bakeries, local restaurants, artists, etc beyond the wine veneer...old hippie country, really. Though recently someone in Mendo told me they refer to the area now as 'the Hamptons of CA' for the SFO folks who weekend up there. Driving through the Redwoods of Navarro State Park, into the open clearing where you see the Pacific ocean, is definitely a sight to see. Another lifestyle bonus of the bay area...but cold water and fog are its accessories, rather than warm sand and sun, so....(:
Regarding living: Southern Marin definitely has a contingency of young professionals living there.

I actually know what you're saying re: feeling boxed in, re: some areas of so cal. LA IS massive, and SD is a bit more laid back with some glitzy areas, but still freeway centric suburbia/strip mall. and overall neither sounds like what you want at this time. SB is great location wise-head north to San Luis Obispo, Carmel, Monterey, Santa Cruz, or south to LA if you want it.
I think SB or Marin are good options for your situation/interests at this time. Gets you out of the city craziness, but well within reach if you miss it, and certainly not irreversible or even difficult moves out of these areas if you change your mind.


Both are about equidistance (with traffic) to the airport, though with Marin you'd have a shuttle options [don't know how SB to LAX works-the SB airport is very small. There's also an airport in Burbank that would work for you.] and Oakland airport if you drove around the bay, is about the same distance as SFO's in South SFO. [traffic and time wise].

One other place that's really cool and centrally located: Laguna Beach in Orange County. It's smaller than SB and no university vibe, and may be too glitzy. But it was originally an artist colony, still has huge art communities, is adjacent to Newport Beach and not far from other orange county amenities. LB is a cool little town, for sure. And Dana Point next store is nice, too. You're still about the same distance from LAX, I think, when you consider traffic, though. Anaheim airport is in OC, too.

You're in an awesome position for this kind of move-have a great time!

ps-Post on the SB board re: specific neighborhood questions. Otherwise, I think what you've picked up on re: the lay of the land, is accurate and you're heading in the right direction re: SB. I don't think you're missing any other great options, unless you change your mind (or heart of hearts) want to be in the bay area, in which case....Marin, as mentioned. [But do visit the places in Marin that I mentioned, or some of them, while you're in the area, where you live aside-they're great spots to check out.]

[BodegaHead]

The coastal areas are chilly a lot but inland is nice or the east bay is decent but he was looking at beach towns, I don't really feel Oakland is a beach town.

[lrmsd]

Originally Posted by BodegaHead

The coastal areas are chilly a lot but inland is nice or the east bay is decent but he was looking at beach towns, I don't really feel Oakland is a beach town.

Yea, I don't think berkeley or oakland hills is what OP has in mind. I think sausalito or MV might be a better fit for getting out of the city rat race [even though OH is really nice], but so cal beach town that's also chill has SB written all over it.

[lrmsd]

I'll add one more suggestion if you decide to look at SD: Encinitas or Solana Beach.
But I think SB is what you're looking for....(:
Also, I don't think santa cruz, as someone suggested, is any cheaper than SB, and it's pretty contentious these days [just check any recent forum t hreads on that city]. Good luck!