Relocating to CA from Australia (San Francisco, Fresno: good schools, camping, to live in)

[aussieaims]

Hi there, I would love some advice here! my Seattle-ite husband and myself (Australian) are looking to relocate to CA. We have family in Fresno and would like to be within an hour drive away (give or take). Our ideal location would be mountainous, with a lake nearby, picturesque, outdoorsy (hiking, camping, snow sports, water sports), with good schools and family friendly. My husband loves Tahoe but that is too far away, but something similar would be great. I know I have a lot of specifications so obviously no one city will hit all of them on the head. I would love any suggestions as I am clueless as to where to even start looking . Thank you!!

[Social Democrat]

Check out Oakhurst CA. In the mountains (elevation 2274 feet) with close proximity to Fresno and Yosemite National Park! Bass Lake is nearby No Lake Tahoe though) and is a pretty nice town in general.

[lrmsd]

There's nothing really close to Fresno that fits your needs, nothing remotely similar to Tahoe lifestyle within an hour of Fresno. I think you'll need to expand your search-check Auburn, Nevada City near Sacramento, though if you go that far, you may as well look at Tahoe, too. There's not much in So CAL or central CA that is a year round mountainous community with amenities or culture like Tahoe [that I think is what you want], along with good schools.

I am not familiar with Oakhurst, and maybe someone else will make some suggestions...I think you will need to go further than an hour if you want mountains, though. Or even to find anything with good schools and outdoors environment, even without mountains. Good luck, though, in your search!

You could look up ski areas in CA and see the major ones are Tahoe and Big Bear. Big Bear doesn't have much nearby; it is its own community but really is not like tahoe and it's smaller. I don't think the schools are great, either. I know people who live nearby to there and they sent their kids to private b/c of how bad they were, in their eyes.

Mt. Shasta, very small city, is at the very top of CA, an hour from the OR border; it has a small ski area and the city is at 3500 feet or so. Cute community, nice people and amenities, but very far from fresno and very isolated in general.

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by aussieaims

Hi there, I would love some advice here! my Seattle-ite husband and myself (Australian) are looking to relocate to CA. We have family in Fresno and would like to be within an hour drive away (give or take). Our ideal location would be mountainous, with a lake nearby, picturesque, outdoorsy (hiking, camping, snow sports, water sports), with good schools and family friendly. My husband loves Tahoe but that is too far away, but something similar would be great. I know I have a lot of specifications so obviously no one city will hit all of them on the head. I would love any suggestions as I am clueless as to where to even start looking . Thank you!!

It depends on your budget, but if you have a fairly large one, I would recommend the San Francisco Peninsula, specifically Burlingame, Foster City, San Mateo, Belmont, and San Carlos. These are very beautiful, safe, smaller towns with thriving downtowns and tons of great restaurants. You are near San Francisco and Silicon Valley. You can go to many beautiful beaches (although its too cold to swim, unless you have thick skin), hiking trails, ocean, a short drive from Lake Tahoe and the economy is thriving!

I used to live in Gold Coast, QLD btw lovely place!

If you have specific questions send me a message because there are a lot of internet trolls on the California forum, so I expect this thread will go off topic in the coming days and I will no longer check it again.

[eccotecc]

You should probably first consider Oakhurst, as a previous poster suggested, or possibly Mariposa county. However, Oakhurst would be spot on. Think of Bass Lake as a miniature Lake Tahoe without the gambling.

[BeauCharles]

Eastern Madera County for sure (Oakhurst, Coarsegold, Bass Lake). A side benefit is you'll be very close to Yosemite National Park and all it has to offer while being an easy drive to Fresno.

[robynkit]

It depends on whether you're looking for a small town vibe or larger suburban feel and definitely depends on your budget. As BeauCharles and eccotecc have mentioned, Oakhurst is a nice, small town in the hills above Fresno. Their air is better quality than Fresno's (worst in nation) and a lot of folks like it there. However, I would go with what bmw said if your budget allows. Lot's of positives but the negative would be traffic congestion and housing costs. Good luck!

[Think4Yourself]

I, personally, would avoid the Fresno area like the plague.