London to California (San Diego, Oakland, Santa Ana: vacation home, buy, university)

[GatsbyGatz]

Originally Posted by RudyOD

You're doing it wrong. It doesn't matter that Santa Monica is under 100,000 people. It is one of many cultural, business and entertainment hubs for a metropolis of anywhere between 13 to over 18 million people. More than half the people you meet in Santa Monica on any day aren't from there. The traffic there is insane, and definitely not of a town of 100,000, but that of a giant metropolis with too much cholesterol in its arteries to let the blood flow. By early next year, the city of Santa Monica will be connected to the rest of the LA Metro via light rail, that will get you from Santa Monica to Culver City to downtown LA to Hollywood to Pasadena to Long Beach, and everything in between.

Exactly this. There is nothing separating Santa Monica from Los Angeles besides an invisible line. Not choosing to live in SM because it's population size is like choosing not to live in Downtown Los Angeles because, if it were its own city, it wouldn't have a population over 100K. Cities in SoCal are all connected; Santa Monica, in particular, swells well above it's estimated population amount with all the business/tourism/shoppers it gets. It is arguably the most cosmopolitan place in the LA region for that reason.

There is also the general idea that Brits spend a few decades amounting their fortunes in London before choosing to use their fortunes to afford to live happily in Santa Monica for the rest of their lives.

[ahafinder]

Okay so to clarify, I'm talking about low risk disasters in terms of major damages or loss of homes. Like posted previously, if it's a small number of mini natural impacts that make little or no difference to my home or living then I'll just get insurance. But no wildfires or tsunamis.

[cephalopede]

Originally Posted by harvestthesouls

But no wildfires or tsunamis.

Here's a handy website for you: Is California On Fire?

Wildfires and California just go together. The odds of you being run down by rabid flames in an urban area are next to zero. The odds of your day being impacted due to the amount of smoke in the air are higher, unless you move somewhere breezy, like the coast. But...

Here's some maps of all the places where inundation by tsunami is possible. They've got them for Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Tsunami Inundation Maps Orange County: Orange County Tsunami Inundation Maps and actually, every coastal California county: Tsunami Inundation Map

It's worth noting the last tsunami to hit California was in 2011 after the earthquake in Japan. One person died because he was standing at the mouth of a river to take a picture of the tsunami (note: this is dumb, please do not do this). A lot of property damage happened, but it was primarily in and around harbors.

Prior to that, the last major tsunami to hit California was in 1964.

I understand how frightening these things can sound if you're coming from a place where they don't happen often or at all, but I really do think your worry might be misplaced. If I were moving to L.A. or somewhere similar I'd be a lot more concerned about the crime rate of my neighborhood, access to things I needed, and the affordability of real estate. Wildfires and tsunamis wouldn't even be on my radar.

[Ambitions]

When it comes to natural disasters here in California, you wanna consider the brush fires in the dry windy areas, and mudslides off of the mountains. I've lived here for almost 25 years and earthquakes have hardly ever been an issue.

Also, as a few people stated, the LA area and its surrounding cities pretty much all connected. Cities here aren't separate pockets distant from one another like you'll find in other parts of the country.

[drunk on kool aid]

Originally Posted by harvestthesouls

Hi, I'm looking to relocate from Suburban London to California.
I began reading about San Diego, then got discouraged by the conservative experiences
written on here, and then considered SF only to reconsider a better micro climate with better weather and easier socializing.

I'm curious why you are so quick to eliminate SD and SF.

I'm pretty sure that not all of San Diego is conservative, especially near its large universities, UCSD and SDSU.

SF seems to be the closest match if you want liberal, urban, decent public transportation, holistic living. Even though SF is small, it also has some variation in its climate. What aspects of SF weather is not to your liking?

Originally Posted by harvestthesouls

Prerequisites:
0. Low Crime (seriously this is before the list even begins).
00. Low risk of Natural disaster.

If low crime is paramount, you can sacrifice some of your other priorities and select places like Irvine in Orange County or Thousand Oaks in Ventura County. These are some of the safest cities in the entire country. Orange County is considered a bastion of conservatism but Irvine is home to a large University of California (UC) campus.

California is often divided into the liberal coast and the conservative inland areas such as the Central Valley. Even in conservative coastal areas, you'll have no trouble finding like-minded folks or support for vegan and holistic lifestyles. The state of California is generally considered to be progressive so even conservative areas have to comply with laws that they wouldn't enact if left to their own (e.g. same sex marriage, medical marijuana, paid vacation, etc.)

Santa Monica is usually thought of as very liberal but it is also very expensive, with a lot of wealth, so it's not necessarily hippie in the 60's and 70's sense. You might also consider Topanga (wildfire risk), Ojai (might be closest in lifestyle), Santa Barbara or Laguna Beach. By the way, how much money do you plan to spend on housing?

There's some excellent information in earlier posts so some of the following will be repetitive.

Since the San Andreas fault doesn't extend into San Diego it is definitely at lower risk from "The Big One." However, powerful tremors can be generated from the gobs of faults that cover the state. If you are really worried, study maps of known faults, check for areas susceptible to liquefaction, make sure your dwelling is up to code (e.g. earthquake bolts) and have an earthquake kit handy.

Wildfires get a lot of media attention but for the vast majority of people, who don't live in hillsides, it's a non-issue, aside from temporarily degrading air quality and ash falling on your car. You can mitigate a lot of the risk by clearing brush, fire-proofing, etc.

Originally Posted by harvestthesouls

Prerequisites:
1. Sunshine, not into wind or rain or unclean air. So Hollywood or maybe a micro climate
2. Socializing (so population near and around should at least be 1million) with lots of open and like-minded people (I am ultra liberal and holistic vegan). Maybe like characters portrayed on Parenthood TV show.
3. Either urban or 45 minutes away from city (like here in London)
4. Things to do, I'm not a nightlife person but evenings, I'd like options and not feel like getting bored after 6 months.
5. Nature - Parks and pets.
6. Good local transportation, choice of shopping and services. This means I don't want to travel 2 hours just to get somewhere.

Anywhere in California will give you plenty of access to nature. Coastal California will have ocean and mountains in the vicinity; the Northern half will have redwood/sequoia forests and the Southern half will have deserts in proximity.

Although LA is notorious for bad air quality, it's nothing like it was in the 60's and 70's. There are studies showing long-term health consequences to those living near a freeway or the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Unless you are sensitive to air quality, even inland areas such as Pasadena will be fine.

From what you've written, the California, and especially the LA, in your mind is vastly different from the reality. I think you need to spend some holiday time here to see if your are compatible and to get a realistic notion of the area.

Have you considered cities in other states such as Colorado (very low natural disaster risk + high (sorry) on holistic lifestyle)?

Good luck.

[pacific2]

This might help since safety is a prime concern:
The 50 Safest Cities in California - SafeWise

Peruse it and go from there.

In the end, you may want to sacrifice safety for a bit of excitement. Seriously, though, some safe cities are located a very short drive away from more interesting towns.

[LuvSouthOC]

Originally Posted by pacific2

This might help since safety is a prime concern:
The 50 Safest Cities in California - SafeWise

Peruse it and go from there.

In the end, you may want to sacrifice safety for a bit of excitement. Seriously, though, some safe cities are located a very short drive away from more interesting towns.

But that would have the OP look at horrible OC, and most cannot have that! OC must die! It's a burb and burbs and not desired by anyone, not Milleneals...yet.

[pacific2]

Originally Posted by LuvSouthOC

But that would have the OP look at horrible OC, and most cannot have that! OC must die! It's a burb and burbs and not desired by anyone, not Milleneals...yet.

Au contraire, mon ami, they are most definitely around.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Originally Posted by harvestthesouls

But no wildfires or tsunamis.

I had to giggle. To get away from the tsunamis you head for the hills.

To get away from the wildfires in the hills, you head to the beach.



I think you're just going to have to accept that the possibility of a natural disaster could happen to you if you live in CA. We find the trade-off worth it, when comparing the odds, and the options of living anywhere else.

[C2ShiningC]

Originally Posted by Morwyn_7

I suppose you have the visa all sorted?

It would be nice if you answered this question so that the people who are providing answers to your questions will know that they aren't wasting their time.