Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
]The closest thing overall would be the San Juan Islands (up near the Canadian border).[/b] They have a similar combination of flattish landscapes, farming areas, wild areas and small towns. In fact, I'd say the San Juans are like Cape Cod many years ago, before it got (re)discovered*.
*After all, even before building up Plymouth, the Pilgrims lived on Cape Cod.
I was just thinking this same thing. Maybe nearby areas of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington as well.
Yes I have been to Oregon and Washington. I lived in Olympia for six months. I could deal with the cold but could not handle the completely dark sky all winter. That made me depressed and I came back to California. I have not been to the Oregon beaches but I have been told they are cold and overcast. I don't mind the cooler weather but I definitely need sunshine. I don't care if it's 40° as long as I'm getting my sunlight. My other concern would be if there are decent jobs enough there for me to support myself as a single woman. I definitely would not live in Portland. I found it to be dirty and full of homeless people with a very hipster vibe. Just the total opposite of what I would be looking for. I drove all the way to Portland to visit voodoo donuts when I lived in Washington and I couldn't get back to Olympia soon enough. There were some lovely areas in Oregon like Lake Oswego and Tigard. I absolutely loved the charm of Lake Oswego. The tree-lined streets and cute little houses. Quaint downtown. The mansions on the lake need not apply. Unfortunately that charming city is not in the budget. I have never been to eureka and I have no idea about it. Is it affordable for a single woman? Are there any jobs? I know I'm kind of looking for the impossible. But I think considering the fact that I'm happy with a small little place and I don't care about school districts and I don't demand a fancy CEO gig... it should be possible. I saw the cutest cottage on Pinterest today and of course I went to look where it was and it was in Nantucket, which apparently was listed as one of the places with the highest real estate in the US my search continues ...
Yes I have been to Oregon and Washington. I lived in Olympia for six months. I could deal with the cold but could not handle the completely dark sky all winter. That made me depressed and I came back to California. I have not been to the Oregon beaches but I have been told they are cold and overcast. I don't mind the cooler weather but I definitely need sunshine. I don't care if it's 40° as long as I'm getting my sunlight. My other concern would be if there are decent jobs enough there for me to support myself as a single woman. I definitely would not live in Portland. I found it to be dirty and full of homeless people with a very hipster vibe. Just the total opposite of what I would be looking for. I drove all the way to Portland to visit voodoo donuts when I lived in Washington and I couldn't get back to Olympia soon enough. There were some lovely areas in Oregon like Lake Oswego and Tigard. I absolutely loved the charm of Lake Oswego. The tree-lined streets and cute little houses. Quaint downtown. The mansions on the lake need not apply. Unfortunately that charming city is not in the budget. I have never been to eureka and I have no idea about it. Is it affordable for a single woman? Are there any jobs? I know I'm kind of looking for the impossible. But I think considering the fact that I'm happy with a small little place and I don't care about school districts and I don't demand a fancy CEO gig... it should be possible. I saw the cutest cottage on Pinterest today and of course I went to look where it was and it was in Nantucket, which apparently was listed as one of the places with the highest real estate in the US my search continues ...
I know every city and town from our southern border at Imperial Beach - to Blaine at the Canadian border. Intimately. I live on a boat. I have sailed and driven the entire west coast since mid-1960's. I know which towns have sandy beaches, which have rocky beaches, and which have no beaches. Which are sunny - which are not. Which are affordable - which are not. Where there is work to be found - where not.
Your dream list is tough. But, depending on your financial position, perhaps not completely impossible.
Sunny, quaint, quiet, outdoor recreation oriented, not urban or congested, with some employment potential - can do.
It's true that a lot of that list can be found in both Oregon and Washington. A place like Pt Townsend (Washington) would be prime. Except not much employment potential. And 5 - 6 months of gray skies. Because of those two limitations - lack of sun and lack of employment potential - really everything north of about Mendocino can be scratched off your map. And anything north of Bodega Bay to Mendocino can be scratched off due to lack of employment.
This leaves three areas to explore. But, before I spend any time and effort explaining further, tell us about your economics. Are you coming to this search with an equity fund to put down into a home? If so how much? If not, what's your income potential?
I will just be renting for the first year or two while getting settled. Making sure I see a futute in the city before I put down roots. I have explored several places from 21 to 31 (my dream to find such a place started years before I was married and divorced). I have been to WA, OR, UT, AZ, OK, TX, NV. In places lacking a beach cottage I was willing to settle into a little country house or cabin. I prefer a costal city if I can make that happen. I ventured to corpus christi and found crack heads wandering around. Nothing like socal beaches. I was disappointed. Im still looking for the same things, regardless of where I find them. Not urban. Suburban with a touch of rural. But everytime I think Ive found my match someone tells me how awful it is. I was seriously considering Wilmington NC and Charleston SC (despite the humidity) because I found cute little pink houses blocks from the water that were $1100/month or less. But people would say oh the violent crime is so high that you wont be safe at night or oh the bugs will just eat you alive if you go outside. Apparently there is something wrong with every place I consider. So Im putting it to the forum. Maybe someone else can suggest a place better than my ideas.
I'm in love with places like Cape Cod and Cape May. The adorable pastel colored little houses and beach cottages, The style, even the town has such character. Does the West Coast have anything like that ?? I've lived in Los Angeles and Orange county and Temecula (wine country) but i've never seen anything that comes close. San Clemente is a lovely beach city with nice outlet stores but it doesn't have the pastel little beach cottages. I've been to Carmel in Northern California and the city has that wonderful charm. But It's Victorian cottages are millions and millions of dollars. It's not a realistic place to live unless you are a wealthy retired person IMO. Does anyone know of anything on the West Coast that's a cape cod equivalent or at least similar ??
Im turning 32, just finalizing my divorce. And I have no kids so Im in the position that I can move anywhere. As far as my professional background, I worked for 15 years in customer service management (office and retail). And Im hoping you can help me find the right place to relocate.
Obviously there has to be some job opportunities. It can be retail or office work as I have experience in both, but I want to be making decent enough money to support myself as a single woman. With my good resumse I previously made $58,000/year in Orange County. In a more affordable area I would be willing to make less. I love the outdoors. (Beaches, lakes, parks, sunshine, hiking). My dream is to just have a small two bedroom two bath little cottage style home. And a backyard big enough to have a little garden.
Im not worried about school districts, public transportation, big city life (I hate traffic and smog), or having a big house or a lot of land for cheap. A simple 1 or 2 bedroom is all I need, with most of my time outdoors. Im not a city girl. Im used to a safe area with resturants and shopping within a 20 min drive to a beach.
Orange county has lots of over priced beach cities but it lacks the character and cute small homes of Cape Cod or Cape May. So... Does such a place exist on the West Coast?? I would totally move to the east coast if I could survive humidity and snowy winters !
Newport Beach doesn't have cute small homes somewhat reminiscent of Cape Cod?
Last edited by LuvSouthOC; 10-02-2016 at 09:50 AM..
I will just be renting for the first year or two while getting settled. Making sure I see a futute in the city before I put down roots. I have explored several places from 21 to 31 (my dream to find such a place started years before I was married and divorced). I have been to WA, OR, UT, AZ, OK, TX, NV. In places lacking a beach cottage I was willing to settle into a little country house or cabin. I prefer a costal city if I can make that happen. I ventured to corpus christi and found crack heads wandering around. Nothing like socal beaches. I was disappointed. Im still looking for the same things, regardless of where I find them. Not urban. Suburban with a touch of rural. But everytime I think Ive found my match someone tells me how awful it is. I was seriously considering Wilmington NC and Charleston SC (despite the humidity) because I found cute little pink houses blocks from the water that were $1100/month or less. But people would say oh the violent crime is so high that you wont be safe at night or oh the bugs will just eat you alive if you go outside. Apparently there is something wrong with every place I consider. So Im putting it to the forum. Maybe someone else can suggest a place better than my ideas.
You still haven't been specific about your ability to get into a property -rent or purchase. But, based on your comment of "I found cute little pink houses blocks from the water that were $1100/month or less," I'll guess that is the upper range of your budget?
I'm going to identify four areas. But your probable $1100 rent / mortgage likely puts you at only two.
From most affordable to more expensive:
1. Sacramento Delta towns of Walnut Grove (NOT Walnut Creek), Isleton, and Rio Vista. All these towns have properties running from about 1/3 to 1/2 the cost of typical [low-end] coastal California and are commutable to employment areas (but not short commute: Fairfield and Sacramento). All are on the Sacramento Delta waterways and thus water recreation related, but not with salt-water beaches. Salt water coast is a couple hours drive.
2. Russian River towns of Forestville, Guerneville, and Rio Dell. A price step up from the Delta, but still many small cottages in affordable range. Commutable to Santa Rosa for employment opportunities (but, again, not a short commute). Easy drive to salt water coast / beaches at Sonoma Coast, Bodega Bay and Tomales Bay.
3. Central Coast south of Big Sur: Morro Bay, Los Osos, Templeton, Paso Robles, Atascadero. Morro Bay and Los Osos are on the coast. Morro Bay is really out of your price range except you might get lucky with an odd, small rental. Los Osos is more affordable than Morro but not much less. Both are easily commutable to San Luis Obispo for employment. Templeton, Paso and Atascadero have a selection of low cost properties but are inland quite a ways from the coast, hot, dry, with cottage character limited to more of a Mexican cultural feel. They are also quite spotty as to some more crime and limited access to recreational venues.
4. Central Coast north of Big Sur: Seaside, Marina, Moss Landing, Prunedale, Salinas, Castroville. Seaside and Marina probably won't knock your socks off as "quaint beach communities", even though they are right on Monterey Bay beaches. They are also a little spotty as to potential for crime - more so than Monterey itself (which you would LOVE, but which is NOT affordable for you). But they are in proximity to employment and they are beach connected and they are reasonably sunny, though very foggy at times.
Moss Landing is an odd place with almost no likelihood of finding a rental or home. But, it is a little lost world sandwiched between the ocean beaches and wonderful Elkhorn Estuary preserve. There is a very affordable marina there if you want to live aboard a boat, like I do
Prunedale, Salinas, and Castroville are all inland from the coast but accessible to both coastal beaches and employment opportunities. There is a very wide range of pricing for rentals and properties - because there is a very wide range of desirability in terms of crime especially. Nice areas. Pretty nasty areas.
In summary:
you can find your quaint and characterful, funky, cute, fun properties and feel most in the Russian River area (#2 group). It is easy to great beaches. Reasonable to employment areas. Fun. Eclectic. Fairly affordable. Good sun except if you locate on the wrong side of the step canyons properties and get only mid-day sun.
The Delta is fun for some folks, but limited for hikes and beaches (there are some). An odd lost land, like Moss Landing. Not appealing to a wide range of personalities but you'd have to visit to see how it hits you. I lived in there for years and mostly love it. Then again, I'm pretty odd
The area that best hits all your criteria - except affordability - is Morro Bay. Next door Los Osos is next best. If you can rob a bank, or are bringing a moderate wheelbarrow full of cash for a down payment, you might squeeze in the area.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
my search continues ...
