Looking for my aunt and uncle.

[Mr5150]

Originally Posted by westcoastforme

My aunt and uncle clear about $6,000 a month from my uncle's pension.

They want to find a place with good weather all year round. Very mild winters if any winter at all. And I know California is expensive but what if they lived in northern California and inland a half hour or 45 minutes?

Any ideas?

They would rent a small house or a townhouse and they don't have much debt.

Really important is the elevation can't be too high because of health issues.


Thanks!

Originally Posted by nightlysparrow

Santa Barbara is at sea level.

SoCal. Please read the OP again.

Originally Posted by Lovehound

I think practically any coastal area of SoCal from Santa Barbara all the way down to San Diego. You will find the weather more temperate if you locate somewhere between the beach and the first row of hills. Once you get over the hills (like Santa Monica going over the Hollywood Hills into the San Fernando Valley) you want to stay on the ocean side of the hills because the valleys are isolated from ocean influence and experience hotter summers. On the other hand you'll find more fog on the ocean side, in general.

Another thing: affordability. Your $6K clear a month is pretty good but not good enough to move into the more pricey areas. I'm thinking of areas that may be more affordable and just off the top of my head, practically anywhere in coastal Ventura County including Ventura and Oxnard, or perhaps down the coast north of San Diego like Oceanside, Carlsbad, Encinitas, Del Mar... Now I'm no expert on the prices in these areas, and you will not be living near the beach but like Oxnard/Ventura I'm pretty sure there are affordable areas there. As a benefit you are in a short driving distance from Los Angeles, which of course has all the big city conveniences.

It depends on how much of that $6K you can afford to spend on housing. If you are frugal like me--I stay at home a lot, I cook at home a lot, I don't buy expensive toys or expensive cars--then you might be able to spend a significant part of that $6K on rent. I'm guessing that maybe $2K/month might find you some sort of housing in Ventura/Oxnard area. You might go a bit farther inland to Santa Paula. You might also look a bit farther north in the Santa Maria area.

I don't guarantee that $2K will get you anything in any of these areas because I never looked to rent in any of these areas--I've merely driven through them. I'm fairly familiar with Ventura County and know there's lot of agriculture there, and suspect there are some poorer areas that might be affordable.

Anyway that's my take on it. It's riddled with flaws and lack of knowledge but you might find a place for $2K/month. And all of them are within a few hundred feet from sea level. They are all naturally air conditioned from the ocean air, reasonably cool in the summer, mild in the winter, and as an extra benefit most are relatively immune to air pollution because they're near the Pacific Ocean.

I'm also considering it's just the two of them so they can get a 1 bedroom place which of course is the least expensive type of rental. I think a townhouse or apartment would be a better choice for a retired couple than a house, no yard maintenance. A house may cost more too.

Please note that I'm not a naysayer. I'm not going to try and talk you out of moving to California just because of our high cost of living. If you have your heart set on here and don't care where in CA then I think it might be workable. It's a good feature that they won't be tied to family so one area is just as good as another as long as they like the area. I wouldn't mind living in Ventura County although I like where I live better.


Forget it. $2K rent won't cut it in Santa Barbara. But if you can find a place in SB for $2K then it would be a pretty good place to live. If your total cost of living doesn't exceed your $6K. And if that's fixed, consider inflation. Prices are always going to go up, for everything.

SoCal. Please read the OP again.

Originally Posted by sacreole

How about Camarillo in Ventura County?

SoCal. Please read the OP again.

Originally Posted by Lovehound

Second that, along with Oxnard, Ventura and Santa Paula that I suggested above. All are on an almost sea level flat (Santa Paula a bit higher) nearly sea level, the weather is mild in both summer and winter, and I'm sure cost of living is less expensive than nearby Los Angeles.

I can't say that I know rental prices in Ventura County but you can probably estimate rental prices on one of the online real estate sites.

SoCal. Please read the OP again.

Originally Posted by JohnG72

Hi OP, cannot do a house or townhome in these areas, but there's still older 1 and even 2 bed apartments within 2-6 blocks of the beach in Huntington Beach CA for less than $2k a month.

San Clemente is gorgeous and you can find even slightly cheaper there. I'm guessing it's also possible in oceanside and elsewhere in north San Diego county.

HB is less expensive than other beach locations due to lots of older housing stock and also it's a longer commute due to distance from freeway. San clemente has few jobs and it's a long drive to where the jobs are.

SoCal. Please read the OP again.

Originally Posted by Lovehound

If that's Hermosa Beach it's a fantastic place! I used to have a friend who lived about a block from the pier and it was a totally hopping place! I presume any affordable place would be 1+ miles from the beach. I'd live in Hermosa Beach in a New York minute if I could afford it!

Yeah I suggested SD north like Oceanside etc. Long commute distance is a benefit for the retired.

And then there's Ventura County near L.A.

SoCal. Please read the OP again.

Come on people. The poster is looking for areas in Northern CA, not Southern CA.

[CiCi2]

I know this is a three year old post but for those who come along with interest to read...there are no places in Northern California that have hardly any winter, at all. As a matter of fact, it can get downright cold. Here, in San Jose, winter nights can get down into the 30s. The further north you go, the colder it can get. Summer of 2017 brought me some days in the 100s with one day getting up to 111 degrees. Summers, inland, can be unbearably hot. Winters, inland, may not get quite as cold.