I Want That Mountain Life...Help? (Los Angeles, San Francisco: low income, 2014, houses)

[tikkasf]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

OP, at your price point, the whole thing is going to be a tough bill to fill in California. Is it also safe to assume he'll need access to quality medical care?

Just off the top of my head, as far as RE prices & mountain-ish or rural-ish areas (which often come with limited job options as part of the package, be aware), I can only come up with: the north coast area/Humboldt County, places like Eureka, Ferndale, or Fortuna and their outskirts (it's cheaper outside of the city limits), or the Gold Rush towns of the Sierra foothills (we have 1 or 2 members living out there, who could advise you). You could do some research on RE sites for those general areas, to see if you find anything affordable. Some of the sierra towns, like scenic Placerville, are commutable to Sacramento, if you need big-city jobs. The north coast is redwood country; lots of redwood parks to walk in, and the Trinity Mountains are nearby. It's more isolated, but has hospitals, limited jobs (health care, schools, city admin, college staffing/faculty), and the world's most majestic trees. A speech pathologist could serve several towns: Arcata/McKinleyville have a sizeable population, schools, hospital, state university, and Eureka has a community college, hospital.

Another area for cheap land is Lake County: Clear Lake + the Ukiah area )Mendocino Co.). No jobs in the Clear Lake area, unless he could get something with the wineries. And it's hot in the summers. Area has been prone to fires recently. Ukiah isn't much better, job-wise. But you asked for "cheap" (affordable), and Lake Co. has cheap RE.

Placerville area:




Ferndale (notice Victorian architecture, & the fog in the trees. North Coast is cool, foggy, rainy. You won't have a water shortage there!):

Going by the OP stated regarding her husband, perhaps he is retired and employment for both parties is just something optional.
Ferndale might be worth a look for OP. It's a bit isolated in terms of having a major city within a reasonable drive though. But, Eureka is not that far and perhaps it would offer enough for OP. One advantage Ferndale would have over the Gold Country, is it does not have the level of summer heat found in the GC.
https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sal...41_rect/13_zm/

[tikkasf]

LogiH....

use you computer mouse to move around the streets of Ferndale.....it will almost be like you are driving around the town.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/53...!4d-124.262465

[Mr5150]

Originally Posted by 1AngryTaxPayer

Why stay in CA?

Why leave if you find what you want? The op said they want something in CA. Just cuz your area is congested and expensive doesn’t mean the other 97% of CA is that way.

Originally Posted by johninvegas

The Sierra foothills might work for you. But you're looking at two problems, first is your price range. Finding a good, turn-key home for a couple and two children with 1-2 acres for 300k is going to be a rare find. Now, if you can add some sweat equity and work with a bit of a rebuild, that may work for you. FYI, a friend of mine who lives in Woodland (outside Sacramento) says that prices for this kind of property, especially if it's pretty secluded are going up due to legal pot growers looking for places with not a lot of traffic.

Second, many of these small towns are fairly restrictive as to what kind of jobs are available.

Not true on the price range. There are plenty of nice places to be had in that price range in my area and I’m in a nice area.

Jobs in the gold country are something that city people don’t understand. There are jobs in all fields and in many ways easier to secure. The medical field included. In the big city you might have 100 job postings in your field, but you’re competing with 5000 people for those openings. You’d be lucky to even get a response for an interview with that level of competition. In our area there might be five or six openings, but guess what, you might be competing with 20 or 25 people. When I applied for my Social Worker position there were 4 opinings in my county. I was very qualified. I had to compete with 8 other people. Needless to say I got hired and retired 15 years later. The op said can work anywhere and her husband has the perfect skill set for a rural area

[evening sun]

https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sal...058_rect/7_zm/

[tikkasf]

Originally Posted by evening sun

https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sal...058_rect/7_zm/

looks like another area worth a look by OP

[GSR13]

OP - If a conservative political environment doesn't bother you, I would look into Prescott and Payson in Arizona.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by evening sun

https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sal...058_rect/7_zm/

Gawd, that looks enticing! 1/2 acre, too. How's the summer weather? It gets pretty hot around Chico, all summer, doesn't it? Maybe the OP can handle it, being from LA.

[Mr5150]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Gawd, that looks enticing! 1/2 acre, too. How's the summer weather? It gets pretty hot around Chico, all summer, doesn't it? Maybe the OP can handle it, being from LA.

It’s a lot cooler in Paradise.

[evening sun]

Originally Posted by Mr5150

It’s a lot cooler in Paradise.

It is cooler, but not by much we still get quite a few triple digit days, that is when we head to the lake.

[Mr5150]

Originally Posted by GSR13

OP - If a conservative political environment doesn't bother you, I would look into Prescott and Payson in Arizona.

Prescott is pricy. More so than Paradise or my area. I wish people would look at facts instead of just assuming everything is cheaper just because it is not CA.