Favorite Foothills Town? (San Diego, Upland, Redlands: house, living, price)

[family first]

If you had to choose one town in the 2000-5000' elevation to call home, where would it be? Why would you choose it? What would an average house it that town run?

[Mr5150]

I’ve been living near said town for the last 15 years.

So many factors to consider including snow. There are two kinds of people where I live. Those live above the snow line and those wouldn’t want to live where it snows on a regular basis.

[malcorub16]

Depends, do you need to be near a city or any specific amenity? Or are we just focused on the topography/weather patterns of the land.

Here in San Diego County, Pine Valley at elevation 3,800 ft (1,140M) sometimes snows and can get quit cold in the winter. It is also very far from most jobs but sure is pretty to visit. I would pick the lower 2000 FT elevation (here in SD County say, Alpine, CA) to live because of the milder climate and also because it is closer to the city but still out in the country/foothills.

[TheFlats]

I like the coastal foothills but they're much more expensive. The chain of towns along highway 49 (Grass Valley/Nevada City to the north and Oakhurst on the southern end) is probably your best bet for NorCal, if you need to be near civilization.

You're going to have to give us more to work with though, California is a big place and your question is too open ended. What is your budget, job situation, how remote of a place can you tolerate, etc.

[ccm123]

I like La Canada Flintridge in LA County. Small town feel in a big city. Guessing that average home price is 2 million.

[evening sun]

Well, we live in a foothills town called Paradise is Northern California, but it won't meet your criteria of 2000 feet, we are at around 1800', which I like as we get very little, if any snow. Which is what we wanted.

[BeauCharles]

Murphys. I just like the area and its a cute, historic town.

[Social Democrat]

Placerville.

[family first]

Work off computers so, no problem traveling to a jobsite. Maybe 1 hour to major shopping. 30 to health care (hospitals). Snow isn't a problem.....

[AnthonyJ34]

Originally Posted by ccm123

I like La Canada Flintridge in LA County. Small town feel in a big city. Guessing that average home price is 2 million.

San Antonio Heights above Upland is a nice area as well. It's expensive of course though. It's a bit over 2,000 feet, so it's high enough to mitigate some of the intense inland valley summer heat (although it still gets toasty). Plus, Mt. Baldy Village is just a few miles up Mt. Baldy Road from San Antonio Heights, so a quick escape to a mountain town is just a few minutes away.

Other cities such as Yucaipa and Redlands are technically foothill towns as well. Yucaipa is relatively high, at just under 3,000 feet, so it's a bit cooler in summer and of course a bit cooler in winter as well.

Of course, the foothill towns in Northern California are going to be surrounded by less urban sprawl, so they will feel more isolated. Plus, they typically have more extreme temperature swings, which is either good or bad depending on what you like.