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Hi, I am disabled and wondering about the safety of Watsonville ca. There will be an opportunity to live at 1355 Madison St, Watsonville, CA 95076. I also will have opportunities in Paso Robles and would love information on that area such as liberal/conservative etc. Santa Rosa is another real possibility, but I am really concerned about fires in that area as well as the others. Any information you have is greatly appreciated. Thank you ! Chris
Looks like a nice building there, in Watsonville. Would you be in a ground-floor unit? Or does it have elevators?
It depends in part, on what you want in a community: amenities, culture, etc. You haven't mentioned that. Also, weather. Paso Robles will be hotter in the summer, Watsonville ranges in the high 60''s. to-mid-70's, being much closer to the ocean (it may occasionally hit 80 in mid-afternoon, but cools off quickly). (Barring any unusual heat waves.). Watsonville would be more liberal, Paso Robles--more conservative, but it's not the foaming-at-the-mouth kind of conservative. More of a quiet, old-fashioned conservative, AFAIK.
In Watsonville, you'll be closer to Monterey Bay, Santa Cruz and Monterey, if that interests you. And to redwood forests. um...well...maybe that's not a plus these days, IDK. I guess the one advantage of Paso Robles is, that you'd be a lot farther away from smoke events from wildfires, but I do wonder when I drive through there, if the place might become prone to agricultural fires, brush fires.
Would your option in Paso Robles have A/C? It will need it. You'd better check. I don't know if that's a given up there or not.
Last edited by Ruth4Truth; 05-16-2021 at 08:15 AM..
Hi, I am disabled and wondering about the safety of Watsonville ca. There will be an opportunity to live at 1355 Madison St, Watsonville, CA 95076. I also will have opportunities in Paso Robles and would love information on that area such as liberal/conservative etc. Santa Rosa is another real possibility, but I am really concerned about fires in that area as well as the others. Any information you have is greatly appreciated. Thank you ! Chris
Paso Robles leans to the right, but there is certainly a good mix of both. The county as a whole leans slightly to the left, mostly due to the city of SLO and Cal Poly. Paso has a real touristy feel to it because it's wine country, the population is only 30K but it feels like a very "busy" 30K. Two main highways intersect in Paso, 101 and 46, so there's lots of weekend and summer traffic to the beach communities.
Paso is mostly a safe town to live in, though it does have a couple of areas to steer clear from like any place. There is a homeless issue, but nothing close to what cities like SF/LA are experiencing. They aren't as noticeable as other places because Paso is divided right down the middle by a huge riverbed (Salinas) and that is where most of them reside. Yes, they basically are living in the forest. They are out of sight and therefore aren't really a fixture on the streets here, but they do start fires in there a lot, some have been damaging to local neighborhoods. It does feel like the local government was woken up to this fact and it does seem like they have more fire prevention operations being conducted in the riverbed area.
Overall it's a nice town, not bad for retiring either if you can afford it. It does lack some amenities and really needs more grocery stores.
Hi, I am disabled and wondering about the safety of Watsonville ca. There will be an opportunity to live at 1355 Madison St, Watsonville, CA 95076. I also will have opportunities in Paso Robles and would love information on that area such as liberal/conservative etc. Santa Rosa is another real possibility, but I am really concerned about fires in that area as well as the others. Any information you have is greatly appreciated. Thank you ! Chris
Unfortunately, I think all 3 of these choices have potential fire risk. Santa Rosa has seen a recent devastating fire in 2017, while the others, not so much. However, all three back up into wooded hills/mountains. Given our ongoing droughts and global warming, this will become more of a risk. My advice on this front is to not choose to live in a location at/near the hills. If you're closer to the center of town of any of the three, your risk would be reduced.
I agree with what others have said about Paso being more conservative than the other two. SLO county does go Democratic, albeit less than Santa Cruz and Sonoma counties. Keep in mind that the community of SLO itself is very liberal, so the Paso/Atascadero area tends to be more conservative and religious. I do think this is changing, however, as Paso is becoming a burgeoning wine region.
Another thing to keep in mind is the crime statistics. Watsonville is in general a farming town and has a lot of accompanying gang activity. Personally, I wouldn't choose to live in that community. If you went with that choice, I'd choose to live in Capitola or Aptos. Santa Rosa also has gang activities but has more nice areas within town. You could certainly more easily avoid this in the community if you choose. Also, there are some very nice towns nearby, such as Windsor and Healdsburg. I haven't heard too much about crime issues with Paso, so take that for what its worth.
Weather also is vastly different between the three. Watsonville is only a few miles from the coast and therefore is typically mild/cool and receives a lot of fog. Some people like this weather, others don't. Santa Rosa is further inland and is often much warmer. However, it is close enough to the coast to often (not always) receive some cooling coastal influence. Paso is even further inland and is frequently very hot during the summer (100+ regularly). The good news, however, is that it tends to cool off nicely at night, more so than say Fresno/Bakersfield.
Finally, it depends upon whether you're interested in proximity to a major metropolitan area. Santa Rosa is fairly close to SF (1 hour, depending upon traffic). This can make a difference if you're looking for shopping/entertainment/transportation options. Watsonville is even closer to San Jose, although it can be time consuming if you're commuting over 17. Paso is 3-4 hours (at least) from the major urban areas of SF or LA (about midway between both). Some people like being further away while others will feel isolated.
Thank you Ruth ! great info. I am aware of the weather differences in the areas, and I do believe that the disabled housing has an elevator, although I will call and make sure. Its difficult because in my situation, I don't have many options for housing, have to take what I can get. GOOD NEWS is thanks to zoom, I have made friends in the last year. Made a couple that have become very close in the santa cruz watsonville area, so I have done my homework as best as I can on watsonville. Biggest concern again is safety in that area. I would have a/c in paso, and I have been zooming with people there and getting a feel as well. Pismo beach seems wonderful. This is a hard long process that has to be done as I have raynauds syndrome, and cold air urticaria, and Wisconsin winters don't work with that..lol
Paso Robles leans to the right, but there is certainly a good mix of both. The county as a whole leans slightly to the left, mostly due to the city of SLO and Cal Poly. Paso has a real touristy feel to it because it's wine country, the population is only 30K but it feels like a very "busy" 30K. Two main highways intersect in Paso, 101 and 46, so there's lots of weekend and summer traffic to the beach communities.
Paso is mostly a safe town to live in, though it does have a couple of areas to steer clear from like any place. There is a homeless issue, but nothing close to what cities like SF/LA are experiencing. They aren't as noticeable as other places because Paso is divided right down the middle by a huge riverbed (Salinas) and that is where most of them reside. Yes, they basically are living in the forest. They are out of sight and therefore aren't really a fixture on the streets here, but they do start fires in there a lot, some have been damaging to local neighborhoods. It does feel like the local government was woken up to this fact and it does seem like they have more fire prevention operations being conducted in the riverbed area.
Overall it's a nice town, not bad for retiring either if you can afford it. It does lack some amenities and really needs more grocery stores.
Thank you so much for the info That is the feel I am getting with Paso will be interesting if the housing I applied for works out there. Pismo beach seems very nice. Dry heat we are ok with, and have noticed doing weather averages how cool it gets at night. That is a really nice thing. Thank you also for the heads up on the riverbed situation. Chris
Thank you Ruth ! great info. I am aware of the weather differences in the areas, and I do believe that the disabled housing has an elevator, although I will call and make sure. Its difficult because in my situation, I don't have many options for housing, have to take what I can get. GOOD NEWS is thanks to zoom, I have made friends in the last year. Made a couple that have become very close in the santa cruz watsonville area, so I have done my homework as best as I can on watsonville. Biggest concern again is safety in that area. I would have a/c in paso, and I have been zooming with people there and getting a feel as well. Pismo beach seems wonderful. This is a hard long process that has to be done as I have raynauds syndrome, and cold air urticaria, and Wisconsin winters don't work with that..lol
Look at crime stats in the neighborhood, is the obvious next step if you like Watsonville and have friends there.
OP~ since you have a health situation with cool/cold temps, it makes sense for you to move South. While the areas you mention are beautiful, they have a "wet/coolness" to them. (I like Santa Rosa's "Crescent." myself.)
Wouldn't a warm/hot-DRY environment benefit you better?
Unfortunately, I think all 3 of these choices have potential fire risk. Santa Rosa has seen a recent devastating fire in 2017, while the others, not so much. However, all three back up into wooded hills/mountains. Given our ongoing droughts and global warming, this will become more of a risk. My advice on this front is to not choose to live in a location at/near the hills. If you're closer to the center of town of any of the three, your risk would be reduced.
I agree with what others have said about Paso being more conservative than the other two. SLO county does go Democratic, albeit less than Santa Cruz and Sonoma counties. Keep in mind that the community of SLO itself is very liberal, so the Paso/Atascadero area tends to be more conservative and religious. I do think this is changing, however, as Paso is becoming a burgeoning wine region.
Another thing to keep in mind is the crime statistics. Watsonville is in general a farming town and has a lot of accompanying gang activity. Personally, I wouldn't choose to live in that community. If you went with that choice, I'd choose to live in Capitola or Aptos. Santa Rosa also has gang activities but has more nice areas within town. You could certainly more easily avoid this in the community if you choose. Also, there are some very nice towns nearby, such as Windsor and Healdsburg. I haven't heard too much about crime issues with Paso, so take that for what its worth.
Weather also is vastly different between the three. Watsonville is only a few miles from the coast and therefore is typically mild/cool and receives a lot of fog. Some people like this weather, others don't. Santa Rosa is further inland and is often much warmer. However, it is close enough to the coast to often (not always) receive some cooling coastal influence. Paso is even further inland and is frequently very hot during the summer (100+ regularly). The good news, however, is that it tends to cool off nicely at night, more so than say Fresno/Bakersfield.
Finally, it depends upon whether you're interested in proximity to a major metropolitan area. Santa Rosa is fairly close to SF (1 hour, depending upon traffic). This can make a difference if you're looking for shopping/entertainment/transportation options. Watsonville is even closer to San Jose, although it can be time consuming if you're commuting over 17. Paso is 3-4 hours (at least) from the major urban areas of SF or LA (about midway between both). Some people like being further away while others will feel isolated.
Good luck!
Thank you for taking the time to be so detailed I will take that advice about being in town for fire issues, and I do like the idea of being very close to san jose and santa cruz. I just got done talking via zoom with someone who lives in the watsonville area and said I would be just fine. I have noticed that the lows at night are comfortable in paso looking at averages
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I guess the one advantage of Paso Robles is, that you'd be a lot farther away from smoke events from wildfires, but I do wonder when I drive through there, if the place might become prone to agricultural fires, brush fires. 
