Appologize in advance...another C.O.L. and "Where to live" question.

[bhcompy]

Originally Posted by eagle06

bh...if you don't mind, where in SoCal are you?

Los Alamitos, just inside the Orange County line east of Long Beach(which saves me a whole 1.5% sales tax on purchases, yay)

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by eagle06

Derek,

Yeah..we love Golden. I'm hoping we don't have to leave.

Based on what I'm learning so far I think the Bay Area may suit us best. It looks to me like that area has the most to offer as far as natural beauty. The beaches in SoCal may be warmer but we've outgrown the "beach" scene. I grew up on Lake Michigan so I love the boating and beauty of beaches and water but we don't enjoy going just to lay out and swim. I think I'd get annoyed with the whole SoCal Beach scene.

Is it as foggy in the summer as I'm reading on-line or is it still pretty sunny. That's one of the big things we love about Denver is the sunshine.

Yeah, based on what you are describing I think you would enjoy the central to northern part of the state more. I think the SoCal beaches are overrated and overcrowded along with the mtns. The biggest difference in living in CO vs. CA for you will be the ability to really get out into nature and away from the hand of man. Unfortunately because CA is the most populous state much of it is impacted, even when you go to the mtns or beaches. This is more accute in SoCal with LA/OC/SD right next to each other.

As for the fog I don't think it is really that bad at all. And it does vary a lot from city to city and sometimes even within a city. For example I live in Monterey in an area known as the 'sun belt' which gets less coastal fog than the rest of the Monterey. But even the areas more prone to fog normally only have it consistently during the summer months. And then the rest of the year the weather is nice with a good mixture of sunny periods and rain storms. I would actually like to see a bit more rain. Here is a shot I took this Winter after a good rain in Big Sur:




Derek

[sav858]

As for SoCal beaches, I think there is a huge difference between LA County beaches and those from Laguna Beach southward to Mexico. LA County beaches are kind of gross compared to most of Orange County and San Diego beaches. Beaches from Laguna south to Coronado are not that crowded except a few and pretty clean and not polluted. You can find plenty of clean, isolated beaches in San Diego. The water in SD is much clearer and cleaner than the rest of SoCal from my experiance, some south OC ones are as nice too. There are a variety of different types of beaches too, some of the La Jolla ones remind me of Hawaii b/c of white the sand it and how clear the water is.

[Paula Lynn]

Originally Posted by bhcompy

Los Alamitos, just inside the Orange County line east of Long Beach(which saves me a whole 1.5% sales tax on purchases, yay)

My son lives in Los Al. I love it there. and I love all the strip malls, but the neighborhoods tend to stick to themselves. I love LB for the walkability, friendly people, out-door cafes and vintage book stores, etc. I know grocery store clerks by their name, I know my neighbors, even tho I'm not social with them. Public transporation is great. Would I make a choice between the two??? I'd have to pick an answer out of a hat, but I'm hoping it would be Long Beach.