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I think the area around Scotts Valley in the Santa Cruz mountains or Santa Cruz or Los Gatos or Saratoga - all towns next to the Santa Cruz mountains would be perfect. Even South San Jose - where you can have the amenities of city life and amazing libraries, but be really close to mountains and the beach. And, the commute to great jobs would be reasonable. It's an amazing spot, where there really is a lot of nature - state parks, woods and beaches all close to big city amenities and jobs.
Rents aren't cheap here, but I'd start in that area. Also, depending on where you work, you can sometimes get hooked up with their employee buses, so they can actually work during their commutes, like Google, Apple, Facebook, etc.
I'm from the SF Bay Area, but moved to WA just out of high school and lived there for around 20 years all on the west side of WA from White Salmon to Bellingham. I know exactly what you're talking about regarding the weather. I'm sooooooo much happier here, regardless of any downsides. I'd trade the downsides here in a heartbeat to the downsides of living in PNW weather any day.
Best of luck to you. I really do think you'll be happier here. It's so much easier on the bones, too. If you have any injuries that bother you during cold, damp weather, I swear you will feel 10 years younger here. I know I do.
We stayed in Seaside just north of Monterey, and found this area to be incredibly stunning. We actually extended our vacation three days more.
We all love to swim but some activities are either too difficult or it's so cold. For example, we love snorkling and surfing on vacation, but we get to do it 1-2 times every several years. It would be incredible to have activities like that year round. There are activities at our state's aquarium, but it's so far away it's hard to participate. I like to do ocean clean ups and it's usually a 4 hour round trip drive. We just LOVE the coast and want to have more opportunities to be in and near the water year round. Sitting on a tiny apartment balcony looking at the sun setting would be idea. We don't need a lot of living space when the outdoors can be our playground. We love to explore and travel.
This area would mean being close to the Redwoods and I liked the variation in trees as well.
Thank you for your post!
I think you need to do some serious soul searching. Then considering making some material and space sacrifices like you mention. If you do that I think it can work. Based upon everything you've said, Monterey would be perfect for your young family. You will never regret living in all that beautiful nature right on the coast with the excellent year round weather. There is a lot more sun there than anywhere in the PNW if that is what you seek. Yet its without the big crowds of SoCal or the Bay Area. Plus the music scene is awesome with the Monterey Jazz Festival, Next Generation Jazz, Reggae Festival, etc... And if you enjoy taking care of the beaches and ocean, Monterey Bay is a National Marine Sanctuary with lots of great researchers and education in the area (Monterey Aquarium, MBARI, MAOS, etc...). So kids can learn about being good stewards of our coastal environment.
Here's one of the many sunsets from our window we enjoyed. Some of them were so spectacular we would run down to the sand to watch them from the water's edge.
Derek
Last edited by MtnSurfer; 12-17-2019 at 11:08 PM..
Cost of living in Honolulu is arguably more expensive than anywhere in CA minus SF.
Yes but the OP wants hot perfect weather year round. I don't know any other city other then Honolulu, that offers that. I lived in the SF South Bay for 20 years. It's probably the best weather in the country, but it's nowhere near the tropical climate the OP is looking for.
It may look greener on the other side of the fence, but it'snot.
Any one that thinks they can make a new life for them selves "out" of California are leaving.
Check out Davis, CA near Sacto. Homes are expensive but it's a nice smaller city with good schools.
Davis is really inconvenient to any nature areas, either mountains or beaches. it's flat and hot in summer, there is fog in winter, I used to live there. I think the community would be great and the schools are good, but the nature factor is definitely lacking. It's bike-friendly and there are a lot of green belts, but that's not what the OP is looking for, I don't think.
I will say, though, that the university grounds are really nice and there is an equine center where kids can take horseback riding lessons.
Sorry everyone. I think my post must be unclear. I would like to move to California. I want to move from Oregon.
You were very clear to me. You named those cities/towns as reference for something similar in CA. Too many people tend to read a couple lines and then spew, I've noticed.
I was raised and lived in San Diego for 40 years then moved to some acreage north of Seattle 17 years ago. I hated the sun and heat and loved rain and gray and green and cool. What I didn't know was how much the vegetation, namely all the fungus, would affect me. It took over a decade for me to figure out what the problem was, and the older I got, the harder it was to deal with black-mold type symptoms I experience here in the PNW.
All family is in CA, SoCal and NorCal, and I've made many road trips every year, and often within hours of crossing the Siskiyous and dropping into Redding, I was who I was before I moved, my self back, strong again, emotionally resilient, laughing, physical energy off the charts. Then I'd go back home to WA, and within a day, I was back to struggling through the days, wondering what was wrong with me. I suspect you know some of what I'm talking about.
So now we're looking to move out of the PNW. We love it, though, which is why it's taking us so long to leave. I keep thinking I can make it work, I can make it work, but it's spring when things get really bad and then get really bad in fall again when the mushrooms pop up in droves. I only have from late Nov to Feb where I am myself. Anyway, we've been looking for a while now, and we don't want to move back to CA - far too many people, but I do know exactly why you want to move there.
I'm not sure about tech jobs there, and probably it would be a stretch, but my husband found a company in San Luis Obispo, on the Central California coast. It's Ernie Ball Music. We decided not to move there, but the company seemed very interesting. He's an engineer, and where there are engineers, you will usually find tech jobs. It's near Nipomo, a great little area. It's got great weather, but, BUT, the nights in winter can drop down into the high 30s sometimes, but that's not all that common. I think the weather there is what San Diego's weather used to be in the 70s...essentially 72 degrees year around. I actually remember that. The thing is the summer tends not to get as hot as the rest of California. It's starting to get super hot now for very long stretches, so if you are looking long-term, it's something to consider as it's just getting hotter and hotter, dryer and dryer.
I would also look into Sacramento for a lot of reasons, but it would be a drag of a drive to get to the beach from there. The traffic is beyond horrendous, but if crowds don't bother you, it would definitely be do-able. Sacramento is still relatively unspoiled, and it's got decent schools, and there are many distinct areas to choose from, so you'd have a better chance of finding a good fit with your family and lifestyle. Much of California is not laid back at all like the towns you've mentioned that you like in OR and WA. However, I still feel that vibe in Sacramento, not in the burbs, but in town, closer into town. To get that feel, stay out of Roseville. That is textbook suburbia, with all the "keeping up with the Jone's" vibe - unless you're more south toward downtown Roseville near 80.
Good luck and don't let anyone tell you you can't make it work. California IS expensive, for sure, but you don't need anywhere close to the salary that people say to live there. You just need to use your money wisely and not buy lunch out every day, coffee every morning at Starbuck's and all that stuff that people think is essential. We never made a whole lot of money but lived very comfortably when in California. Although my husband was in a well-paid field, he worked for a guy who started his business in his garage, so he was on the very low end of his expected pay scale. But he was happy, so happy every day getting up to go to work, and that was what mattered.
I forgot to mention more affordable areas close to San Diego. Look into East County, up north a bit, such as Ramona (as far east as I'd go), Poway, Temecula, and those areas. There are a lot of jobs near Poway, and you might not have to leave the area. It would be a bad commute, though, if you had to work south nearer to San Diego or Sorrento Valley, where there are tons of tech jobs in the multitude of business parks. Also worth exploring would be Vista and San Marcos. Oceanside, I believe, isn't over-the-top expensive for a beach community, and I gather it's getting a lot more family friendly these days. It used to be a sleazy area filled with sailors doing what young 18 year old guys in the navy like to do on leave.
All the communities I mentioned, other than Oceanside, are a very easy drive to the beach - under an hour easy and less if no traffic. It is hot in the summers, though, in East County. Every 10 miles you travel inland from the coast, the temps rise about 10 degrees in the summer - something to note.
Since I've lived in the PNW for a while now and spent 40 years in San Diego, I would feel remiss if I didn't mention this - if you've lived in the PNW all your life, you might not realize how much constant sun and heat can beat down a person's soul after many months without a reprieve. It's equivalent to how the gray can beat down one's soul in winter here for some people.
I've come to a place of knowing I need balance. As much as I love it here, all that it is, for the last couple years, I've begun to cringe at all the green...not the trees and such, but how there is moss EVERYWHERE - on my garbage cans and on my walkway and on the shady side of my deck and in the parking lot corner where I shop and down the private road on the right side and .... you know what I mean. The damp, after 17 years, is wearing on me the way the sun used to. I didn't expect this, but there it is. I'm loving the sun now like I NEVER thought I would, and I recognize now that I need both, so the needed move is hard but not as terrible as it would be if I were still in love with all the wet and gray as I was for the first 10 years I lived here.
So what I'm saying is if you find a place closer to the ocean, you will have a good mix of cloud and sun year around because there is often a marine layer that doesn't lift until about noon many days. I always loved that because I grew up close to the beach and worked at a university that was directly on the cliffs overlooking the ocean. Also, living closer to the ocean, you wont' have such extreme heat, nor for such long stretches, which now appears to be the norm.
I've been looking for the right place to move for about 3 years now. Consider doing what I've done, if it's possible for you. I found VRBOs or airbnbs in neighborhoods in cities or towns where I was interested in exploring/moving. Then I made sure to book at least a week, at least the work week to see how commuting and the day-to-day would be like - shopping, libraries, government offices, places I tend to go regularly. I eliminated a lot of places quickly doing this, for one reason or another, and I found a few places that I love.
What was really great was getting to know the people who own the properties. I made sure to rent the VRBOs from people who rent a MIL cottage or such directly on the property that they live on, so they are right there. I've met amazing people this way. I never rented from what appeared to be a rental management company. You can usually see on the website if the owners are very close by, so you can get to know them. Older couples are the best. They love to share what they know and can be quite helpful in many ways. Also, you can initially email them directly via the website to confirm that they live on the property. Their presence is quite important as they can give so much more info on the area and best of all, answer questions for you as you explore while you're there.
Since I've lived in the PNW for a while now and spent 40 years in San Diego, I would feel remiss if I didn't mention this - if you've lived in the PNW all your life, you might not realize how much constant sun and heat can beat down a person's soul after many months without a reprieve. It's equivalent to how the gray can beat down one's soul in winter here for some people.
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So what I'm saying is if you find a place closer to the ocean, you will have a good mix of cloud and sun year around because there is often a marine layer that doesn't lift until about noon many days. I always loved that because I grew up close to the beach and worked at a university that was directly on the cliffs overlooking the ocean. Also, living closer to the ocean, you wont' have such extreme heat, nor for such long stretches, which now appears to be the norm.
Yes, I get the same way with constant sun for months. The brightness and sameness in parts of inland CA can feel oppressive especially when it is very dusty/dry, drought and fire prone. We loved the more balanced climate of both clouds and sun that the coast offers. In terms of annual climate that is pretty hard to beat. Of course everyone has their preferences. I know some that love a more desert climate and others like more clouds and rain. The lack of rain is the biggest problem with much of CA and the associated fires which seem to be increasing yearly. That's one reason we did not want to go too far inland where it is even hotter/drier.
That said, there is still beauty to be had at certain times of the year inland. This past spring CA had a super bloom like no other in the desert and other inland locations. We enjoyed catching it before heading north.
Derek
Last edited by MtnSurfer; 12-19-2019 at 04:27 PM..
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