It's time to leave San Diego... but where to go? (Salinas: for sale, condo)

[westcoastbabe]

Whatever you decide...dont do NC.......DONT. NC is my home state...but not all what it is cracked up to be...As I am trying to head out your way....why not try Phoenix....Affordable/300+days of sun/palm trees/and driving to distance to San Diego....Think on it...

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Originally Posted by oddstray

Are there any parts of Colorado that don't include a season of "no boots and jackets, shoveling snow"?

I'm not very familiar with it, having only spent a weekend, but perhaps the area around San Luis Obispo? Or perhaps the area along the coast, north of San Francisco (Petaluma-ish)?

Nope. There are areas that have less snow like Canon City or Gand Junction but they still get snow and cold.

[Ragnar]

Have you thought about Albuquerque, NM? It's rather sunny, but has mild winters and pleny to do in the metro area. Not as green as back East, but there are a lot of housing options in your price range. I'll bet you can find some very nice schools in areas with housing options in your price range too.

The Eastern Sacramento area (Roseville, Folsom, Citrus Heights, etc.) may provide some good options for you too if you'd prefer to stay in CA.

[Bluefox]

Originally Posted by LoveTheMeeps

I've been obsessively reading posts on this site for about a week and found so much great info. Thank you. This is my first post- please be kind.

My husband and I met in San Diego but both are originally from the East Coast (NY and MA). I came out for college and have been here for almost 15 years and my husband has been here for 20. We have loved living in San Diego.

We currently live in San Carlos (renting)- and have lived in Mission Beach, PB, Bankers Hill, and Golden Hill. We have enjoyed everywhere we have lived. That being said, we feel that it is time to leave San Diego and start a new chapter somewhere else... but where to go?

First, our reasons for wanting to leave in the first place:
1. schools. We have a 3 year old and although schools in San Carlos look good, the schools in SD (where we can afford to buy a house) are not the best.
2. cost of housing. I am a SAHM and husband has good job but we don't want to be house poor.
3. safety. Maybe it's because my husband and I are both from small towns back East but when I think of raising our daughter in San Diego- I just don't feel too good about it.
4. heat/sun. In my opinion, coastal San Diego weather is the ultimate but we can't afford coastal sd and it gets a little too toasty for me in San Carlos. Too much sun and too hot. Had an area of basal cell carcinoma removed in my late 20s and that made me a little bitter about the sun.
5. driving. We are always in the car. Always on the freeway.
6. water quality and quantity

Second, what we love about being here:
1. beach. We love going down super early and checking out the water, walking on the beach/ rocks
2. sports. my husband is a fan of all sports, high school, college, pro and likes to go watch games
3. availability of activities for kids
4. availability of healthy, fresh food
5. "easy living" no boots and jackets, shoveling snow, umbrellas- casual lifestyle

My husband's job allows him to live anywhere in the west. We can live as far east as Colorado and possibly further east if we wanted to go back. We don't think we want to move back east. Just a different vibe. He just needs to be within reasonable distance (up to 1-1 1/2 hours) from an airport.

We want to spend $300-$400k on a house (3-4 bedrooms)- closer to 300k is so much better. Under 300k would be awesome but not sure it exists with all we are looking for. We like homes and neighborhoods with charm and character (that alone seems to add $). We would love to have a good sized yard for playing and privacy. Being near water would be awesome. We want to be in a forward thinking or progressive area. Strong sense of community, good schools, safe. Personally, I really miss living somewhere green- kinda sick of stucco, dirt and concrete (sorry it that offends or upsets anyone- it's just my opinion and I realize there is much more than that in SD but in our price range all the houses look the same- shoebox with a concrete driveway up to the front door).

So far we have been thinking about Washington (Bainbridge Island, Gig Harbor, West Seattle), Oregon (Portland, Corvallis, Medford area), maybe somewhere in Colorado? I'm a little worried about the weather in the PNW- especially since we've been in San Diego for a while. Read something on here about soil contamination in Gig Harbor.

There are so many great places out there. If you have any suggestions I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks so much!

OP, have you considered a city like Flagstaff? It's actually really foresty up there even though it is in AZ, access to healthy food, four seasons but winters not too harsh (even though they are prone to blizzards occasionally.), overall smaller city, rarely gets above the 80s in the summer because of its elevation. Just saying that if you are considering CO, you may want to look into Flagstaff as wekk...that's where I want to move when I get the opportunity. I do not, however, know how the schools are.

[BackToTheWest]

Originally Posted by Ragnar

Have you thought about Albuquerque, NM? It's rather sunny, but has mild winters and pleny to do in the metro area. Not as green as back East, but there are a lot of housing options in your price range. I'll bet you can find some very nice schools in areas with housing options in your price range too.

The Eastern Sacramento area (Roseville, Folsom, Citrus Heights, etc.) may provide some good options for you too if you'd prefer to stay in CA.

We're actually moving from Albuquerque to San Diego. From what I've seen on crime statistics websites, the crime rate here is twice that of San Diego's and we're tired of replacing the glass and steering columns on our vehicles and fixing holes from bullets on our roof. For anybody moving here, I suggest moving as far towards the North end of the city as you can or better yet, not moving here at all.

[oddstray]

Originally Posted by Ragnar

...The Eastern Sacramento area (Roseville, Folsom, Citrus Heights, etc.) may provide some good options for you too if you'd prefer to stay in CA.

I lived in Sacto for five years. Summer = hot hot hot hot hot!!! Winter = rain rain rain rain rain!!! (And it rains sideways.) You'd need to go far east enough to get some serious altitude to escape the summer heat. Dunno' whether there's any escape for the winter rain. Though, to be fair, the year I arrived was to those winter rains, and it's rumored that was an extreme year.

[LoveTheMeeps]

Thanks to everyone for all your suggestions. I think what I really want is an East coast town with a west coast personality

[NYSD1995]

Originally Posted by LoveTheMeeps

Thanks to everyone for all your suggestions. I think what I really want is an East coast town with a west coast personality

I want the same thing... if you find it... let me know ;-)

[MovingAloha]

Well it certainly appears that quite a few Californians as well as others enjoying the Triangle area of North Carolina. I know there are those on this thread that don't care for NC, but I am growing more and more comfortable with the possibility of relocating there with my family.

[TrueDat]

This may be a controversial choice on a California board but what about Austin? Yes, the summers are hot and the burbs can be conservative but the winters are mild, it has plenty of the healthy-food vibe (it is the HQ for Whole Foods after all), is relatively progressive and politically blue (the whole Keep Austin Weird thing, having a 50,000-student campus in the center of town, a thriving film and local-music industry), the economy's doing relatively well, the housing market didn't experience a huge bubble, and it has the Hill Country nearby. And there are tons of former Californians there (and all over Texas).