Are there any cities in other states similar to Marin County, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, etc.? (Novato: oceanfront, houses)

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by Troy Troy

Actually, yes. I have considered San Rafael. It wasn't my first choice, because it's bigger, and isn't quite as Charming as the wrist of Marin, though there are some very beautiful areas. San Rafael is definitely not out of the question, though I might would have to leave in the Terra Linda area. I wouldn't be against a condo near downtown as well.

I asked, because if it came down to it, I'd take San Rafael over Novato, any day. It's right on the Bay, for one thing, so it's a little cooler than Novato, and it definitely has nice neighborhoods; it's more scenic than Novato, IMO.

[davdaven]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

I asked, because if it came down to it, I'd take San Rafael over Novato, any day. It's right on the Bay, for one thing, so it's a little cooler than Novato, and it definitely has nice neighborhoods; it's more scenic than Novato, IMO.

100% agree. Novato is like a farm town without the farm but with a lot of nosy neighbors. It's like the worst of Petaluma mixed with the worst of Fairfax... San Rafael is fine as long as you don't buy in the Canal neighborhood.

[LagunaMom]

Some of the suburbs of Phoenix, particularly those with man-made lakes.

Nothing looks like Laguna, but except perhaps for the vegetation, many areas are virtually undistinguishable from SoCal.

[Troy Troy]

Originally Posted by davdaven

100% agree. Novato is like a farm town without the farm but with a lot of nosy neighbors. It's like the worst of Petaluma mixed with the worst of Fairfax... San Rafael is fine as long as you don't buy in the Canal neighborhood.

What do you mean by the worst of fairfax?

[janellen]

Late to the party here, but check out Virginia Beach, Virginia. Lovely upscale touristy type city, on the ocean, low low crime, grand scenery, and super reasonable real estate (especially compared to California). Here's a nice town home for $145,000 with nice amenities. The HOA fees are $275/mo and that's for all the maintenance.


701 Whistling Swan Dr, Virginia Beach, VA 23464 | MLS #10223436 | Zillow


The Virginia Beach Boardwalk:

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by janellen

Late to the party here, but check out Virginia Beach, Virginia. Lovely upscale touristy type city, on the ocean, low low crime, grand scenery, and super reasonable real estate (especially compared to California). Here's a nice town home for $145,000 with nice amenities. The HOA fees are $275/mo and that's for all the maintenance.

The Virginia Beach Boardwalk:

This is a great point, beautiful photos, and rightfully calls our attention to some of the picturesque E Coast & New England towns on the coast. Though the weather isn't as great year round as in CA, those places have plenty to offer. There may even be a few, that are close enough to NYC or Boston, for residents to be able to take in concerts and other big-city events and amenities on weekends, like Marin residents do, on visits to nearby SF. The OP did mention proximity to SF (or equivalent big city) as a plus.

[Netflix]

Don't move to Port Townsend. It has the same weather that Seattle does. There are 3 good months of weather in Seattle. Not 5, not 4, not 3.5, just 3. July, August and September. Its overcast and raining the other 9 months and people up there dread those 9 months of the year and just can't wait until July rolls around. In October you'll be commiserating with sad faced people in the grocery store who say, "well the rain has started, sigh".

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by Netflix

Don't move to Port Townsend. It has the same weather that Seattle does. There are 3 good months of weather in Seattle. Not 5, not 4, not 3.5, just 3. July, August and September. Its overcast and raining the other 9 months and people up there dread those 9 months of the year and just can't wait until July rolls around. In October you'll be commiserating with sad faced people in the grocery store who say, "well the rain has started, sigh".

This is not true. May now, with climate change, has become a summer month, as dry as June through Sept, but it's better, because it doesn't have the much higher temps, that often happen in the 2nd half of the summer in Seattle. Port T tends to be a little cooler throughout the summer, than Seattle, which is nice. April often is spectacular, with spring blooms sprouting all over, and a mix of sunny days and rain showers.

[Netflix]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

This is not true. May now, with climate change, has become a summer month, as dry as June through Sept, but it's better, because it doesn't have the much higher temps, that often happen in the 2nd half of the summer in Seattle. Port T tends to be a little cooler throughout the summer, than Seattle, which is nice. April often is spectacular, with spring blooms sprouting all over, and a mix of sunny days and rain showers.

Summer in Seattle (including Port Townsend) does not start until the July 4th weekend. Everyone who lives up there knows that. It's overcast and oppressive until July 4th. I went to Port Townsend for a weekend in the winter. It was a nice town. I had a nice dinner after arriving on a Friday, just in time to watch the snow start to fall. About 2 inches accumulated that night. By 2pm on Saturday I had seen all there was to see and was ready to leave but I had already paid for Saturday night lodging. So, because there was nothing else to do, I pretended it was groundhog day and did everything over that I had done the day before. I was thinking of maybe living there so my trip was to explore that possibility. There is no way I could live there. Its too isolated and the weather is terrible. There are a number of small towns up in that area that are nice to visit but isolated. If someone wanted to live up there and did not want to be in Seattle proper then I'd suggest the town of Edmonds. Its on the water, about 25 mins drive to Seattle and is a nice suburban community with a nice downtown that is walkable, a waterfront, and marina. Condos are $250-$400K, but there is no state income taxes and everything (car insurance, gym, ...) is less expensive than the bay area. If you're going to live up there you need to plan on vacationing someplace sunny in early or late December, but no later than the 1st 2 weeks in January and then go someplace sunny again a couple months later. There is no avoiding the realities of the weather. If you visit the area in July-September don't delude yourself into believing it's that way year round. Its absolutely beautiful during those months, and only those months!

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by Netflix

Summer in Seattle (including Port Townsend) does not start until the July 4th weekend. Everyone who lives up there knows that. It's overcast and oppressive until July 4th. I went to Port Townsend for a weekend in the winter. It was a nice town. I had a nice dinner after arriving on a Friday, just in time to watch the snow start to fall. About 2 inches accumulated that night. By 2pm on Saturday I had seen all there was to see and was ready to leave but I had already paid for Saturday night lodging. So, because there was nothing else to do, I pretended it was groundhog day and did everything over that I had done the day before. I was thinking of maybe living there so my trip was to explore that possibility. There is no way I could live there. Its too isolated and the weather is terrible. There are a number of small towns up in that area that are nice to visit but isolated. If someone wanted to live up there and did not want to be in Seattle proper then I'd suggest the town of Edmonds. Its on the water, about 25 mins drive to Seattle and is a nice suburban community with a nice downtown that is walkable, a waterfront, and marina. Condos are $250-$400K, but there is no state income taxes and everything (car insurance, gym, ...) is less expensive than the bay area. If you're going to live up there you need to plan on vacationing someplace sunny in early or late December, but no later than the 1st 2 weeks in January and then go someplace sunny again a couple months later. There is no avoiding the realities of the weather. If you visit the area in July-September don't delude yourself into believing it's that way year round. Its absolutely beautiful during those months, and only those months!

The bolded isn't true at all. May through September and almost exclusively sunny and clear, and April has beautiful weather too, interspersed with rain and flowers starting to bloom. If Seattle were as rainy as you say through to July 4, the city (and Western WA) wouldn't have been having drought-watch reports on the news regularly, the last few years, late spring through early fall.

Edmonds is nice, I agree with you there. But a lot of people don't mind being isolated in the Port Townsend area; it's a nice town, if a bit overly-dependent on tourism. Air B & B's have proliferated like weeds the last few years. But droves of people, both young and old, continue to relocate there. I have no idea what the young people are doing for jobs, not to mention housing, but the town is growing.