Best NorCal areas for family, criteria inside (Los Angeles, Berkeley: renting, buying)

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by nowhereman427

Marin gets more rain than the general bay area and there are flood zones there. Another very expensive area starting from 1.2 million and up.

Some of the people on the thread just disproved the belief that there's nothing to buy in Marin below 1.2 mill, though. San Rafael has some very nice properties at under a mill, and there are rural properties with acreage and decent (though in need of touch-ups) 3-br. houses. You'd be surprised what you can find in Marin, if you disregard the negative thinking. I certainly was.

[nowhereman427]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Some of the people on the thread just disproved the belief that there's nothing to buy in Marin below 1.2 mill, though. San Rafael has some very nice properties at under a mill, and there are rural properties with acreage and decent (though in need of touch-ups) 3-br. houses. You'd be surprised what you can find in Marin, if you disregard the negative thinking. I certainly was.

My relatives just got a 1,900 sq. ft. fixer upper in Novato right at 1.2 million with a great school district. The house was built in the 1970's.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by nowhereman427

My relatives just got a 1,900 sq. ft. fixer upper in Novato right at 1.2 million with a great school district. The house was built in the 1970's.

Do you happen to know if they paid close to the listed price, or did they have to bid up significantly?

[nowhereman427]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Do you happen to know if they paid close to the listed price, or did they have to bid up significantly?

I believe they paid the asking price. But I can find out.

[SFBayBoomer]

Originally Posted by HiIQ

Love the PNW (except the rain). I have posted this very topic in Vancouver, CA.

I'm down to these two now, Bay Area and Vancouver. Socal is out.

Are you considering Victoria, BC, also? I used to have a Canadian friend (since deceased) who lived just north of Victoria, and he said that his weather was very close to SF Bay Area. That surprised me, but I looked it up at the time, and he was right. We like Victoria and the surrounding area very much.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by nowhereman427

I believe they paid the asking price. But I can find out.

If home sales are going for the listed price, that means the OP actually has a chance with those properties below 1 mill.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by SFBayBoomer

Are you considering Victoria, BC, also? I used to have a Canadian friend (since deceased) who lived just north of Victoria, and he said that his weather was very close to SF Bay Area. That surprised me, but I looked it up at the time, and he was right. We like Victoria and the surrounding area very much.

Victoria is within the Olympic Mt. "rain shadow". Victoria has always advertised, that they get more days of sunshine than Vancouver, and Vancouver Island north of them.

[nowhereman427]

Originally Posted by SFBayBoomer

Are you considering Victoria, BC, also? I used to have a Canadian friend (since deceased) who lived just north of Victoria, and he said that his weather was very close to SF Bay Area. That surprised me, but I looked it up at the time, and he was right. We like Victoria and the surrounding area very much.

Back in the 90's when we had the large migration of Californians moving to Oregon, Washington and Arizona I saw great potential north of Bellingham in Whatcom County. I wasn't anywhere near retirement age as I am now but here is 2022 I am priced out of that market. I would have loved to have moved up towards the north border below Vancouver to a rural area but in Washington just north of Bellingham. At that time the prices were reasonable but now I'm priced out. Also even worse I found out the property taxes up in the Pacific Northwest in Washington there is no cap on the property tax. They can raise your property taxes 30% in a year and I understand seniors and people on fixed incomes have lost their homes this way. If that's still the case that is not good.
I don't know if that has changed now 30 years later.
At least here we have prop. 13 where the increases are like 2% or so at a time.

[nowhereman427]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

If home sales are going for the listed price, that means the OP actually has a chance with those properties below 1 mill.

In this situation time was of the essence because this involved another sale of a home that would have had more competition to sell it to get the fixer upper in Novato. Interest rates were just beginning to go up to so they felt they better move on this home and sell the other house all going on at the same time.

[MechAndy]

Our place up north in unincorporated Clallam County Washington is 20-25 miles from Victoria and in the heart of the rain shadow.
We talk to our cousins and sister in law who live in Victoria a few times a week.
We have the same weather.

That weather has a good 4 inches less rain than Danville in the hot/arid outer East Bay Area.
It does have the morning maritime weather and it drizzles more but it hardly ever rains buckets.
I’ve only seen 3-4 rain storms there in 4 years and they didn’t last long.

Everything is green up there in the rain shadow because of the maritime weather and drizzle not because of the rain.