Temporarily Moving to Monterey (Brea, Seaside: rent, house, neighborhood)

[lippo57]

Pebble Beach is foggy most of the time. I recommend Monterey or Carmel Valley. Don't live in Seaside or Marina. You can find a very charming apartment for $1500.
I was born and raised there. I just moved to the East Coast for job reasons. I miss Cali. so much. I envy you!!! Enjoy and best of luck. Oh Ya, CHOMP is one of the best hospitals ever!!!!
Mary

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by lippo57

I miss Cali.

Ugghhhh. You really call it that?

[ferretkona]

Originally Posted by travelin'bones

,, Keep in mind I'm a 29 y.o. single female. I love the outdoors, love music, reading, easy going, casual type...not a Gucci kind of girl!! ,,,---Where to live??? Any cool apartment/condos to recommend. Budget of around $1500/month. Def would like to be cheaper, though, if possible.

On your budget you might want to rent a room instead of a apartment.
We have a friend living in Pacific Grove, might be a little cheaper there. Sea Side is not bad but has little to interest.
I lived there a few years, a year in Pebble, year in Carmel and one in Monterey. Bring a bike if you can, or buy a cheap cruiser when you get there. Wonderful restaurants, a lot of golf courses. I found the best restaurants to be in Carmel. The best music in Monterey. Best golf in Pebble. The town of Carmel has no addresses, you have to know the cross streets and the name of a home, all mail is to PO Boxes. Carmel is the town owned by raccoons, they are everywhere and fearless. Pebble Beach and Monterey are owned by deer, have to play around them on the greens. Monterey has more jazz bars & blues bars than any city I have lived in. Hog's Breath Inn owned by Clint Eastwood has the best happy hours, we never seen Clint there but we did bump into him weekly at other restaurants. the Inn does have a great Friday and Saturday fun factor.

[lippo57]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

The Monterey peninsula is an awesome place to be. Consider yourself lucky to have that assignment. It's not so big that you won't be able to find all the good spots just by driving around a bit. Be sure to take a trip down to Nepenthe and have lunch in a beautiful spot overlooking the Pacific and then to Big Sur. It's all good!

FYI.....Big Sur is 80 miles of coastline. Nepenthe Restaurant is in Big Sur.
Um, No, I don't actually say 'Cali', I say California. UGG!

[Archan]

Isn't it funny how things like OMG, BFF and the like are acceptable, but Cali is not.

BTW, I don't like the use of Cali or Frisco either. I'm always correcting people. I still do not understand a lot of the texting lingo. This is the first time I've probably have ever used them.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by lippo57

FYI.....Big Sur is 80 miles of coastline. Nepenthe Restaurant is in Big Sur.
Um, No, I don't actually say 'Cali', I say California. UGG!

Correct. Guess I should have said the rest of Big Sur. Usually have too many cocktails while there enjoying the view that I'm never sure where I am (when not driving of course). Maybe people should refer to the state as "Cali", leaving "Cal" and "California" as names for my alma mater.

[Hadley831]

As far as the hot springs (they sound so good right now, cold and rainy here) Esalen is kind of cool, open to the public in the middle of the night, on a cliff over the ocean. If you go, try to go on a night when the moon's out. I have friends who hiked to Sykes hot springs, they said it was great. I would also say if you go up to Santa Cruz (35 minutes north) you can go outrigger canoe paddling with the club there, they do a try-out recreational paddle, and it's a good way to see whales, otters, dolphins, jellyfish, whatever's around. The aquarium in Monterey is one of the best. Point Lobos is amazing. I hope you enjoy it.

[travelin'bones]

Thanks everyone for your input. I make the roadtrip out next monday and am simply ecstatic!!! It seems as though there are endless options for things to keep me occupied. Looking forward to riding my bicycle all along the bike path! Have decided to live in Monterey, close to CHOMP. I'll be posting in the future when I have more specific questions about the area. Thanks again.

[Archan]

Enjoy your stay. You have a lot of people on this thread very jealous.

[jenndslp]

Hi! I lived in the Monterey area for about 10 years. I just moved away from there a few months ago to finish my education.

For the first couple of years I lived in New Monterey, just a few blocks up from Cannery Row. It was awesome! I could walk down to the bike path, down to Cannery Row to eat or hit up the couple of bars down there. The night life is so-so in Monterey. Most of the more active bars are in downtown on Alvarado Street. Though there are a couple cool places on Cannery Row, like Sly McFlys and Bullwhackers. I really loved the vibe of living in New Monterey. I lived in an apartment, it was 2 bedrooms and we paid $1100 a month. The last time I saw an ad for an apartment there, I think the rent had gone up to $1300, but it was a great place.

When we had our 1st baby, we decided to move to a bigger place, and we decided on this town home in Marina. Bad decision. It was much too far away, and we paid so much in gas driving from Marina to Monterey/PG everyday to do all the things we liked to do, plus, we both worked in PG... To make matters worse, there were some kids that lived next to us that I saw with a gun one day. I think we decided to move out of Marina the next day.

From there we moved to PG. Ahhhh, a little slice of heaven. I swear to you, PG is the BEST place to raise small children. But when it comes to high school and college age kids...eek. There is nothing for them to do there. It's a good town for people who are either retired or have really young kids.

whatever you do...don't move to seaside without scoping out the neighborhood first. there are several streets in Seaside that I would be afraid to walk down even in the day time. But there are also many streets that are amazing and have great views and are a little more upscale.

So, what do I think?

I think you should live in New Monterey, I think you should spend your weekend nights on Alvarado street at Lalapalooza's Martini Bar. Have dinner at the millions and millions of restaurants in Monterey and PG. Especially make sure to check out Hula's, Pepper's, Paradiso, The Red House Cafe, First Awakenings, Tillie Gorts, The Sardine Factory, Phil's Fish Market in Moss Landing, The Breakfast Club in Seaside, to name a few. Check out the wharf once, that's all you'll need, you don't want to be hanging out with all the tourist's anyway. Though there is some killer happy hour deals at Domenico's and Abalonetti's, something like $2 margaritas, I think. Don't miss the Tuesday Farmer's Market on Avarado Street, it's where all the cool people hang out. Make sure to hike at Point Lobos every chance you get! Ride your bike down Ocean View Blvd around the point of the peninsula and have lunch at Asilomar Beach. Hike up at Jack's peak, there are some great views from up there! If you have a dog, Del Monte Beach and Asilomar are the place to be. You're only 45 minutes away from Big Sur, so make sure to take advantage!! Also, Carmel Valley is a nice place to escape from the fog. It's only 20 minutes and it will be at least 20 degrees warmer. Garland Ranch is a nice place to walk around out in CV. Yoga at the Yoga Place on Lighthouse in PG, they have Hot Yoga there. Monterey Sports Center is where most people go to work out. They have a big indoor pool, huge cardio room, weight room, and excercise classes. You can pay by the day or buy a pass.

Oh and as far as the hospital is concerned, it's a great hospital. I went to nursing school in Monterey, and I have many friends who are nurses at CHOMP and they LOVE it there. You will be very happy there. Good luck to you!