San Diego

I couldn't imagine not living on the West Coast. :P
IBDPhotography 266 reads
posted

If you're still leaning towards Southern CA but don't want be smack in the middle of metropolitan areas (LA or San Diego), the Central Coast area is beautiful but it can be quite a distance to major cities depending where you might reside. Ventura and Santa Barbara gets you a little closer to the LA area. Anything north of those areas then you're going to have a little drive to get to major cities.  

The next regional area is the Bay Area. The regional areas are divided into South Bay, East Bay, Peninsula, and North Bay. Also, both Monterey and Santa Cruz are less than an hour south of the South Bay (part of Silicon Valley). In Northern CA, the most beautiful beaches, IMHO, are from the Big Sur area up the coast past the Santa Cruz area. Of course, I may be a little biased since I do most of my beach photoshoots there. That's not to say that other areas of CA don't have gorgeous beaches because I'm sure they do (like Pismo Beach area and maybe coastal areas in the North Bay or even up further north but there's probably not a large population in either area).  

Also, the Bay area is approximately an hour from the Sacramento area in case you want to get away to a different location without it being too far away. Sac has a pretty decent population if someone wanted to get away for a weekend/3-4 days.  

Weather-wise, Southern CA is probably a little warmer than Northern CA, although parts of Northern CA (South Bay) can get into the high 90's and occasionally in the 100's during Summer months. Way too hot if you ask me! (lol) I'll take my coastal weather everytime - mid 60's in the Summer and mid 50's in the Winter. Yeah, I'm spoiled! (haha

So, sorry but I will be cross-posting similar inquiries on other Cali boards!

As some may know, I moved back to the Midwest to have my son in a familiar place since my feet weren't on the ground in LA yet.

I'm hoping Californians can help me in a big decision - moving back next summer. I want to explore my options. I'd love any advice!

My ideal place to live:

Nice weather of course
Less than an hour (30-45min) to a beach
Good place to build regulars
Places to live where i can have a house and some land (not suburban, more rural or natural)
BUT be within a reasonable distance to a city where I can work regularly

Any tips for me??

Looking forward to being on the west coast again next year!

East SD County would meet your criteria, including more affordable rural place to find a home than other areas of SD.

-- Modified on 9/12/2016 9:11:49 PM

+1.  East County;  El Cajon, La Mesa, Spring Valley, Rancho San Diego, even Santee.
All areas still have parts which have larger land parcels, even some have more rural areas
where dwellers own horses, chickens, and such.
The weather definitely tends to be much warmer in the summer/inland winters, tend to be
chiller than the coastal areas because of the marine layer inversion.

Either way, San Diego proper is so close to all of these cities.  One can simply build a clientele
out in these somewhat untapped areas.

Long Beach is another beautiful beach community, which is a larger city, yet with a  
small-town feel.   It's south of LA, yet only an hour and 1/2 or so, from San Diego too.

I resided there for four years, and I loved living at the beach.   The cost of housing,
or parcels of more expansive land (rural), I'm unaware of, however, I'm sure you will enjoy  
having some of the largest beachfront in California, as your playground.

Warmest Regards,
Angelina Jones

If you're still leaning towards Southern CA but don't want be smack in the middle of metropolitan areas (LA or San Diego), the Central Coast area is beautiful but it can be quite a distance to major cities depending where you might reside. Ventura and Santa Barbara gets you a little closer to the LA area. Anything north of those areas then you're going to have a little drive to get to major cities.  

The next regional area is the Bay Area. The regional areas are divided into South Bay, East Bay, Peninsula, and North Bay. Also, both Monterey and Santa Cruz are less than an hour south of the South Bay (part of Silicon Valley). In Northern CA, the most beautiful beaches, IMHO, are from the Big Sur area up the coast past the Santa Cruz area. Of course, I may be a little biased since I do most of my beach photoshoots there. That's not to say that other areas of CA don't have gorgeous beaches because I'm sure they do (like Pismo Beach area and maybe coastal areas in the North Bay or even up further north but there's probably not a large population in either area).  

Also, the Bay area is approximately an hour from the Sacramento area in case you want to get away to a different location without it being too far away. Sac has a pretty decent population if someone wanted to get away for a weekend/3-4 days.  

Weather-wise, Southern CA is probably a little warmer than Northern CA, although parts of Northern CA (South Bay) can get into the high 90's and occasionally in the 100's during Summer months. Way too hot if you ask me! (lol) I'll take my coastal weather everytime - mid 60's in the Summer and mid 50's in the Winter. Yeah, I'm spoiled! (haha

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