Nice place to live in California? [Archive] - The DIS Discussion Forums

marvel

04-10-2009, 06:18 AM

In my dreams my family and I are moving to the USA, at least for a few years.
We just love it so much and spend so much on travel there, that we are better of just moving. This will be our 5th trip in Sept !!

Well, i figure if I can dream it, it can happen right?.:rotfl2:

So I figure I should start planning where a nice place to live would be on the West Coast, which is easier to fly back to Australia for visits.

We are thinking that San Diego would be nice, but looks expensive.

Where would the DISER's recommend a regular family, kids 10 and 8, could find a nice neighborhood with good schools etc etc and decently price housing? You know good neighborhood.

Then I can find a means to get there!!

Judy from Boise

04-10-2009, 10:11 AM

I love Ventura County. Port Hueneme, Oxnard, Ventura, Camarillo. Thousand Oaks to the south and Santa Barbara to the North.

PinkBudgie

04-10-2009, 10:27 AM

Well, we are 8 hours from DLR but I still like living north of San Fransisco. Sonoma and Napa counties are very nice. Hills, trees, cows, vineyards. 101 is pretty much the only freeway up here and I usually avoid it to take the back roads. You can hike and picnic in the Redwoods or go to the beach. You can even see the school used in the movie The Birds. Housing was fairly expensive but has recently gone down a lot due to the economy. And 8 hours is still a lot closer than Australia. :rotfl:

LavenderPeach

04-10-2009, 11:38 AM

Decent priced housing? In California? :rotfl2: That's a good one!
No, actually, the prices have come down recently but they still aren't as cheap as most other states. Okay, I have several places to mention that I think are nice.

I agree with PinkBudgie that Sonoma County is very nice. That's where I grew up (PinkBudgie and I are sisters) and they have the best state and county parks there with lots of hiking trails. We were shocked when we first moved to Southern California that the big parks were so different. I got spoiled in Sonoma County. However, with the nice parks come lots of nice trees and grass and plants which means lots and lots of allergies. I used to have terrible allergies up there but down here they are almost nonexistent. It's also nice being close to SF and the bay area without being right in the middle of it.

We used to live in Aliso Viejo which is in OC and i really liked it there. I would move back if I had the opportunity. Again, not the cheapest place to live though. It's only 10 minutes from the ocean, the air is clean and everything is new there.

San Diego is very nice, specifically North SD county. Never lived there but visited often and we have friends who live in Encinitas.

And way out here where I live now in Yucaipa is also very nice. If you want resonable housing prices, then this is much more reasonable than the other places mentioned but we are also farther away from the ocean and it gets HOT here in the summer (fortunately not as hot as Arizona though). But it's a nice family community with good schools (so I'm told). It takes about the same time (1-1.5 hours) to get to the ocean, top of the mountains, palm springs/desert area, LA and disneyland so I guess we're sort of in the middle of everything.

My parents grew up in Spokane, Washington and I always thought that I would like to live there if I didn't live in California. The only problem is that it snows there and not sure a California girl could handle that. :rotfl:

Does that give you some places to dream about?

marvel

04-10-2009, 03:09 PM

great so far. I have to say quite a few sound really good. I will have to start looking at them in detail.

ACDSNY

04-11-2009, 12:34 AM

great so far. I have to say quite a few sound really good. I will have to start looking at them in detail.
What type of places do you like? Do you like the bigger cities or more of a country feel? There are many places in Northern CA. Our area is pretty centrally located which makes getting to the Lake Tahoe area and SF Bay area just a couple of hours drive.

mechurchlady

04-11-2009, 02:18 AM

Definitely not Cerritos or Norwalk. I would move to Anaheim and live near DLR or my bestest spot in the world would be in Orlando near my friends and great wDW food.

marvel

04-11-2009, 08:38 AM

I would love to move to Florida or somewhere on the east coast but it is just too many flights and hours to get back to Australia. So somewhere on the West Coast would be the best option.

We live in Melbourne a city of 4 million and we are around 20 mins drive from the City area, but I realise the scale of cities in the US is so much bigger so a nice semi suburban area or smaller town sounds nice. I loved San Fran and the redwoods but also love the weather in San Diego.

I will try and have a look at all the current suggestions. To be honest just the idea of moving makes me smile, being that much closer to Disney as well as just being able to drive somewhere, you have such a diverse country it is unbelievable. We can drive for 8hrs and get exactly the same environment we just left, whereas in a few hours being able to go to Vegas, or Mexico, or Napa Valley etc etc would be wonderful.

ACDSNY - Elk Grove sounds wonderful, I will have to look into it.
LAVENDERPEACH - If you happen to know, what would an average say 3 bedroom home in Aliso Viejo be? Just for interest. it sounds great.

mareeld86

04-11-2009, 08:52 AM

I would LOVE to move to america too.... I have been to america 3 times in 5 years. Although I dont know how to go about just moving there dont you need to get a job over there or marry someone from america to be able to live there??
Not quite sure If you know more please let e know because I am looking for houses etc. too.
:confused3

pixiewings71

04-11-2009, 04:06 PM

Grumpy'sWife4Ever

04-11-2009, 04:29 PM

Well, we don't live in California, but sometimes Oregon kind of feels like an extension of Northern Cali, LOL! We have very pretty country here, cheaper prices than many areas of California, and are still within a day's drive of the Mouse! :cool1:

LavenderPeach

04-11-2009, 05:50 PM

LAVENDERPEACH - If you happen to know, what would an average say 3 bedroom home in Aliso Viejo be? Just for interest. it sounds great.

Hmmm.... I'm not really sure. We lived there from 1999 to 2002 and we rented an apartment. We did look at housing prices but that was when prices were on the rise. Back then i think a 3 bedroom condo/townhouse (not house) was going for at least $300,000 so it was pretty pricey. I'm sure they are cheaper right now but I don't know how much cheaper. I haven't looked at house prices for awhile but I used to go to Realtor.com to look at different houses for sale. I'm sure that site must still be around. Also, be aware that a lot of houses in Southern California (especially the newer ones) don't have much of a yard. That might be a good thing or a bad thing. Less yard to take care of but less space to run around and you are closer to your neighbors. Not sure how big the lots are in Melbourne but I think some people from other parts of the US are surprised at the size of some of the yards here.

By the way, I had a chance to go visit your country when I was in high school and I had such a great time. We went to several cities along the east coast. I would love to go back some day. That long plane ride is crazy though! I can appreciate all the effort that all you Aussies put into making the trek over here to go to DLR.

PinkBudgie

04-11-2009, 10:21 PM

Well we are 6 hrs from Anaheim and we love it here. Same general area as Pink Budgie actually, we are right between Sac and SF and can go to beaches (cold) or mountains, it's great we really do love it. Lots of homes in our area are super cheapo right now because of the market crash, our area is nice and not too crowded but close enough to everything to not feel isolated. Love it!!!!

We pass it on the way up to Lincoln, I believe. Off of 80 right? Maybe that is why you get to DLR faster than us. We have to go through the mess in Oakland to get over to 5, where all you would do is go 80 to 5. Unless I'm completely mixed up, which wouldn't be unusual for me. :rotfl:

marvel

04-11-2009, 11:28 PM

I am looking up Suisun City right now, looks perfect.

I am kind of figuring out that buying a place across the next year or so would be good pricewise, then I can work out how to get there !!

Grumpyswife - Oregon sounds wonderful. I have never been there but everything I have seen or heard about it, makes me want to go there for some reason. Looks like a nice place to bring up a family. And its not that far, we are used to having to travel for ages to get anywhere, Australia is a huge place and very spread out.

Lavenderpeach - yards in Australia used to be big but over the years townhouses, as well as big houses on small yards have become the norm. Thanks for the info on pricing, I will keep checking the info.

mareeld86 - you either have to marry someone,or arrange work overthere so you can go for a few years, I haven't checked many of the details yet, I am enjoying this part first, then worry about the details later :laughing:
happy to let you know how I go. PM me if you would like to keep in contact.

Pinkbudgie - trees, cows and vineyards, sounds great. We loved driving through the woods into Yosemite a few years and ago and really enjoy the whole SF bay area. I am a 49ers fan as well:thumbsup2 Definetly an option.

bumbershoot

04-12-2009, 02:00 AM

To be honest just the idea of moving makes me smile, being that much closer to Disney as well as just being able to drive somewhere, you have such a diverse country it is unbelievable. We can drive for 8hrs and get exactly the same environment we just left, whereas in a few hours being able to go to Vegas, or Mexico, or Napa Valley etc etc would be wonderful.

I would LOVE to move to america too.... I have been to america 3 times in 5 years. Although I dont know how to go about just moving there dont you need to get a job over there or marry someone from america to be able to live there??

Don't you wish you could exchange? So we would come over and take your "spot" in the country, and you could take ours? Obviously jobs would be different, but housing, etc? I think that would be lovely. Because I don't know if it's hard to move here (though friends of ours had a very weird time and had to get married inside of a month, or the girlfriend would have had to go back to Canada for a long while before coming back? it was weird, we all though it was a "shotgun wedding" until it was obvious it wasn't), but it's hard to move to Australia!

So let's just swap. :)

kaoden39

04-12-2009, 07:22 PM

Well we are 6 hrs from Anaheim and we love it here. Same general area as Pink Budgie actually, we are right between Sac and SF and can go to beaches (cold) or mountains, it's great we really do love it. Lots of homes in our area are super cheapo right now because of the market crash, our area is nice and not too crowded but close enough to everything to not feel isolated. Love it!!!!

We do live in a nice area don't we?:goodvibes I think this is the perfect location. We can be at the ocean or in the mountains within a couple of hours. We are lucky to live close enough to Napa and Sonoma counties to enjoy everything that they have to offer. Especially the beautiful coastline and campgrounds. I love Salt Point.

ACDSNY

04-12-2009, 07:31 PM

We do live in a nice area don't we?:goodvibes I think this is the perfect location. We can be at the ocean or in the mountains within a couple of hours. We are lucky to live close enough to Napa and Sonoma counties to enjoy everything that they have to offer. Especially the beautiful coastline and campgrounds. I love Salt Point.
We feel the same way about Northern CA. Salt Point here we come in August it's our favorite place too. My DH family started camping there before it was even a State Park.

kaoden39

04-12-2009, 07:36 PM

We feel the same way about Northern CA. Salt Point here we come in August it's our favorite place too. My DH family started camping there before it was even a State Park.

We went for a weekend in October one time and it was a little on the chilly side but it was wonderful. We have camped there and spent day trips there. I think it is just about perfect. It has something for everyone. My husband can ride his bicycle if he wants or we can just explore and discover new things. I think the tidepools are so great and our kids are able to see things in the wild that they might never get to. Most people prefer the Bodega Bay campgrounds but it's nice to find out we aren't the only ones that enjoy Salt Point.

mommy2allyandaveri

04-13-2009, 12:30 AM

CA is expensive everywhere! We live in Sacramento and are happy here. Drive 2 hours either way and you are in San Fran or Tahoe, that's pretty nice, although we rarely go to either of those places.

kaoden39

04-13-2009, 12:35 AM

CA is expensive everywhere! We live in Sacramento and are happy here. Drive 2 hours either way and you are in San Fran or Tahoe, that's pretty nice, although we rarely go to either of those places.

You know I know that feeling. We go to bicycle races though like we went up by Calvarus yesterday.

marvel

04-13-2009, 08:35 AM

I think the swap idea is great. I know Australia makes it hard to move here as well. But a distant friend recently married someone from Carolina and moved there, I think if you are looking for a partner maybe its a bit easier than moving a whole family. I would be quite happy to be able to at least spend a few years in the US at the minimum.

I work for the government here in Australia which is not exactly a boom area that I can transfer to the US with.

pixiewings71

04-13-2009, 04:13 PM

We pass it on the way up to Lincoln, I believe. Off of 80 right? Maybe that is why you get to DLR faster than us. We have to go through the mess in Oakland to get over to 5, where all you would do is go 80 to 5. Unless I'm completely mixed up, which wouldn't be unusual for me. :rotfl:

Actually we go 12 to 5 and that's it. So that's why we get there faster. The time we drove from Berkely it took longer.....DBF works in Berkely so we have gone that route a few times in the past. We are about 2 min. from 12 at the far end of Suisun, we hit 12 and it's immediate pastures etc.

I am looking up Suisun City right now, looks perfect.

I am kind of figuring out that buying a place across the next year or so would be good pricewise, then I can work out how to get there !!

Grumpyswife - Oregon sounds wonderful. I have never been there but everything I have seen or heard about it, makes me want to go there for some reason. Looks like a nice place to bring up a family. And its not that far, we are used to having to travel for ages to get anywhere, Australia is a huge place and very spread out.

Lavenderpeach - yards in Australia used to be big but over the years townhouses, as well as big houses on small yards have become the norm. Thanks for the info on pricing, I will keep checking the info.

mareeld86 - you either have to marry someone,or arrange work overthere so you can go for a few years, I haven't checked many of the details yet, I am enjoying this part first, then worry about the details later :laughing:
happy to let you know how I go. PM me if you would like to keep in contact.

Pinkbudgie - trees, cows and vineyards, sounds great. We loved driving through the woods into Yosemite a few years and ago and really enjoy the whole SF bay area. I am a 49ers fan as well:thumbsup2 Definetly an option.

Thanks, we like it a lot. :)

We do live in a nice area don't we?:goodvibes I think this is the perfect location. We can be at the ocean or in the mountains within a couple of hours. We are lucky to live close enough to Napa and Sonoma counties to enjoy everything that they have to offer. Especially the beautiful coastline and campgrounds. I love Salt Point.

Yes, we do....Salt Point...never been there, more info please!!!! :)

We feel the same way about Northern CA. Salt Point here we come in August it's our favorite place too. My DH family started camping there before it was even a State Park.

Definitely need more info on Salt Point....... :)

momrek06

04-13-2009, 04:52 PM

We just moved to CA in Sept '08 from MA. We certainly picked a great year to relocate as the winter the Northeast had was horrific. Snowed almost daily. The temps were freezing. Even this April Easter weekend back home was freezing cold temps, rainy and windy. :sad2: I spoke to a good friend back East on Wed and she said it was snowing, not sticking but snowing just the same. She said it is so cold and the sky is always grey and overcast AND that no one absolutely NO ONE back East wants to hear about OUR weather here in the OC. :lmao:

We have settled into Newport Beach and love it. I am about 17 miles to DL!!! :love:

We try and get there weekly. :mickeyjum

We have NO plans to move back at all...visit absolutely live there NO WAY. I actually cannot believe more people do not live here...sunny every day, comfortable temps, no humidity!!! :yay:

prettyprincessbelle

04-13-2009, 05:44 PM

I love Ventura County. Port Hueneme, Oxnard, Ventura, Camarillo. Thousand Oaks to the south and Santa Barbara to the North.

What she said! :goodvibes :thumbsup2 :lovestruc

PinkBudgie

04-14-2009, 02:16 AM

Actually we go 12 to 5 and that's it. So that's why we get there faster. The time we drove from Berkely it took longer.....DBF works in Berkely so we have gone that route a few times in the past. We are about 2 min. from 12 at the far end of Suisun, we hit 12 and it's immediate pastures etc.

I love that part of the drive up to Sac. We have an hour with in the pastures and about an hour on the freeways. And a pit stop at the new IKEA! That gives me an idea. I didn't know 12 hit 5. I'm going to look up the route on google and see if it might be faster (or easier) for us to go that way instead of through Oakland. Talk about a confusing mess!

ACDSNY

04-14-2009, 02:38 AM

Yes, we do....Salt Point...never been there, more info please!!!! :)

Definitely need more info on Salt Point....... :)

Salt Point is about an hour north of Bodega Bay on Hwy 1. It's a great area with both cliffs, pine trees, meadows and plenty of wildlife (deer, raccoons, foxes, seals, birds). There's a underwater reserve for diving. Stump Beach is a little north of the campground on Hwy 1. There are two campgrounds, one on each side of Hwy 1. We typically stay in the small loop of Gerstle Cove. A wildfire went through in the late 90s so the pine trees are finally growning back. It's not a fancy campground with showers and hookup for trailers, but it does have flush toilets (I still remember the old days of the outhouses :scared:). You can find info at Reserve America's website as it's a State Park.

Here's the description from Reserve America...Salt Point State Park includes six miles of the Sonoma Coast, ranging from sandy beach coves to steep bluffs and sandstone cliffs. At the top of the coastal ridge there is a large prairie and pygmy forest. Wildlife includes the long-tailed weasel, wild pigs, brown pelicans and other water birds, blacktail deer, raccoons, coyotes, and a variety of rodents. The park has miles of hiking and horseback trails. The area is also the site of an underwater reserve for divers.

MacKerricher State Park just North of Fort Bragg, CA is another great camping spot on the coast.
MacKerricher State Park offers a variety of habitats; beach, bluff, headland, dune, forest and wetland. Tidepools are along the shore. Seals live the rocks off the park's Mendocino coast. More than 90 species of birds visit or live near Cleone Lake, a formal tidal lagoon. During winter and spring the nearby headland provides a good lookout for whale watching. The park is popular with hikers, joggers, equestrians and bicyclists. Fishing is also popular, with trout in two fresh-water lakes. The park has a wheelchair accessible nature trail.

brergnat

04-14-2009, 02:02 PM

I live in Irvine, which is, in my opinion, UTOPIA. It has EXCELLENT schools, beautiful parks, shopping, dining, entertainment, and it's 10 minutes from Disneyland! What else could you ask for? Oh, and it's been named the "Safest City in America" for 3 years in a row (based on per capita crime stats).

The only problem? The price of housing is INCREDIBLY high. We rent a 3 bedroom apartment, and DH is military so we get housing allowance that pays for it. But, if we could live here forever, we would! In fact, we have decided that when DH retires in 10 years from the military, we are going to come back to Irvine to live! We LOVE it here! It's like, the most perfect little place to raise a family ever.

momrek06

04-14-2009, 02:09 PM

kaoden39

04-14-2009, 03:22 PM

Salt Point is about an hour north of Bodega Bay on Hwy 1. It's a great area with both cliffs, pine trees, meadows and plenty of wildlife (deer, raccoons, foxes, seals, birds). There's a underwater reserve for diving. Stump Beach is a little north of the campground on Hwy 1. There are two campgrounds, one on each side of Hwy 1. We typically stay in the small loop of Gerstle Cove. A wildfire went through in the late 90s so the pine trees are finally growning back. It's not a fancy campground with showers and hookup for trailers, but it does have flush toilets (I still remember the old days of the outhouses :scared:). You can find info at Reserve America's website as it's a State Park.

Here's the description from Reserve America...Salt Point State Park includes six miles of the Sonoma Coast, ranging from sandy beach coves to steep bluffs and sandstone cliffs. At the top of the coastal ridge there is a large prairie and pygmy forest. Wildlife includes the long-tailed weasel, wild pigs, brown pelicans and other water birds, blacktail deer, raccoons, coyotes, and a variety of rodents. The park has miles of hiking and horseback trails. The area is also the site of an underwater reserve for divers.

MacKerricher State Park just North of Fort Bragg, CA is another great camping spot on the coast.
MacKerricher State Park offers a variety of habitats; beach, bluff, headland, dune, forest and wetland. Tidepools are along the shore. Seals live the rocks off the park's Mendocino coast. More than 90 species of birds visit or live near Cleone Lake, a formal tidal lagoon. During winter and spring the nearby headland provides a good lookout for whale watching. The park is popular with hikers, joggers, equestrians and bicyclists. Fishing is also popular, with trout in two fresh-water lakes. The park has a wheelchair accessible nature trail.

We like the other side of the highway. It has more trees and has spots that offer great privacy. There is a pygmy forest thee that you can hike to too. The tide pools are so cool. Our kids were able to see so many sea creatures in their natural enviroment.

MacKerricher is so beautiful too I just am not fond of the way into Fort Bragg. But I love Fort Bragg, as a young adult before DH and kids Fort Bragg was where I wanted to live. It's a great town.:goodvibes

pixiewings71

04-14-2009, 03:41 PM

I love that part of the drive up to Sac. We have an hour with in the pastures and about an hour on the freeways. And a pit stop at the new IKEA! That gives me an idea. I didn't know 12 hit 5. I'm going to look up the route on google and see if it might be faster (or easier) for us to go that way instead of through Oakland. Talk about a confusing mess!

Well, you'd have to add about an hour to get from Oakland to where we are. Give or take 15 min. or so but yes, mapquest it and see what you get. :) We like that part of the drive, and now the fields are covered with wind turbines too, those are really neat to see, especially at night when the red lights are flashing on them. :)

Salt Point is about an hour north of Bodega Bay on Hwy 1. It's a great area with both cliffs, pine trees, meadows and plenty of wildlife (deer, raccoons, foxes, seals, birds). There's a underwater reserve for diving. Stump Beach is a little north of the campground on Hwy 1. There are two campgrounds, one on each side of Hwy 1. We typically stay in the small loop of Gerstle Cove. A wildfire went through in the late 90s so the pine trees are finally growning back. It's not a fancy campground with showers and hookup for trailers, but it does have flush toilets (I still remember the old days of the outhouses :scared:). You can find info at Reserve America's website as it's a State Park.

Here's the description from Reserve America...Salt Point State Park includes six miles of the Sonoma Coast, ranging from sandy beach coves to steep bluffs and sandstone cliffs. At the top of the coastal ridge there is a large prairie and pygmy forest. Wildlife includes the long-tailed weasel, wild pigs, brown pelicans and other water birds, blacktail deer, raccoons, coyotes, and a variety of rodents. The park has miles of hiking and horseback trails. The area is also the site of an underwater reserve for divers.

MacKerricher State Park just North of Fort Bragg, CA is another great camping spot on the coast.
MacKerricher State Park offers a variety of habitats; beach, bluff, headland, dune, forest and wetland. Tidepools are along the shore. Seals live the rocks off the park's Mendocino coast. More than 90 species of birds visit or live near Cleone Lake, a formal tidal lagoon. During winter and spring the nearby headland provides a good lookout for whale watching. The park is popular with hikers, joggers, equestrians and bicyclists. Fishing is also popular, with trout in two fresh-water lakes. The park has a wheelchair accessible nature trail.

We like the other side of the highway. It has more trees and has spots that offer great privacy. There is a pygmy forest thee that you can hike to too. The tide pools are so cool. Our kids were able to see so many sea creatures in their natural enviroment.

MacKerricher is so beautiful too I just am not fond of the way into Fort Bragg. But I love Fort Bragg, as a young adult before DH and kids Fort Bragg was where I wanted to live. It's a great town.:goodvibes

Thank you for the info. I bet the girls would LOVE that.....I'll check into it more and perhaps plan a weekend camping trip. :)

kaoden39

04-14-2009, 03:47 PM

Here is the link to the state park page on Salt Point.
http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=453

Malela9

04-14-2009, 06:00 PM

I have been blessed to live in So. Calif. my entire life. And , while the weather here is wonderful, the smog , traffic and massive amount of people are not. Also, our adorable governor keeps raising our taxes. I will probably die here , because I can't afford to move, and I can't be that far away from Disneyland.( I am only 20 minutes away!)
Just remember when you visit , the grass is not always greener on our side!

Judy from Boise

04-14-2009, 10:25 PM

Even though you completely ignored my advice.......;)

I wanted to let you know what a great time we had spending a week in your city summer of 07.

We had a great view from out hotel
http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/500/medium/100_0723.JPG

you can see we were well positioned to walk the river promanade, we walked to the aquarium , and the immigration museum, we were able to see the Pixar exhibit at the MOMA including the zeotrope! Of course lots of shopping too.

http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/500/medium/100_0763.JPG

We also spent a great day at your zoo. We really enjoyed all the exhibits

http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/500/medium/100_0733.JPG

http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/500/medium/100_0739.JPG

so the moral of the story is it is always more fun to be a tourist than to be a native :)
and I really did enjoy your city ( we also did the trolley riding, and ate at Hard Rock Cafe and got the Tshirt!)

marvel

04-15-2009, 07:42 AM

love the photos, we go to the zoo all the time, we live 15 mins away.:)

I know what you mean about grass is always greener maybe it does seem so much better because we have so much fun on holidays there. But for some reason I am really drawn to the US since I first watched happy days, ok, showing my age a little :scared1:

I love the fact that you can drive a few hours and be at the ocean, or the redwoods, or the mountains, or in fact a short flight away from the south, or mexico. We are so isolated down under that to go anywhere outside of Australia, is a minimum 8hr flight.

We just cannot seem to get enough of the US, and each trip seems to get longer and longer. Our last trip was 7 weeks and cost a small fortune, and yet less than a year later we are going again!! And we are just a regular working family. :thumbsup2

I think I would be satisfied with maybe 2 or 3 years living there, but I would not discount a move one day. Somewhere down the track we just have to do it for while, or I will never feel satisfied.

Oh, keep the places coming. Irvine sounds great.

I love the very name Newport Beach, it would sound great as my address.!!

momrek06

04-15-2009, 12:11 PM

I love the very name Newport Beach, it would sound great as my address.!!

:laughing: You know marvel, we have only lived here in CA since Sept '08! All our family and friends back home in the East said that to me once we got settled and started giving out our new address!! ::yes::

We love it here! :beach:

Mike_M

04-15-2009, 12:49 PM

I'm probably biased since I was born and raised there but for me, Northern CA (San Francisco Bay Area to be specific) is a much more pleasant place to live than Southern CA. So California is a fun place but I believe I would get burned out on it if I lived down there.

To me, Northern CA feels Less crowded, is more sceanic (IMHO), more temperate climate, more diverse landscapes (Redwood forests, foothills, the SF Bay, Lake Tahoe) and you are still only a few hour drive away from LA so it's close enough for weekend trips.

azdisneylover

04-15-2009, 05:54 PM

[QUOTE=marvel;31346190]D

I think I would be satisfied with maybe 2 or 3 years living there, but I would not discount a move one day. Somewhere down the track we just have to do it for while, or I will never feel satisfied.
Arizona is pretty close to Disneyland...........

I love the fact that you can drive a few hours and be at the ocean, or the redwoods, or the mountains, or in fact a short flight away from the south, or mexico. We are so isolated down under that to go anywhere outside of Australia, is a minimum 8hr flight.
What about New Zealand, or New Caledonia?
QUOTE]

Brady's Mom

04-15-2009, 06:35 PM

I will have to chime in for even further north than "Northern California." Eureka or Arcata in the very north of California are great places to live. I don't live there now, we live in Utah (:scared:). But, I grew up in Eureka and loved it. But, I have to laugh when my born and raised in San Francisco DH calls the Bay area Northern California - Can't you read a map??? It's in the middle! :lmao:

pixiewings71

04-15-2009, 06:59 PM

kaoden39

04-15-2009, 07:00 PM

PinkBudgie

04-15-2009, 08:04 PM

Well, we are in the southern half of Northern California. :rotfl: It is really like two different states and people clearly identify with one half or the other. We say we are in the North Bay even though we are not really on the bay.

pixiewings71

04-15-2009, 10:54 PM

kerickson

04-16-2009, 07:00 PM

I'm a California native, grew up in the Bay Area, went to college in LA and now live near ASDSNY (just north/east of Sacramento). My current location is the best IMHO. I can drive to premier Ski Resorts in 1.5 hrs, drive to SF in 1.5 hrs and fly to Disneyland in 1.5 hrs! Plus the housing is less expensive than all the above and the weather is amazing! (If you love sunshine and no humidity!)

Brady's Mom

04-16-2009, 08:13 PM

We have friends who live in the Sacramento area and always like it there when we visit. We also have friends in SF and can't help but like it there when we go and visit. We lived in SF when we were first married and I have to admit, it is one of my all-time favorite places in the world. (and I've been a lot of places) I love California, it has such diversity in people, climate, ideas, art, and sports. Such a great place to live - if you can afford it! I just have to laugh about the Northern/Southern thing. :lovestruc

I agree with PinkBudgie though about identifying with the Northern/Southern thing. Either you are from Northern California or Southern California. There really is no middle ground. Unless, you are from the Valley. :confused3