ledhead

Hi everyone,

My daughter and I lived in New York suburbs all our lives. The past 3 years we made the mistake of moving to Orlando, FL. We hate the heat, culture and there is so much crime. I am semi-retired and my daughter can work anywhere. We are considering moving to Northern California where we would have nice weather similar to NY and be close to the ocean. We want to take a road trip to check out small suburban towns in CA, but we just do not know where to start or the names of any suburban towns. We definitely want to be in the north from maybe Sacramento up to the Oregon border. Can anyone suggest some towns to visit or a driving itinerary for this area? A lot of web sites list attractions and we are more interested in the towns and living conditions. We would like a nice suburban area with the seasons and lots of restaurants and things to do that isn't too far from the ocean (an hour or so). Financially we consider ourselves to be around upper middle class. We would like to take this road trip in January for a couple of weeks. Can anyone please help with some advice on an itinerary or a few suggestions of towns to visit? Thank you!

janisj

"be in the north from maybe Sacramento up to the Oregon border."

"We would like a nice suburban area with the seasons and lots of restaurants and things to do that isn't too far from the ocean (an hour or so)"

Those are mutually exclusive criteria. No place up the I-5 corridor is w/i an hour of the ocean -- and north of the Sacramento metropolitan region there are no 'suburbs'. It is an agricultural region w/ no suburbs to speak of.

And I'm not sure what you consider 'seasons' -- but to get four seasons you will have to go up into the mountains -- which are DEFINITELY not suburban.

The seasons we do get are a very hot and VERY dry summer (like 90-105F with 15-20% humidity), and a wet (hopefully) and foggy winter. Between these are a mostly pleasant Spring and Oct/Nov.

January/Feb is the rainy season.

Chico (a nice university town) which means there is some shopping and restaurants

Red Bluff -- not too much to recommend really

Redding -- the 'big' town in the region but an armpit really -- can get to 115F in the summer and very smoggy.

north of there are Dunsmuir/Mt Shasta/Yreka which are small mountain towns that get a fair amount of snow.

If you actually want a suburban vibe you will be looking immediately around Sacramento and including Roseville/Folsom/Auburn/Grass Valley/Placerville and Davis -- though Davis has EXTREMELY expensive housing.

AustinTraveler

Do you need snow? If not, I think you should be looking into the Central Coast. You can be in a small town (no suburbs) about 20 minutes from the coast with reasonable (for California) real estate prices. Check out Northern San Luis Obispo County, including Paso Robles, Templeton, and Atascadero. Lots of micro-climates here so you can avoid heat waves in the summer if you just live closer to the coast. San Luis Obispo is nice too but more expensive. What is your budget?

LexandNeek

Reading what you wrote, the first town that came to mind was Petaluma, CA. We visited there on a road trip about five years ago. I remember really enjoying the environment there; beautiful, clean moderately sized town. I'm not sure if it snows in the winter or not.

I used to live in Ashland, OR right over the northern California border. Wonderful small town but it does get cold in the winter.

MmePerdu

North of Sacramento, Grass Valley, though farther than an hour from the ocean (more like 2 1/2), has seasons, a bit of snow & less hot in summer than the valley. Not a suburb of Sacramento but a distinct community, higher (2500') and a town with many of the amenities of a larger place. An hour from Sacramento, if you should need to go, but I never need to go except to the airport. I've thought of moving closer to the coast but have yet to come up with place I think I'll like better.

Gardyloo

...where we would have nice weather similar to NY and be close to the ocean.

Nowhere in California (or Oregon or Washington for that matter) is the weather similar to New York. In places where it gets as hot (or hotter) in the summer the humidity is seldom an issue; in places where it gets as cold as NY in the winter, you're a great distance from the Pacific. The Pacific Ocean moderates the climate, particularly in the winter.

From San Francisco north, winters close to the ocean tend to be quite rainy but seldom snowy. As janisj says, the central valley in California, along the I-5 corridor, can have very hot summers, and the ocean is a long way away.

In California, I'd look at the US 101 corridor north of the SF Bay Area (Marin and Sonoma Counties) but I'd also look at the Monterey Bay area too. This is south of SF and enjoys a marvelous climate as well as relatively easy access to the Bay Area. There are some wonderful towns, but real estate prices are very high.

Or maybe even consider the Willamette Valley in Oregon. There are some very nice towns including the vibrant college towns of Eugene and Corvallis, very pleasant 4-season weather, and good access both to the coast and to Portland for your big-city needs.

janisj

I agree that up or down the 101 corridor would fit some of your criteria (though no real seasons -- rain in the winter but pretty nice year round). However, unless you live in the NYC area -- you'll likely find housing prices to be eye wateringly expensive.

For instance a nice but not posh $150K 3 bedroom house in Buffalo NY would be about to $700K in Petaluma.

Diamantina

Coastal California is expensive, and January can be cold and wet. If you'd like to look around at what's on offer that's within an hour's drive of the ocean, yet not isolated, and close to San Francisco, also look at Sebastopol (Sonoma) and Novato (Marin County). Novato is a more affordable town in Marin County.

tomfuller

Dear ledhead, what exactly is wrong with Oregon?
We have generally lower taxes and real estate prices compared with most of California within an hour of the coast.
Coastal Oregon does not get too much snow, but you don't have to go too far inland to find some in the winter.
Bandon has beautiful golf courses if that is something you are looking for.

socaltraveler

Real estate properties in communities close enough to Sacramento to commute or work from home are getting more expensive as SF gets increasing beyond the renter/home buyers reach. We are seeing this in Sacramento, which is a goodly drive from the Bay Area, as a commuter. Don't waste time.

RoamsAround

driving through an area where you are considering relocation is better than moving there sight unseen but it really won't give you any idea of what it will be like living there. This is especially true if you make a whirlwind drive through many different towns & villages.

You've already told us your move to Orlando was a "mistake". Could that have been because you never spent any appreciable time there and/or you didn't fully research what life was like in central Florida BEFORE you made the move. Don't make the same mistake again.

Asking questions on a travel form about where YOU should live will only give general comments that may or may not be relevant to YOUR particular situation. You really need to do first hand "in person" research. A good place to start your research is city-data.com - you can find out lots of real useful information about just about any town throughout the USA, California included.

Once you identify towns/areas you think could work for you plan on spending some substantial time in those towns, not just doing a drive through. After all you could be living there for a long time. You don't want your new home to be a repeat of Orlando.

MmePerdu

I agree completely with RoamsAround. Many years ago I wanted to locate a place to live in N. CA, while living in the Bay Area. I made a vacation of driving from south to north, including across the Sierra passes, as I was interested in a more rural area. But I had the advantage of being familiar with some communities where I had family and decided on one of those and believe it was the right decision.

I'd suggest you do a similar trip, visit a number of communities and stay in a few likely places a month or so (Airbnb is very good for this sort of trip as many offer discounts on cottages or apartments for a week or month that can make a longer stay affordable) to answer questions you may have that a more time would answer.

I think your quest is infinitely doable and suggestions here can be useful. But you must not take our word for what's appropriate for you. Come out, drive around, stay a while and make an educated decision.

MichelleY

Agree. Better yet: rent for a year to experience all seasons.