I suggest looking into San Luis Obispo area. It's a university town so there is a bit of culture. There is plenty of nature/hikinbg opportunities; you are virutally at Big Sur's front door. Three hour drive to San Francisco and Los Angeles with small airport access.

FWIW, that's as far north as I would go.

There's a housing development that has been under development over the past few years in Morro Bay (a small coastal community between San Luis Obispo and Cambria). The Cloisters development is located along the ocean and offers good quality new homes. But look quickly, the prices continue to skyrocket - I'm not sure if $700K will be enough anymore for this area.

Santa Barbara is beautiful and there are many things to do but it is primarily a tourist town and you have to be prepared for extremely crowded weekends from Friday to Sunday evening. Locations within 30 miles or so north or south will probably be a good idea. Ojai is more inland and can get pretty hot but there are nice mountains and hiking trails. Much less crowded than SB but not as much to do - although Ventura, SB and even North Los Angeles are not too far. Laguna is even more touristy than SB and is much closer to both San Diego and LA so that means more activities but also way more people- almost impossible to deal with on summer weekends. Your budget gives you a lot of options. I recommend spending your first 6 month "escape" just wandering up the coast from San Diego to Monterrey to get a feel of the activities, traffic, people and culture. Talk to the locals and even visit with a few real estate agents. This is an important decision - take your time.

I second San Luis Obispo. My daughter goes to college there and I've fallen in love with the town and surrounding area. I live in the S.F. Bay Area and wouldn't mind retiring in the Central Coast. You're 4 hours north to S.F. and 4 hours south to L.A. Wonderful spot...

You may want to consider Santa Rosa.

I would suggest Pacific Grove, refered to as the last home town, or Carmel, which is a little warmer. They are both on the Monterey Penninsula. Housing cost is in your range. Lots of culture, hiking, walking. Small towns. Lots to do. Lots of people your age. Mild winters. Fog in Pacific Grove.

Go to Santa Barbara and drive over the mountains to the valleys to the east and north. This is ranch, farm and vineyard country. Santa Maria, Lompoc are two towns there. But drive around the rural areas. The valleys are beautiful and there are many charming communities. This is my favorite part of SB.

No question about it. Salinas or Gilroy. 20 minutes to the Monterey Bay or Santa Cruz, miles of beautiful coastline to wander, 3 hours to Yosemite, 2 hours to San Francisco, gently rolling hills, good weather year round, not as congested as So. Cal. Gilroy is warmer (more inland), Salinas is larger and closer to Monterey Bay.

Mandy,

Salinas and Gilroy are primarily agricultural towns. Not much there. Gilroy gets very hot in the summer.
San Jose (www.sanjose.org) would be a great city to live in, despite the cost of living, which will be high in almost any major city in California. San Jose, being the largest city in Northern California, has alot to offer in terms of museums, performing arts, restaurants, and parks. The proximity to the Monterey Bay Area(30 miles to Santa Cruz and 70 miles to Monterey) and about 4 hours to Yosemite and Lake Tahoe, make it a great place to live. You have all the advantages of a big city with the coast and mountains within easy driving distance.

Who now who would restire to San Jose? Get real. Close to stuff is not a good enough reason. People live in San Jose because of necessity not because it is some hot place to live. When you retire you do not want to live in the biggest (population-wise within city limits sounds like it's bulging already) city, you want to live somewhere nice.

Here, let me save you some time: "Don't listen to X, he/she is just form the SF visitors center, blah blah blah"

I would think Cambria. It's forested, on the ocean and has mild although quite foggy winters with rain at times. It's close enough to SLO for things to do and not a bad drive to Santa Barbara. The other alternative would be the "Santa Barbara Wine Country" in the Santa Inez valley. Buellton, Ballard, Lompoc etc. I think Santa Maria itself is pretty ugly and wouldn't want to live there full time. Anything north of SF can be very rainy during the winter. That sounds strange to you now, but it really puts a damper on outdoor activities. I have a friend who lives in Carmel and really doesn't like it too much. Tourists in the summer, fog in the winter. Good luck.

Mandy,

X is someone who does nothing but direct passive agressive anger toward San Jose. Maybe he/she had some bad experience there. Please consider the source.

Now for the real truth about San Jose: It is the biggest city in the northern part of California and does have the best weather in Northern California with an average of 300 sunny days per year. And to say that people live in San Jose because of necessity is ridiculous. It does have a high cost of living, as most large cities do. Since it does have a high cost of living, this is consistent with it being a desirable place to live. I have been in San Jose for over 20 yrs. find it very livable. San Jose has all of the cultural amenities of any major city, along with great restaurants, shopping, and uniques neighborhoods. During the summer there are activities such as festivals, street fairs, or opera in the park almost every weekend. The fact that it is surrounded by mountains on the east and west makes it picturesque as well. In the winter you can see the snow atop Mount Hamilton from the city below.

No way:

If you don't like San Jose that is fine with those of us who enjoy the city. You will be one less person that we have to be in line with at our restaurants. Thanks for doing all of us a favor.

No way,

I guess that you are bored now that school has let out.