Back from CA. Now I want to move there.

[rbnyc]

We're back from our CA vacation. We flew in to San Diego and spent a few days in the area. We loved it there. Then we took the most beautiful drive ever (switching between 101 and 1) and went to San Fransisco where we spent a couple days.

My favorite part of the trip was the aquarium at Monterey. They had a great section for children and my son liked it better than Disneyland.

I've already been to idealist.org looking for non=profit development jobs in CA. Looks like most of them are in San Fransisco. But we really loved San Diego.

San Fransisco was also beautiful. But if I worked there, I think I'd like to live outside the city and commute. San Fransisco is so much like New York in so many ways. It's just cleaner, hillier, and more spread out.

I don't know. I'm just ready for a change.

If you're from CA, and love where you live, pitch for your town in this thread.

;-)

Oh, by the way, I did find my long lost cousin in San Jose. I hadn't seen here in 7 years. Turns out she is in remission from ovarian and cervical cancer! But she seemed like she was doing really well. I also tracked down her dad, my dad's late sister's ex-husband, whom I hadn't seen in 17 years. It was great to see him. I'm glad I found them.

[qnr]

1. Better you than me. San Diego was way too reactionary for me.

It is a lovely area though.

[rbnyc]

3. We mostly just saw family there.

My husband's cousin was just married, so we did all wedding business--may have missed the social flavor of the town, but it was beautiful, and our hotel was about 12 thousand times nicer than our apartment in Brooklyn. Blah! I want to move.

[qnr]

8. Well, I'm sure it's not as bad as I remember. We did some yard

sales last summer, and one of them was being done by a gay couple moving to San Diego. Apparently it's a pretty friendly environment that they'll be going to.

[maveric]

21. San Diego is "red" per see, but its getting bluer.

City proper is the bluest its been in a long time. It when you get to East and North county that the rabid RW fundies rule.

[qnr]

25. Thanks. That's good to hear. Most of my really bad memories of

San Diego are from the 80's and early 90's, to be honest.

[Shakespeare]

2. I usually don't encourage this, but....

....move to the north bay!!! (I don't want it getting TOO crowded up here.) Sonoma County is B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L, clean, organic goodies are easily found (and affordable), and we have a great congress critter (Lynn Woolsey). You can live there and still commute to SF. :-)

[rbnyc]

5. Sounds great!!

There were loads of development jobs in San Fransisco.

Thanks.

:)

[skygazer]

4. Moved here almost 7 years ago

From Vermont. I'm now in the Santa Cruz mountains just south of San Jose and I LOVE it here. :bounce: I've been to SoCal but I don't like the landscape and weather as much as I do here. There are actually seasons here - not like Vermont, of course, but more than I expected.

And there's everything you could possibly want! Wilderness, the beach, cities, small towns, theater, nightlife and if you really want snow, Tahoe and the Sierras are easily within driving distance. As is wine country, which is beautiful.

The people are great, the food is wonderful, the place is gorgeous and there's almost no humidity!!!! What's not to like? Change is good.

[Shine]

10. Hey, skygazer! I'm in the Santa Cruz mountains, too!

I live in Scotts Valley. Where are you, girl?

:hi:

[skygazer]

12. Check your PM!

:hi:

[AtomicKitten]

28. I moved from Santa Cruz to San Francisco

Really miss Santa Cruz. A lot.

SF is just too, well, SF. Am coming around though. It is really beautiful here, but wicked cold.

[rbnyc]

6. Dinner time! Back later. (nt)

[SoCalDem]

7. Housing is a HUGE expense out here, but the other things are

normally priced.. The weather would certainly be better than what you are used to..

State networking and see if there's a "sister organization" to the ones you work with.. What does your husband do? There are jobs out here in some fields..

We live in Riverside county near Riverside.. brown hills mountains..brown dirt..desert-y everywhere people don';t water, but it's still booming..

The weather is the only real selling feature..

My son lives in Concord (N-E of SanFrancisco) and unless you are mid 6-figure, housing is a real bummer..

My kids loved the aquarium too :)

[rbnyc]

15. Husband is an A/V, staging, lighting, sound freelancer...

...for films, conferences, industrials, etc.

[radwriter0555]

27. Have your hubby check out this group. They're an off-shoot of the

legendary Light & Sound Design folks from arena tours fame and fortune.

http://www.prg.com

[rbnyc]

42. Thanks.

I just emailed it to him.

:)

[maveric]

9. Please move to San Diego. We need more dems/libs here.

The RW/freeper types out here are more passive than the ones you'll find elsewhere.
We have the best beaches in CA, best weather, great restaurants/clubs, decent museums and two professional sports teams. We're near Mexico, 2' 1/2 hour drive from LA, best zoo in the world, mountains that get snow, if you must see that nasty stuff and very friendly people.
The downside is that housing out here is too damn expensive. The positives seem to outweigh the negatives.
Please come to San Diego! We really need you here!

[rbnyc]

16. Great Pics!

We're sorry we missed the zoo.

[maveric]

18. Did you happend to try our Lobster Tacos?

They're AWESOME!
Its a shame you missed the Zoo. I manage to go there at least once a year.

[Shine]

11. I live in the Santa Cruz mountains and we LOVE it here.

We're members of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, so we go there all the time. It's a cool place to go with our kids. So much to see.... :thumbsup:

Santa Cruz is very cool for all the progressive thinkers here. Lots of artists, body workers, healers of various kinds.... We've got the ocean, the redwoods, the mountains....

We're never leaving. I give thanks every day for my many blessings.

:hi:

Welcome back from your adventure. Glad you had fun. San Diego is nice, but it's waaaay too conservative down there for my tastes. Northern CA is much much better, in my opinion.

Shine

[rbnyc]

17. We never got a chance to stop in Santa Cruz.

Sounds awesome. It was on my list, but there was just so much to see.

Time to put my boy to bed.

Back later.

[Shine]

19. Ya missed out, girlfriend!! Well, hopefully next time.

Look me up when you come out again, OK?

:hi:
Shine

[AtomicKitten]

29. I miss the weather in SC.

Moderate, not bone-chilling cold like here in SF.

[Shine]

31. Hi AtomicKitten!

(cute username, btw!)

I'm sure you've probably heard the famous quote by Mark Twain: "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco"

Pretty funny, huh? :)

:hi:
Shine

[AtomicKitten]

37. Yes, now that PG&E turned on our pilot light!

[Ally McLesbian]

13. You'll always be welcome in California

The immigrant red tide in Orange County, San Diego, and parts of Los Angeles must be stopped. And the likes of you will make a difference.

As for the choice of communities, it's up to you. I found that even San Francisco can be reactionary - if you pick the wrong industry, such as finance, which dominates downtown.

Right now, I am in Los Angeles County, a blue island in a sea of red. Even then, my portion is bleeding red, as it borders Orange County. Again, we have lots of immigrants, and were home to the only Korean to serve in US Congress. (Read: RED, RED, and RED.)

So just pick your favorite area, settle down, and help keep California blue. Thanks.

[Zomby Woof]

14. San Diego IS beautiful

And I am being objective, although I was born there. :-)

Did you see Mission Bay? Point Loma? Old Town?? Unless people see these things, they are not getting a fair look at the city. :-)

:D

We live in the South Bay area of L.A. County, and I can vouch for the BLUENESS of the area, so you could definitely get a good job in the non-profit or social services sector.

Downside is the real estate - it can be absurdly high. But you get compensated fairly here, and you can't beat the variety of cuisines and cultures! :hi:

Want to make that drive to Monterey too. Hopefully we can meet up next time you are out!

[Duncan Grant]

20. Small world!

I happen to know a little about non-profit development and I might be able to give you the inside scoop on a few agencies here in SF - feel free to PM me. Also happy to answer questions about the Bay Area.

Glad to hear you enjoyed your trip! :hi:

[hunter]

22. I'm so glad you enjoyed the aquarium!

I love that place.

[GOPisEvil]

23. I'm ready for a change, too.

I'm heading to California in a couple of weeks. I'm ready to go now!

[Taverner]

24. I do love my home here

despite the commute

[newyawker99]

26. Welcome back rb!

:hi:

[Clintmax]

30. I've visited San Francisco too...

LOVED IT! But I'll tell you THIS...I would NOT want to drive in that town. I would take the BART and MUNI everywhere. People are CRAZY driving in that city!

[rbnyc]

32. I don't drive anyway.

I'm thinking about learning how to drive tho. But even so, I'd take public trans whenever possible.

[begin_within]

33. Average price of a house in San Diego, currently $550,000. Gas $2.49/gal

[rbnyc]

34. Not much different than around here.

But now I'm thinking somewhere with a more rural feel, but where I can still commute to work. And lots of folks are saying I'll ultimately find it too conservative.

[begin_within]

35. Some areas of the city are liberal, but the surrounding county's deep red.

[AngryLizard]

36. Not kidding about the expensive housing

My house is in the San Fernando Valley - 3 bedrooms, which we bought for 350k, and is now worth 500k.So, before you start checking out jobs, check out housing costs. My best friend lives in San Diego, and she loves it.

[ForrestGump]

38. The West is the best...

Get here and we'll do the rest...

[REP]

39. 2BR Bungalow in My Town: $750K

Worth every fuckin penny! I love the Bay Area!

[IChing]

40. Santa Barbara county, San Luis Obispo county

No crowds and the coast.

[rbnyc]

43. We saw the mission in SLO.

But we were only in the area for about an hour. I want to do this trip again but take 2 weeks, instead of 10 days.

[Seabiscuit]

41. Both San Francisco, San Diego and L.A.'s South Bay are beautiful places

You won't regret moving to any of those areas.

I've lived and worked in all three. San Francisco first, then L.A.'s South Bay, now San Diego (4+ years).

I can't imagine not living in CA.