
Ask HN: Where to live within California - shmapf
I&#x27;m a software engineer thinking of moving to California. There are many options within California, so I&#x27;d like to get opinions from people in the know about the various locations.<p>Could residents (or those with experience) state where they live&#x2F;work and why they do or don&#x27;t like it?<p>I don&#x27;t care about salary, living costs, and jobs available - these stats are all widely available online. I&#x27;m looking for subjective and human perspectives on what it&#x27;s like to live there.<p>Thanks to anyone who can help, I&#x27;m sure others will find this helpful too.
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hijinks
I moved from NYC about 6 years ago. I first moved to San Mateo and it was a
great location. About a 20 minute express train ride into the city and the
rest of the Valley is commutable also.

When we had to consider school for our daughter we moved out to the far east
bay in San Ramon where its the only place with good school districts that we
could afford a house. If i time the BART right my commute door to door is a
bit over an hour. The office was like a minute walk from a BART stop in the
city.

I don't take any jobs where I have to drive since the commute to San Jose
might be 90 minutes (usually 30 minutes with no traffic)

We are in the process of moving out of the area. We love it here but can't
afford it on a single salary. We got lucky with owning a house in the area but
making almost 200k and living pay check to pay check sucks.

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stevenwiles
Wow.. You are very wealthy. I am also a software engineer in the Bay Area and
don't have anywhere near your wealth. Well done!

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hijinks
Not wealthy.. just lucky. I've been through 2 exits.

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niftich
Subjectively I find areas surrounding Monterey Bay very pleasant, which
includes places like Monterey, Pacific Grove, Carmel-by-the-Sea, and Pebble
Beach; but also on the other side Santa Cruz and its suburbs. It's expensive,
but you're close to the coast, surrounded by greenery and potentially
redwoods, and are reasonably close to SV/SF without having to contend with it
daily. Though traffic is a challenge, it's within plausible commuting distance
of SV.

If you're looking for somewhere a little more removed from major activity
centers, the extended San Luis Obispo area including Morro Bay and Pismo Beach
is decent, and you're nearly equidistant from both LA and SF, about 3-4 hours
away. It's outside of commuting distance, but well-within daytrip distance.

I happen to be enamored with San Diego too, but it's all the way down at one
end of the state, and it's two hours closer to Phoenix than to San Francisco.
If you're looking for centrality, you won't find that there, but the city is
lovely, and it's a functional metro with good jobs and a large military
presence.

Edit: Bay Area peripheries like Santa Rosa (in the north) and Gilroy/Morgan
Hill/Hollister in the south, maybe Tracy/Stockton in the east, are probably a
good compromise, but other than striking a balance between affordable and not-
too-far from SF/SV, are not too compelling in their own right.

Edit: Coastward LA periphery cities like Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, Ventura,
Oxnard, are quiet, shaded, suburban, but also pricey. LA traffic is a
nightmare; you're 'on paper' within reach of LA, but don't bet on it.

Other than possibly Sacramento, I don't find the Central Valley particularly
appealing. The cost of living is lower, but with the exception of Sacramento
and Bakersfield, none of the valley cities project a strong sense of place;
this applies to the desert exurbs like Palmdale and Victorville too, except
for maybe Palm Springs.

Every other area of the state is on the periphery and you're too far away from
major employment centers to be a useful place to make a living in the general
case.

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centdev
The South Bay (Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa, parts of Torrance) is
a great place to live. It's relatively close to Downtown LA (8-12 miles).
Driving from South Bay to west LA is only 30 mins so the drive isn't horrible.
Driving from the valley to West LA is horrible. South Bay and Valley are great
for families. Having lived in NY for a few decades, then to NC, LA traffic is
not that bad considering. It's more about how to navigate and that's where
Waze is really helpful.

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steve1011
Ive lived here most of my life, in both southern and (currently) northern
California. Sure, the weather is nice, but my advice would be to stay away
unless you are already wealthy or forced to move here for work etc.

If you live in any sort of population center expect traffic to be a nightmare
from 6-11am and 3-7pm. Taxes are also some of the highest in the country and
poorly implemented social policies continue to increase these on an annual
basis.

If you are looking for something in particular that California has to offer,
there is almost always better alternatives (see: Oregon, Washington, Arizona,
Colorado, Nevada, etc...)

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akulbe
Oregon is one of the most expensive states to live in, as well. (If you opt
for Portland.)

It doesn't compare to California, but it's getting there.

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moocow01
I moved from SF to Midtown in Sacramento. I personally really like it. Its
probably the most affordable urban area in California. Its not as dense as SF
and has nowhere near the tech jobs but its a very interesting enjoyable place
in its own right. Great people, food, beer scene and vibe. Might be a place
worth looking into.

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mgberlin
I live in Santa Cruz and really like it here. Fantastic mountain biking,
beach-going, and all around outdoors stuff. With the bay just over the hill,
there's a pretty reasonable tech scene and some jobs. Housing is pretty out of
control, though.

