Good place to live between N. Cal. coast and Yosemite?

Hello,

I am a California native living in beautiful Colorado currently. But unfortunately I miss the coast too much to stay here for good. So I am looking to move back to the West Coast, either Portland or N. Cal. I need to have reasonable access to 'both' the coast and mtns -within a few hours either way.

So I wanted to get your suggestions for decent central towns. My wife is tired of big cities, so SF and SJ are out. I was thinking of places like Livermore, Stockton, etc... But from other forums I hear Stockton is a high crime area with some not so appealing 'valley' smog, heat etc... Some even referred to it as an armpit. We have visited Modesto and didn't really like it. Morgan Hill looks good for close proximity to the coast. But it seems pretty far (3.5+ hours) to the Sierras, Yosemite, etc...

I grew up at the beach in S. Cal. and don't want to live there again - overpriced, overcrouded and too dry.

Any N. Cal. suggestions from a photographer's perspective would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Derek,
I know my California brothers my have a different opinion but I vote toe PDX--I moved here this year. I lived in No Cal from 1990-2000. The difference between Livermore & Stockton is like night & day, bit in the quality of life AND price. You get what you pay for
.
No Cal is a great place to live but expensive. California has about 40 million residents, Oregon has about 4 million. If I had to live in California, I’d live in the foothills just east of Sacramento. That’s about 2 ½ hr trek from the ocean, but less to Yosemite.

Here are the pluses & minuses regarding the Portland area

1) MINUSES: -- its one of the few places that housing is steady. Prices haven’t adjusted like the rest of the country. However, even with the adjustment in housing prices going on in California now, California is still high. Plus California's taxes are high and the overall cost of living is, (in my opinion) overpriced.

2) Lots of rain between November-April (PDX averages 40" and gets about 2/3rds in the winter months. However it’s a plus if you like to shoot..... And that's why it's green!

PLUSSES: I am about 1 hr from Cannon Beach, 1 hr from Trillium Lake (Mt Hood Area.). The deserts of eastern Oregon is about 3 hrs away, Washington State (there’s lots to shoot there as well) is just over the river. You've got the Columbia River Gorge and much more. Mono Lake is only a 12 hr drive--door to door from here). You can literally shoot the entire coast of Oregon, tip to tip.
PDX--greet city, great people. Oregon is a big big state and there's.

TAX INFO: BIG BIG DIFFERENCES!!!!!!
CALIFORNIA:
Sales Taxes
State Sales Tax: 7.25% (food and prescription drugs exempt. Tax varies according to locality. Can be as high as 8.75%)
Gasoline Tax: * 40.1 cents/gallon
Diesel Fuel Tax: * 41.9 cents/gallon
Cigarette Tax: 37 cents/pack of 20 plus an additional surcharge of 50 cents per pack, bringing the total to 87 cents.

Personal Income Taxes
Tax Rate Range: Low - 1.0%; High - 9.3%
Income Brackets: * Lowest - $6,319; Highest - $43,468
Number of Brackets: 6
Tax Credits: Single - $85; Married - $170; Dependents - $265; 65 years of age or older - $87
Standard Deduction: Single - $3,254; Married filing jointly - $6,508
Medical/Dental Deduction: Same as Federal taxes
Federal Income Tax Deduction: None

Property Taxes
Property is assessed at 100% of full cash value. The maximum amount of tax on real estate is limited to 1% of the full cash value.
OREGON:

Sales Taxes
State Sales Tax: None
Gasoline Tax: * 24.9 cents/gallon
Diesel Fuel Tax: * 24.3 cents/gallon
(Local fuel taxes may add 1 to 3 cents)
Cigarette Tax: $1.18/pack of 20

Personal Income Taxes
Tax Rate Range: Low - 5%; High - 9%
Income Brackets: ** Lowest - $2,750; Highest - $6,851
Number of Brackets: 3
Personal Tax Credits: Single - $154; Married - $308; Dependents - $154
Additional Credits: Credit equal to 40% of federal credit
Standard Deduction: Single - $1,840; Married filing jointly - $3,685; Deduction greater if age 65 or older.
Additional Deduction: Single over 65 - $1,200; Married over 65 filing jointly $2,000
Medical/Dental Deduction: Full only for age 59 or older, if itemized.
Federal Income Tax Deduction: $5,000 ($2,500 if married filing separately)
Property Taxes . Tax rates are set by the counties and any special considerations are levied by county officials.




Check out the PNWNP Forum… there’s lot of great photographers there as well as the California Forum. They have been extremely friendly and helpful since I’ve been here.

Let me know when you arrive.
JG

Jack,

I appreciate your feedback and the usefull info. We (Wife and three kids) are actually planning a trip out to Oregon this summer to check things out.

PDX is probably our first choice so far. But the economy isn't as strong as Cal. So a lot will depend on where I can land a 'decent' job. Because I am the sole income provider for our family this will be an important factor.

I am also one to always have a plan A and B. And we really love the High Sierras and N. Cal. coast. So if PDX doesn't work out for whatever reason we are looking for a nice place in Cal. And it is pretty hard to beat Yosemite and the Sierras for photo ops. Although OR and WA have a 'lot' to offer as well.

Livermore looks like it might be a good place to land. We have friends in the E. Sacramento area. I went to their wedding in Grass Valley. That is definately a nice place - a little far from the coast but close to Tahoe.

I have been watching the PNW forum for quite some time. Who hasn't seen Marc A's work. Of course he shoots alot of the Sierras as well. Our RMNP moderator Rick Dunn just moved with his wife from Colorado to PDX. So far he really likes it.

Thanks again,

You mentioned you needed a job, what profession are you in or looking for? wherever you can pay the bills will probably be the biggest determining factor. Hard to find decent houses in good neighborhoods these days for less than 400k in CA and cost more the closer you are to the major cities, but from what I have heard from a former boss is that she had to move from Portland back to the Bay Area because she wasn't getting paid enough to live in Portland as a single mother.

my friend used to live in Pleasanton. which is next to Livermore. not bad for a suburban area if you like hills and oak trees. though the area gives me severe allergies so I'd never live there. I used to live in the Pacifica area which I loved but it's very expensive for a small apartment. worth it in my opinion but then again I was a student back in those days and not a husband / father of 3.

Richard,

In answer to your Q. I work as a senior software engineer for Verizon currently. I also have aerospace software engineering experience with Northrop Grumman. One of the reasons I left Northrop for Verizon was to make sure I have current 'marketable' skills in the high tech commercial world once we are ready to move.

One of the things the PDX doesn't have is a strong aerospace industry like CA, CO or the the East Coast. But there is some high tech commercial work out there. I even had a recruiter from GE contact me about an opening they had in Hillsboro. However I think the economy up there is just not as strong as it could be. There are a lot of educated people who are under employed or unemployed.

There is actually an interesting thread on PDX's economy here:
http://www.city-data.com/forum/portland/141133-portland-s-new-new-economy.html

For me photographic opportunites are only 'one' aspect in our decision. Being near the coast and mtns. is *Very* important. From this perspective PDX seems like the better place to be - 1 hour in either direction. But from a career/economic standpoint things are a bit of different story. And of course there are other factors as well such as public school systems, gvmt management or mismanagement of taxpayers funds for a whole host of public services (eg - libraries, law enforcement, waste management, universities, transit). Then of course there are health concerns such as pollution control (eg - logging, run off into rivers, ocean, emission controls).

So although I asked the question here I will consider research I am conducting in other places as well.

For now if we go with N. Cal. Livermore, Pleasanton and Brentwood are looking like nice locations so far for access to both Sierras and coast. I am not quite sure what the climate is like there though. It is not quite as hot as say Sac. or Modesto is it? I guess I need to visit that area to get a better idea of the landscape.

Hi Derek,

Yep, I'm a Liver-moron... I mean Livermorite, or whatever a resident would be called. I sent you an email so I would repeat this here.

I completely agree about the economic differences and job opportunities with CA vs. OR, but I would live in Oregon in a heartbeat. I just celebrated my 25th anniversary with the same company, so I'm not about to jump ship for the sake of moving. And I like my accessibility to Yosemite too much!

Hope the email helps. Good luck!

Lon

Lon,

Excellent information. Thank you so much for your help! It looks like you are in one of the best strategic locations between Yosemite and the N. Cal coast.
I will definately do more research on that area. Thanks again.

Derek,

Another thing to consider, probably no matter where you live, but especially if you're considering the Livermore area, is you're commute to work. If you end up working in the silicon valley area, the commute to/from Livermore can be brutal. You mentioned Morgan Hill which is where I live. My wife loves it but I prefer San Jose. We're about 1 1/4 hrs from the coast, 3hrs to Yosemite, and 4hrs to Tahoe. For commuting you could possibly take the ACE train from Livermore or Caltrain from Morgan Hill.

Mike

Mike,

Thanks for the input on the commute. I think if I was going to live in Livermore I would probably look for an East Bay job around Pleasanton, Walnut Creek or even Oakland.

I am from LA originally and so I am familiar with heavy traffic. But that doesn't mean I like it! 1 hour+ of gridlock sucks.

That is one of the things I really enjoy now living in Colorado Springs. Even though it is the second largest city in the state I can drive from one end of town to the other in 30-40 minutes 'during' rush hour. There are just simply less people out here.

I noticed that the majority of high tech jobs are in the Silicon Valley. So if I had to commute there I would probably look at something a little closer in and 'almost' affordable like Castro Valley, Fremont or Morgan Hill.

I was also exploring the possibility of living in the Sierra Foothills in places such as Sutter Creek, Jackson and Sonora. But I really need a 'city' job so I don't think they are very practical for daily commutes. Unless I could find one of those telecommute positions. But they are harder to come. Trust me I have looked.

I wonder if many of the companies in the Silicon Valley would allow for 'partial' telecommuting. At Verizon in Colorado Springs currently I can work from home some days and do, especially during snow storms. Even three days a week would be more doable if living further away from 'the beast.'

Derek,

Having moved just last year to the bay area (Fremont, CA) from the boring flatlands of the midwest, all I can say is that it would take a king's ransom to get me to move from the bay area. As a photographer, I'm in paradise! Yosemite/Sequoia/Kings Canyon are within 4 hours of driving, Redwoods NP (the most underrated and beautiful place I've ever seen!) within 6 hours, the gorgeous central CA coast within 3 hours from here, Lassen Volcanic NP within 6 hours...not to mention the bay area itself, which is the only place I've seen where a tree in full fall foliage stands next to one in spring bloom (I'm not kidding...this is outside my apartment!). Sure, the cost of living is high...but considering it is no higher than that of the garbage dump of the nation called New Jersey, I'm not complaining.

Katrik,

I know what you mean about the flatlands. From where I live now (Colorado Springs) headed east it is flat for a *loooong* ways. Fortunately the Rocky Mountains to the west are awesome. But I don't think I could live east of Colorado. And the great part of Calif. and the PNW is that you have both the Ocean and the Mtns.

We are headed out this summer to check out different Portlnad & N. Cal. communities. Gotta get back to the coast.

I have lived in the San Francisco East Bay since l966 and know it well. Commuting from Livermore is extremely time consuming, and it can get smoggy during the summer. Brentwood homes are less costly, and it is MUCH hotter in the summer. Residential property costs are very high in the SF Bay area for many reasons, and you should be aware of this when job hunting. Many higher tech industries, particularly in the Software area, have migrated to the Eastern Sierra Foothills and you may be able to find what you want (job, reasonable job commute, resonabvle home, short distance to the mountains, with slightly lolnger coastal distance)in that area . The Santa Cruz mountain area is close to the ocean, farther to the mountains, with numerous high tech and software companies nearby(Silicon Valley, etc)although residential costsa are high there also. I suggest you buy a Sunday San FRancisco "Chronicle" , "San Jose Mercury", and perhaps "Sacramento Bee" paper to review the real estate classified and sales sections, along with a good map. It will give you some idea, and local websites, of real estate. Might also give some job openings. Good luck.