Gotta Leave Sonoma County - Where Should I Go?

Hi people,

I'm feeling like I need to leave Sonoma County. First and foremost because of the rent prices and lack of available rentals. I live in Sebastopol now and the rent here is draining my savings. Also there's just too much traffic and people. This used to be a mellow place. It's still full of good people but there are 500,000 people here now.

So I just thought I would post here and see if people have some thoughts about places to move to; maybe places and communities people have lived and feel good about.

Without going into too much details here are my preferences:

I would love to live in a small town, maybe the size of Sebastopol (maybe even bigger) but without the highway traffic we have here. And I kind of like being not too far from a bigger town (maybe 40-80,00) to have access to things bigger towns have. Now there are probably a zillion small towns out there that would be peaceful, but I do want to be in a progressive community. Finally, forget about anywhere that has long cold winters.

I am 67, but still active; like to bike and kayak. I like nature. I have been a West Coast person most of my life but am open to other possibilities.

Help me, Mr. Wizard,

Roger

[email protected]

Your best bet is to search "affordable towns for seniors". You'll get important statistics and other detailed information that a personal recommendation can't give. I have a friend who moved to Spokane on one person's recommendation for affordable senior housing. She's been there several months, and it's been a nightmare on so many levels.

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Posted in reply to the post by Rogue:

I'm feeling like I need to leave Sonoma County. First and foremost because of the rent prices and lack of available rentals....

I would love to live in a small town, maybe the size of Sebastopol (maybe even bigger) but without the highway traffic we have here. And I kind of like being not too far from a bigger town (maybe 40-80,00) to have access to things bigger towns have. Now there are probably a zillion small towns out there that would be peaceful, but I do want to be in a progressive community. Finally, forget about anywhere that has long cold winters....

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Interesting to wish for a small town with low rents and no traffic yet adjacent to a much bigger town with access to all those big town amenities but somehow no responsibility for the issues those amenities and size create. I can relate--this is something we all "wish" for I am sure. But what I'd like to ask all of us--including myself--is what makes us so special that we should be able to find that "paradise" yet offload the cost to others?

The fact is, living with so many assets in our county is costly. It costs us in rents and taxes, challenges to our environment, and for the less financially secure among us, homelessness and lack of a level playing field in terms of access to the resources that make up quality of life.

I've researched this myself and so have no doubt there are wonderful small towns on the west coast (Oregon perhaps) that are cheaper to live in. And Idaho. But so far I haven't found that ideal balance between the quality of life I seek, and the price--not just financial but ethical, inclusive-I am willing to pay for it.

I'll be interested in hearing from other Wacco-ites with this same dilemma.

My 2 cents
Gypsey

I'd be curious to see what you find out. If I was ready to look, I'd check for college towns in the midwest. The coasts are crowded, expensive, and maybe soon be underwater.

I suggest inland, further away from the coast... places in the Central Valley, the foothills of N CA, or beautiful areas east of Yosemite. I have a friend that bought a fixer down there outside of a small nothing happening town for $60k. That's why it was so cheap - not many jobs, not much happening in the area, & pretty quiet... probably not cosmopolitan... more hicks, if you're comfortable with those down home country types.

I too find it funny you want the small town atmosphere with the big town convience. As far a the comment on hicks go, well, that is the down fall of the Democratic Party. Everyone who doesn't live on the coast is a "hick, racist, homophobe", etc. just saying. Go ahead and label me one now, you know you just did...

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Posted in reply to the post by Damage:

...As far a the comment on hicks go, well, that is the down fall of the Democratic Party. Everyone who doesn't live on the coast is a "hick, racist, homophobe", etc. just saying. Go ahead and label me one now, you know you just did...

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man, hicks are touchy!

seriously, though - where's that read on his post coming from??

And there you go. Tommy said it. The quote right above mine.

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Posted in reply to the post by Damage:

And there you go. Tommy said it. The quote right above mine.

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tommy said:
" not many jobs, not much happening in the area, & pretty quiet... probably not cosmopolitan... more hicks, if you're comfortable with those down home country types. "

I guess "down-home country types" is a dog-whistle that went over my head. Maybe making the leap from there to "racist homophobes" is a natural progression. Seems a bit too broad of stereotyping to me.

I wasn't stereotyping you. I didn't said YOU. I said Democratic Party. Sorry for the confusion. My last post.

Actually when podfish said "man, hicks are touchy" that proved my point. Podfish insuated I was a "hick" by responding. Labeling people is SO easy, understanding is not, neither is having a conversation where two people do not agree. I actually consider myself a "country bumpkin", lived in California 26 years, Sebastopol for 5. Back on the subject, I've seen Sebastopol change "not for the better" in the 5 years I've been here, it's sad. That said, I don't think there is a better place to live.

How about Timbuktu? Population around 50- 60 thousand.......

Oh my god. With everything going on in just the last few days, is it really necessary to label people as bad for needing to live somewhere less expensive. Do we need to continue to label each other and spread more hatred (Democrats, hicks, etc. etc.) just to score points? Is is really necessary? Needing to find a place to live that you can afford is a serious subject. How about talking about that instead of bringing out the labels and their associated hate and harm.

No matter who you are we all need an affordable place to live, inexpensive food, services, healthcare, community. This is something that is sorely lacking in our own county.

Jessica

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Posted in reply to the post by gypsey:

Interesting to wish for a small town with low rents and no traffic yet adjacent to a much bigger town with access to all those big town amenities but somehow no responsibility for the issues those amenities and size create. I can relate--this is something we all "wish" for I am sure. But what I'd like to ask all of us--including myself--is what makes us so special that we should be able to find that "paradise" yet offload the cost to others?

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funny how this thread has attracted inferences that I don't think are there. Maybe this specific reaction is colored by what's happening to Sebastopol and you're inferring a carpetbagger-in-creation, like some who are coming into this town and pricing out the locals. Places like Portland, Seattle and some parts of the California gold country are getting overwhelmed by immigrants.

But the point of view you express treats the newcomer as parasitic to the town, which isn't necessarily the case. For example, in an area of small towns, even a nearby larger one may have trouble attracting the critical mass it takes to support arts and other communal activities. Newcomers may well be an asset to the area. Sure, the city water/power/street repair districts won't benefit from those in nearby towns, but the extra burden they put on infrastructure isn't much. New residents do bring in more resources and most likely are beneficial to local economies. For many of these smaller areas, I bet it would take a whole lot of newcomers before they start to look like Healdsburg. Your point is worth keeping in mind, but I think the kind of area the O.P. is looking for would be welcoming.

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Posted in reply to the post by Damage:

Actually when podfish said "man, hicks are touchy" that proved my point. Podfish insuated I was a "hick" by responding. .

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man, do I really have to use smileys? I really hate them, but I'm old school. 'course the internet is notorious for making things too easy to take literally.

plus I stand by my earlier point: there's nothing inherently wrong with 'hick' or for that matter 'okie'. I used to love the term 'hillbilly' too, but that's starting to be a bit too pejorative. Too bad, too.

"Windward is a cooperative community of over thirty years in the making dedicated to preserving and developing village scale technologies needed to support a thriving sustainable community on marginal land. "

https://www.windward.org/

Face it, a hick wouldn't feel comfortable in Sebastopol today. She wouldn't wait in a line of 25 people at Mimi's, she'd go over to Safeway for a frozen popsicle. She wouldn't care for the Annex, where there's not even any place to sit down. She'd be loathe to enter Whole Foods, for fear that she's not organic enough. She'd be a bit nervous on the deck at Taylor Maid, where everybody's talking on their phones... leaving no one for a real conversation. She could hardly park her Dodge Power Wagon anywhere, as all the parking places are taken, and not big enough anyway. She wouldn't understand what all fuss about Smart Meters stuff is - isn't it still electricity? She'd be kinda nervous at Infusions, with all the weird people & tattoos in there. She'd run away, to some little town, east of nowhere, where life was slower, & she could find a parking place.

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Posted in reply to the post by Damage:

I too find it funny you want the small town atmosphere with the big town convience. As far a the comment on hicks go, well, that is the down fall of the Democratic Party. Everyone who doesn't live on the coast is a "hick, racist, homophobe", etc. just saying. Go ahead and label me one now, you know you just did...

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I was recently back in Boone, NC where I grew up in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina and where my family goes back to the 1600's. I was utterly delighted to discover how lovely it's become. There is what I call a "corridor of consciousness" running the length of the western NC mountains from Boone in the north to Asheville in the south.

This area is an oasis of "blue" in a fairly red state: progressive, and flanked with universities in both Boone and Asheville. Watauga is a blue county and the Democratic party puts on an amazing plant sale in June to raise money. That said, there are still conservatives and rednecks -- but it's fairly diverse.

The Farmer's Market in Boone was fantastic with mostly organic and even Demeter certified biodynamic farms, plus crafts and handmade goods. Traditional herbal medicine is undergoing a renaissance.

There were a number of yoga studios, one of which reminded me strongly of the Dhyana Center in its aesthetics -- plus it had a fabulous juice/smoothie/salad/wrap cafe. There are several holistic healing centers and a good hospital.

The Blue Ridge/Great Smoky mountains are absolutely gorgeous -- it's a temperate rainforest with a fairly pristine environment . No high-polluting agribusiness or industry. There is lots of outdoorsy stuff, rivers, hiking, hang gliding, rock climbing, etc. Summers are green and lush and autumns can be a spectacular display of red and gold. It does snow in the winter -- there are several ski slopes --- but with global warming the winters are much milder than when i was a child.

There is a strong arts base, community gatherings and some decent restaurants. And.....the rents are reasonable and you can still buy a decent house for $300K.

If anyone decides to check it out or move there let me know :-)

There are lots of good places to go in north cali. Avoid coastal counties, though that will change with legalization. My fav would be pitt river, hot springs, cheap old homesteads, and close enough to chico, a happening college town. Although plenty around here love shasta, avoid the 5, especially ashland, unless you're really into the bard and have assets.

We live in more than a bubble, its more like a terrarium with heat lamp and hot stones. Get out and experience people who live in reality. Call them whatever you will, they are just as loving.

I was a student at Sonoma State in the early 70's and Sebastopol was just a sleeping farm town.
The train still ran down main street.

One of my professor's wife opened a store near the south west corner and was selling "used" blue jeans.
The folk in Sebastopol were really upset and did not like the changes that inevitably happened.
So dear Roque, I no longer live in Sonoma County although I miss my friends of 45 + years dearly.
SO much more to say, this shall suffice.

I haven't visited Waccobb for some time, so I took a peek today to see what's going on in my old neighborhood and see that I should probably respond to this thread.

I left Sonoma County a year and a half ago and I'm quite happy with the move. I'm now the animal caretaker on a 3.5 acre ranch in North Las Vegas. Eight months out of the year the weather here is fantastic, the area I live in is low density population, low amounts of traffic, clean air, close to every imaginable kind of shopping and the cost of living is literally half that of Sonoma County.

You can rent a 3 bedroom 2 bath house with a garage here for $1200 a month. You can buy a small condo for $40k to $60k. An oil change for your car is $10. There's no state income tax. There's a Winco supermarket a mile away from me with the largest bulk food selection i've ever seen, and the prices are astonishingly low compared to Sonoma County. There's an organic supermarket chain called Sprouts here that puts the insane Whole Foods prices to shame. I could go on, but you get the idea.

There's a lot wrong with Las Vegas, as with any large city, but life is quite good on the outskirts.

warm regards to all.

Yeah, that's a great idea, y'all move on over to Nevada...

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Posted in reply to the post by Clancy:

...I left Sonoma County a year and a half ago and I'm quite happy with the move. I'm now the animal caretaker on a 3.5 acre ranch in North Las Vegas. ...

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Thank You for sharing your new home with us...i agree this County as well as MOST places in CA are extremely hard to live and be able to enjoy Life....it is absolutely becoming more insane to live here because the average person has to work TOO much in order to just "survive" here ..and lets face it "survival" is not necessarily "pretty" ..so most of us will need to figure this out especially since EVERYTHING keeps going up..Life IS short so we need to figure out ways to actually LIVE & NOT just survive plus i do not mind paying "taxes" IF they are being used in Good Ways i.e to preserve a healthy SUSTAINABLE environment based on NO more pesticides, chemical fertilizers and ALL the other garbage WE DO NOT need in ORDER to be able to AT LEAST be healthy HOWEVER We do NOT get that instead We have TOO much emphasis on "the wine industry" and OTHER HUGE industries or BIG corporate pushing the agenda of "gentrification" without TRULY looking at the LONG TERM effects on US ALL having a MORE healthful environment & being able to CREATE sustainability FOR ALL not just the elite SELFISH ones .... so Thank You again & Happy Journeys

We're moving north pretty soon, hopefully to Oregon. The town that I moved into is not the town we have today, where people are in it only for their own self-interests, not the interests of the community at large. I could spend the afternoon citing examples, but will refrain.

Pricing for "affordable housing" (500-600 sq. ft. micro homes for working FAMILIES) starts in the mid-400,000 dollar range, with mortgages that exceed my gross monthly income.

Just my :2cents: (.01283 when adjusted for inflation).

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Posted in reply to the post by Imagery:

We're moving north pretty soon, hopefully to Oregon. The town that I moved into is not the town we have today, where people are in it only for their own self-interests, not the interests of the community at large.

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Part of the reason the town changed is YOU (and me, and a bunch of others) moved here. If you had not moved here, the pressures of population would not conspire to both hold down housing construction (NIMBY) and increase existing house prices. You're just exporting the problem to Oregon (but that's OK, it all even's out, as I left Oregon for CA).

But I write to express dismay at your comment which I bolded above. Of course people are only in it for their own self interest, and any society that pretends or tries to enforce otherwise runs into either totalitarianism or self-destruction.

The trick is to construct a system where your own self interest aligns with the interests of others. We should not strive for affordable housing to help the poor; we should strive for it to help ourselves. How does affordable house help the already housed? It works to lower rents, makes a more stable community that likely has less crime, less drug abuse, reduces traffic (as low wage workers don't have to drive from far afield).

YES, it does add more housing...but unless you become totalitarian, and restrict where people can move (Beijing does this...you must have a government issued permit to live in Beijing), restrict the birth rate (Beijing did this too), eliminate immigration (illegal and otherwise), then population will grow and housing must grow with it.

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Posted in reply to the post by spam1:

Part of the reason the town changed is YOU (and me, and a bunch of others) moved here).
.....
But I write to express dismay at your comment which I bolded above. Of course people are only in it for their own self interest, and any society that pretends or tries to enforce otherwise runs into either totalitarianism or self-destruction.

The trick is to construct a system where your own self interest aligns with the interests of others.

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yeah, before my time but I hear the hippie invasion of the late sixties ruined the town for the locals.

But to take a little issue with the idea it's "only " self-interest. That's commonly used when talking about Adam Smith too. In both cases its importance must be recognized as you say. But people often act for the communal interests as well. The problem here is that the vision for the community has changed - and there was probably never as much consensus as some seem to think

How cohesive is
'real community'

groups of people
within a group

or
groups of people
within groups of people

mind is always shifting

lives are always shifting

coming together

then going at different angles
to different destinations

all in a process

not in a deterministic
not to a deterministic point
to remain forever

like a stone
with molecules moving so extraordinarily fast
we see the stone as a remarkably solid object

yet it is the opposite in reality

so . . . .

as our eyes perceive
a 'sense'
of whatever is being viewed

rarely
are we perceiving deeply
or accurately

all this material building and decay
remodelling and moving into and out of spaces

for the purpose of our journeys of creating, maintaining and transforming

is an illusion
for what is actually at hand

which is a deeper Evolution
of the Soul

and all these Souls !

like the many many ants in an ant farm or ant hill
so busy
so much movement
so much purpose being undergone

how much a community shifts
as individual lives shift
much, unexpectedly

yes we are a weave
yet how tight a weave

it is a good weave, a pleasant weave

yet, how intimate, how involved, how deep

then there is the attraction from other communities to this
and how that alters what was

it is life on Earth
a continuous movement of weather and seasons and new generations

how cultures too
affect one another

so much mixed into the recipe
always changing
always new

it's hard to define or hold as a fixed definition

it's more like a River
or a Sky

very very fluid

so what is the reality of community?

flowing,
new,
always and forever changing

which forces us
perhaps

to also flow
become new
~shift and shift and shift again

Life is full of these shifts
the growing infant into toddler into the proceeding stages

keeping up with the unfolding
and folding
composting
seeding
and rebirthing

never ending ?

Here are a few items that might illustrate my point:

1. KOWS community radio obtained a permit for a 100w tower to be built on top of a ridge where it could broadcast community-based, community-oriented and original programming to the residents of West County. A two-legged snake and a relatively small (200 people) group of homeowners put a stop to the project.

2. Sonic, a locally-based internet service provider, wanted to provide FREE wi-fi service to the public in the downtown shopping corridor, in order to promote business and commerce. Another small group of 'special' residents claimed that it would irradiate their brains, and stopped the project. I haven't heard one peep from them since Comcast blanketed the entire downtown with password-protected wi-fi, because (IMHO) password-protected wi-fi doesn't irradiate brains.

3. CVS - I'm sure this will raise controversy, but just curious, what did everybody think of the toxic, crumbling structure that was the old Pellini Chevrolet dealership? I've only entered the new CVS building once, and I didn't feel overcome by the demonic evil of the drug empire that took over the entirety of downtown. CVS, while they might not be on my favorite corporation list, jumped through a three-ring circus chock full of hoops in order to end the blighted scene that was at that corner.

These are among a large number of issues in this community. Getting a building permit in this town? You'd better have an entire firm of two-legged snakes, have just won the Mega-Millions and Powerball jackpots, and you MIGHT MAYBE get a building permit for a 400 sq. ft. shack. Mind you, you can rent that shack out for 2 grand+/month, but it will take years in order to get the permits.

We decry the homelessness situation, but make sure that "low income" housing is a large bedroom studio place that costs somewhere north of $400,000. Homeless shelter? Not in this neighborhood. Pay a living wage? Only if we're living in the 1970's.