Affordable areas on the Monterey Peninsula (San Diego, Salinas: violent crime, homes, neighborhoods)

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Derek, how beautiful!

Did you happen to also get any photos of the not-to-attractive side of Trinidad?

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by NoMoreSnowForMe

Derek, how beautiful!

Did you happen to also get any photos of the not-to-attractive side of Trinidad?

No, I don't normally do street photography of the homeless, vagabonds, the underbelly of a place, etc... It's just not my thing. I'm there to take in the natural beauty and don't usually include people in my photos. That is unless I'm shooting family photos.

Derek

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Originally Posted by MtnSurfer

No, I don't normally do street photography of the homeless, vagabonds, the underbelly of a place, etc... It's just not my thing. I'm there to take in the natural beauty and don't usually include people in my photos. That is unless I'm shooting family photos.

Derek

Don't blame you. I don't read the news for the same reason

You know what's funny? I was with my dog at the river again this morning, and ended up chatting with a nice old gentleman - who mentioned going on a great fishing trip to Trinidad! Said he loved it there. So, here I am and twice in about a week heard the Trinidad is a great place to go. Perhaps people from Redding are just used to seeing homeless people, etc.

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by NoMoreSnowForMe

Don't blame you. I don't read the news for the same reason

You know what's funny? I was with my dog at the river again this morning, and ended up chatting with a nice old gentleman - who mentioned going on a great fishing trip to Trinidad! Said he loved it there. So, here I am and twice in about a week heard the Trinidad is a great place to go. Perhaps people from Redding are just used to seeing homeless people, etc.

For me it's not so much the homeless per se. I mean let's face it, homeless are everywhere including Monterey and Santa Cruz. Some of them are just plain down on their luck and not all bad that's for sure. Then there are the tweakers, druggies, criminals and the like who may or may not actually sleep outside. But they will rip you off if given the opportunity. That was the vibe I got while there - shifty eyed looks at my car and stuff. Maybe Redding is not much different or even worse? So for some folks they are used to it. I don't know.

Here is an article talking about the crime wave hitting Trinidad and what they tried to do to curb it. Unfortunately they lost their local police force and outsourced to the sheriff: Trinidad Seeks to Battle Crime Wave | McKinleyville Press

Derek

[moved]

Originally Posted by TheGoogler

Thanks. I guess I am dreaming..

Just to be clear, I didn't mean a house plus a guest house. I meant renting a guesthouse would be nice.

The examples you found are not places I could ever live in.



I'll have to look elsewhere.

The photos of the places in San Diego also didn't meet with her approval, so until she finds the house of her dreams, she won't be satisfied with anything.

[BeauCharles]

You can find places on the peninsula that fit your budget. You just have to keep and open mind, make some compromises and actually visit the area to see them in person. Unless you're very rigid in your expectations and demands living in Monterey will make up for most sacrifices you have to make in living arrangements. Its a great place.

[MtnSurfer]

This is a very common problem I see time and time again. It occurs when people start out with a dream location in mind like Monterey, San Diego, Hawaii, <fill in the blank> where the weather, scenery, etc... are close to ideal. Then when they look into housing expecting it to be similar to where they are coming from in the Midwest, South, etc... and it isn't they are 'shocked' and even possibly insulted. The mere thought of spending more and/or getting less (smaller, older dwelling) is a tough pill for many to swallow and sometimes simply unacceptable. It really boils down to quality of life and how one defines it which is very subjective.

The dream or notion that wonderful weather, easy coastal access, low crime, beautiful scenery, walkable communities, with plenty of organics, free-spirited, friendly people, etc... where housing costs are low is just not very realistic unfortunately. Something has give and housing is it.

Derek

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Originally Posted by MtnSurfer

This is a very common problem I see time and time again. It occurs when people start out with a dream location in mind like Monterey, San Diego, Hawaii, <fill in the blank> where the weather, scenery, etc... are close to ideal. Then when they look into housing expecting it to be similar to where they are coming from in the Midwest, South, etc... and it isn't they are 'shocked' and even possibly insulted. The mere thought of spending more and/or getting less (smaller, older dwelling) is a tough pill for many to swallow and sometimes simply unacceptable. It really boils down to quality of life and how one defines it which is very subjective.

The dream or notion that wonderful weather, easy coastal access, low crime, beautiful scenery, walkable communities, with plenty of organics, free-spirited, friendly people, etc... where housing costs are low is just not very realistic unfortunately. Something has give and housing is it.

Derek

Amen. But, back to Trinidad - you're talking about petty crime, according to the article. That's not dangerous - murders and drive-bys. When we were talking about inexpensive coastal communities, of course there will be a trade-off. But car break-ins are not major, in my opinion.

I guess it's all relative. I know, looking for a lower cost of living, that there will be some trade-offs. This is the type of crime in Redding you can expect - petty stuff - mainly break-ins, vandalism, that kind of thing. I'm willing to live with that. Whereas some lower cost of living towns are that way because of drive-by shootings and car hijacking, and other violent crimes.

So, I'm sure you're right. It's probably worse than Monterey. But, no worse than Redding.

You just don't get it all. You don't get cheap, upscale and zero crime.

[BeauCharles]

Originally Posted by MtnSurfer

The dream or notion that wonderful weather, easy coastal access, low crime, beautiful scenery, walkable communities, with plenty of organics, free-spirited, friendly people, etc... where housing costs are low is just not very realistic unfortunately. Something has give and housing is it.

Derek

For some the problem is getting past the fact that a place like Monterey until the mid 1990s had real estate only about 50-75% more expensive than the Central Valley. Now its more like double or triple. I remember when I moved there from Merced in 1997 seeing a typical 3/2 tract home in Marina going for $190,000 thinking "That's ridiculous! It would only be $125,000 in Merced!". If I'd only known where it would end up (and bought the damned thing)!

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by BeauCharles

For some the problem is getting past the fact that a place like Monterey until the mid 1990s had real estate only about 50-75% more expensive than the Central Valley. Now its more like double or triple. I remember when I moved there from Merced in 1997 seeing a typical 3/2 tract home in Marina going for $190,000 thinking "That's ridiculous! It would only be $125,000 in Merced!". If I'd only known where it would end up (and bought the damned thing)!

LOL!!!! Yes, too funny. If you had only known!

The real estate market is similar to the stock market in that way. Who would have guessed Facebook or Apple stock would have gone as crazy as it did. The fortunate few who bought based on a hunch or simply dumb luck made out pretty well. Regarding real estate it was the one's who bought when prices were 50-75% above market elsewhere or less who are now sitting on a nice retirement nest egg. The owner of the home we lease from is one if them. He's fully retired, lives in a great house with an ocean view and funds his retirement through the relatively 'lower' cost housing he purchased in Monterey and Tahoe several decades ago.

Buying now seems crazy as prices have shot back up again after the crash. They seemed less ridiculous then for a limited window. But we had just gone through a crash and everyone was nervous about what would happen next. Some were predicting a total crash of California's economy resulting in bankruptcy, etc... In hindsight again that was actually a good time to buy for those who could afford it. We just weren't in the right place financially to do so at the time. And now it does look completely crazy again. But who knows in 10 years looking back what will have happened. Buying in Monterey is definitely out of range for the majority of Americans, that's for sure.

Derek