Suggestions for renting some place warmer and less "friendly" than west Sonoma county (San Diego: section 8, how much)

[starkid]

The winters here are two cold for me. I'm considering moving to other parts of the county but, according to Wikipedia at least, the low temperatures are similar. I'm willing to consider the whole state.

Also I prefer to be mostly ignored; I dislike it when lots of random people greet me or initiate small talk. It seems like people here are going out of their way to seem neighborly, it's fake or inconsiderate at times, and I want to escape.

I'm a household of one with a housing voucher. I need only basic public transportation, quiet (so not a high-traffic town), space for long walks (so a place with sidewalks at least, trails would be great), enough safety to be out alone at night, and low risk of overt racism. A live-and-let-live attitude.

Where I live now, the streets are empty at night and I can go anywhere no matter how late, without anyone randomly calling the cops. I'd love to have something similar.

Local jobs and entertainment are not important, and price is something to consider later. A nearby hippie market with stuff like lots of organic produce and special diet options is very desirable but I can travel for those if necessary.

Thanks.

[Ruth4Truth]

The winters are too cold in the Bay Area? I was going to suggest Humboldt or Del Norte counties for being left alone more: Arcata or Eureka, and Crescent City, but winters won't be any warmer there, so you'll have to look to SoCal or inland somewhere. How are you with high summer temps? Have you considered Sacramento?

The thing is, you're asking for certain amenities (organic produce and special diet options), and also a relatively liberal environment, but with warmer weather and less friendliness. Sounds like a tricky wish list to fulfill. The inland agricultural areas and the Sierra towns tend to be more conservative.


How about Davis? That could check most, maybe all, of your boxes. Santa Clara, in the south Bay, has warmer winter temps, and the Section 8 housing there is easier to get into than other places, according to one regular poster we had here for a few years, who used her voucher in various places around the state.

[sanmiguel]

Sacramento

[NW4me]

Central Coast?

[Tulemutt]

Originally Posted by NW4me

Central Coast?

Shhhhh! That’s my hangout! I don’t want more people moving in on me either!

[starkid]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

The winters are too cold in the Bay Area?

Not the whole bay area, no. Sonoma county is the coldest place in the bay I've ever experienced aside from maybe SF. The problem with most of the bay area is that it's too urban: it's noisy, lots of traffic, and too many parts are sketchy.

so you'll have to look to SoCal or inland somewhere. How are you with high summer temps? Have you considered Sacramento?

High summer temps are ok with me. I'd prefer to avoid anything humid or above 90 degrees but I'd deal with it if it's the best option.

I lived in Sacramento briefly but I'm not sure how much of it is safe for walking at night nor what region is quiet. It's the sound of constant traffic that I can't deal with.
I've also considered Irvine but I'm not sure about the culture. Several old threads on here talk about packs of skinheads or something living nearby. I've never been to socal.

The thing is, you're asking for certain amenities (organic produce and special diet options)

The specialty grocery stores are not absolutely necessary. I can travel to shop.

How about Davis? That could check most, maybe all, of your boxes. Santa Clara, in the south Bay, has warmer winter temps

Davis is on my list but I'm not sure about the layout. I used to bike there from Dixon and it seemed like a ton of suburbs (boring and ugly place to walk through) surrounded by insanely windy agricultural land. Santa Clara I'll have to look up but it was very urban from what I remember. Thanks for your suggestions.

[Ruth4Truth]

You're right that Santa Clara is urban, being basically part of the San Jose sprawl. You didn't say in your first post, that you wanted to avoid a hyper-urban environment.

You can post on the Sacramento forum to find out what areas are safe and quiet.

There are non-suburban areas in Davis. You need to explore it and find your niche. Again--you can ask on the Sac forum. Biking in from outside the city via the suburbs may have given you a skewed impression. I would try again, exploring from a better-informed perspective, following people's suggestions of where to look.

Start first with quality research this time.

And what about other parts of Sonoma County, that aren't in the fog belt? Petaluma? What about Calistoga in Napa County? (hot summers, but no fog) Definitely organic farm country. Calistoga isn't hoity-toity, like some parts of Napa. And Fremont? (I don't know if the Section 8s there have A/C. The area has been getting more heat waves the last 10 yrs or so, and homeowners have added A/C.)

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by starkid

The winters here are two cold for me. I'm considering moving to other parts of the county but, according to Wikipedia at least, the low temperatures are similar. I'm willing to consider the whole state.

Also I prefer to be mostly ignored; I dislike it when lots of random people greet me or initiate small talk. It seems like people here are going out of their way to seem neighborly, it's fake or inconsiderate at times, and I want to escape.

I'm a household of one with a housing voucher. I need only basic public transportation, quiet (so not a high-traffic town), space for long walks (so a place with sidewalks at least, trails would be great), enough safety to be out alone at night, and low risk of overt racism. A live-and-let-live attitude.

Where I live now, the streets are empty at night and I can go anywhere no matter how late, without anyone randomly calling the cops. I'd love to have something similar.

Local jobs and entertainment are not important, and price is something to consider later. A nearby hippie market with stuff like lots of organic produce and special diet options is very desirable but I can travel for those if necessary.

Thanks.

The winters in the Bay Area are too cold for you?

San Diego, Miami, Hawaii or maybe Southern Arizona. Those are about your only options for warmer winters in the US.

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by sanmiguel

Sacramento

Sacramento does not have warmer winters than the East Bay. On Average the winters in Sacramento are about 3 degrees colder, both high and low temperatures.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by Cloudy Dayz

Sacramento does not have warmer winters than the East Bay. On Average the winters in Sacramento are about 3 degrees colder, both high and low temperatures.

OP isn't in the East Bay. It sounds like he's in northwest Sonoma county, where there's not only a lot of fog, there's cold ocean air in the winters. He likened it to San Francisco's micro-climate. He happened to end up in a somewhat unusual micro-climate for what's broadly defined as the Bay Area. He's barely within the boundaries of the Bay Area, in fact, edging on the North Coast. Almost anywhere in the Bay Area would be warmer, but he also wants to avoid a highly urban environment.