Help with Small-Town, Old-fashioned, Country Area to Live In (San Diego: low crime, good schools)

[countryway]

Hi. We are considering moving to back to California, it is where I am from originally. We are from the Sacramento area, and have only been gone 4 years, but are looking for a small (2,000 to 100,000 pop) country/agricultural, traditional, conservative town to live in. Foothills and lower mountains would be fine too. We are old-fashioned country people who like a simple way of life and don't want a large metro area, but in the country where there is plenty of horse land and farms, and a simple small-town life.

We want to stay out of the whole L.A./San Diego/Southern California area, but are ok with from Bakersfield to Redding. But not the Bay area. We cannot tolerate alot of smog...but are accustomed to Sacto area smog. Wanting nothing too much worse than that. Any suggestions are appreciated as well as any questions. We want to be in proximity to a larger city as well as have access to the Sierra easily. So coastal areas are not preffered but may be considered. Thanks so much and look forward to hearing from you folks. One more thing, I am a musician as well and would like to be near Country/Blues music opportunities if possible. But the aforementioned criteria takes superiorority. Thanks.

[Snort]

I think the area around Tehachapi has horse ranches and the town is quite conservative. I love Gold Country, but you probably know the area better than myself, being from Sacto.

[BeauCharles]

Yeah, Grass Valley to Oakhurst sounds like a good bet for you. The Gold Country is conservative and "horsey" (although there are a good dose of gays/hippies/organic types to keep things interesting). Another good town would be Oakdale 15 miles north of Modesto. There are a good deal of "ranchettes" in the foothills east of town, a big rodeo each year and a population very interested in horses. I lived there for seven years as a kid and its the best small town in the Central Valley in my opinion. We lived on a bluff near the Stanislaus River and it was a paradise for a kid. I'd move back there in a heartbeat if I could. Oh, and my current county of Butte is nice as well. Gridley is a good small town surrounded by orchards and the foothill areas of the county (East Oroville and Paradise) are filled with 5-10 acre properties. Plus Lake Oroville is great for boating and fishing.

[Jebby]

You may want to check out the mountain communities of the Tejon pass. Lebec, Frazier Park, Lake of the woods, Pinion Pines, Cuddy Valley and Pine Mountain Club.

In northern CA, Grass Valley, Nevada City, Placerville and Foresthill are a few towns that may fit the bill.

[humboldtrat]

Jackson About Jackson, California

[Fontucky]

Snelling.

[Bulldogdad]

Linden, Escalon, Valley Springs, Oakdale, Sonora, Jackson, Placerville etc.... Lots of options in this state.

[countryway]

Originally Posted by BeauCharles

Yeah, Grass Valley to Oakhurst sounds like a good bet for you. The Gold Country is conservative and "horsey" (although there are a good dose of gays/hippies/organic types to keep things interesting). Another good town would be Oakdale 15 miles north of Modesto. There are a good deal of "ranchettes" in the foothills east of town, a big rodeo each year and a population very interested in horses. I lived there for seven years as a kid and its the best small town in the Central Valley in my opinion. We lived on a bluff near the Stanislaus River and it was a paradise for a kid. I'd move back there in a heartbeat if I could. Oh, and my current county of Butte is nice as well. Gridley is a good small town surrounded by orchards and the foothill areas of the county (East Oroville and Paradise) are filled with 5-10 acre properties. Plus Lake Oroville is great for boating and fishing.

Yeah, Oakhurst to Grass Valley was where I was kinda looking at as I am very familiar with Gold Country, having been raised in that area. Love it there. Oakdale is a nice place from what I've heard, never actually made it there to visit though. Gridley is beautiful. I have lived near Yuba City and have been up that way to Oroville and Gridley several times. Am really considering those places very much. Thanks.

[countryway]

Thanks for all the advice so far. I am very familiar with most of the places mentioned since I grew up around there and seems to resound what I already thought, that those places are the best for what we are looking for in California. We were thinking around the Fresno to Bakersfiled area in a rural community like Woodlake, Clovis, Visalia, or Porterville but have heard about terrible smog and crime issues etc.? So not sure. Might stick with norcal in the Gold Country area or maybe the northern valley like Oroville, Chico on towards Redding. Thanks so far for your help.

[UltrazGSD]

I live just outside of Reedley, which is a small agriculture town near Fresno. I was born and raised here. Unfortunately, what was once a lovely little town is starting to have a lot of crime due to gangs. The gang activity is mainly restricted to the east side, but it is creeping over. I worked for the police department for almost 3 years, and it really opened my eyes.

From what you described, I think Clovis would be a great town for you. It's moderate size, VERY good schools, safe and clean and a very desirable area to live in. It's a conservative town, very agriculture and ranch related (with a huge rodeo every year, Big Hat days, parades, festivals, etc), and just an all around good place. It's less than an hour to the mountains, which are beautiful. Shaver Lake is lovely, as are the higher lakes. There great large lots/small acreage places all around the outskirts of town. Clovis "runs into Fresno, but they are distinctly different in atmosphere, crime, schools, and overall quality of life. Definitely look into it!

I would not recommend Porterville. That place has a huge drug problem and is just not a good place to live. Visalia is really nice, but it's in a poorer county (Tulare county). But it is safe, pretty, good schools, etc. Woodlake is fairly small, and I don't know a lot about it. It's very out of the way. Another nice small town is Kingsburg. It's pretty tiny, but has VERY low crime and good schools. Stay away from Selma no matter what though. It's a neighboring town and NOT GOOD. In fact, a quick list in this area to stay away from is Orange Cove, Parlier, Selma, Dinuba, and Sanger. Run as far and as fast as you can from those gang infested, icky places to live. But having lived here in the central valley my entire life, I can tell you that Clovis is BY FAR the most desirable area to live in. Good luck with your decision. Sorry that was kind of disjointed but I kept thinking of info and didn't want to go back and revise.