Single mom, physician, looking for a perfect place in California (San Diego: schools, colleges)

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by Fontucky

Confucius say: "He who look for perfect place never satisfied."

Yes, it will be hard to find the perfect place with all of these things because some contradict each other. For example plenty of single professionals, etc... yet not too much traffic. Usually plenty of single professionals means plenty of jobs to support their careers = more companies, traffic, etc... The closest to what you describe are usually university towns with 'some' commerce. So here are some with most of what you are looking for:

1. Monterey (include Carmel/Carmel Valley)
2. Manhattan Beach (and other South Bay beach cities)
3. San Luis Obispo
4. Santa Barbara (possibly Ventura)
5. Chico

The places with fewer jobs like Chico and SLO will have more single 'students.' Not necessarily many gainfully employed single adults.

Forget Rooseville/Sacramento for less pollution. Traffic is also an issue. Do a search on detailed discussions of smog in the Central Valley. Its been discussed many times with reference to reports which demontrate air quality problems. This is especially true for those who suffer from asthma. In fact most inland towns deal with sigificant smog related problems, unless in the mountains (then you have snow). However as you go further north to places like Chico its not quite as bad, but still unhealthful.

IMO, San Jose/Silicon Valley has its challenges for single people. There have been a number of threads discussing the single social scene in the valley. Many work really long hours chasing the golden carrot. Hence the social scene and work/life balance aren't really so great. Many go from home to garage to car to work (late) then back home (repeat cycle). Some end up driving to SF for more social activities. That's gotta get tiring. Traffic can be really bad there just like SF, LA, SD. Its not that much different in that regard unless you stick to surface streets and never use the freeways. The Stanford/Palo Alto area is perhaps my favorite part if I had to live there for job purposes. If you have a social network through lets say a church, synagogue, etc... it could be somewhat easier to meet people in this very busy environment.

Derek

[5thgenSF]

Originally Posted by MtnSurfer

Yes, it will be hard to find the perfect place with all of these things because some contradict each other. For example plenty of single professionals, etc... yet not too much traffic. Usually plenty of single professionals means plenty of jobs to support their careers = more companies, traffic, etc... The closest to what you describe are usually university towns with 'some' commerce. So here are some with most of what you are looking for:

1. Monterey (include Carmel/Carmel Valley)
2. Manhattan Beach (and other South Bay beach cities)
3. San Luis Obispo
4. Santa Barbara (possibly Ventura)
5. Chico

Forget Rooseville/Sacramento for less pollution. Traffic is also an issue. Do a search on detailed discussions of smog in the Central Valley. Its been discussed many times with reference to reports which demontrate air quality problems. This is especially true for those who suffer from asthma. In fact most inland towns deal with sigificant smog related problems, unless in the mountains (then you have snow). However as you go further north to places like Chico its not quite as bad, but still unhealthful.

IMO, San Jose/Silicon Valley has its challenges for single people. There has been a number of threads discussing the single social scene in the valley. Many work really long hours chasing the golden carrot. Hence the social scene and work/life balance aren't always that good. Some end up driving to SF for more social activities. That's gotta get tiring. Traffic can be really bad there just like SF, LA, SD. Its not that much different in that regard unless you stick to surface streets and never use the freeways. The Stanford/Palo Alto area is perhaps my favorite part if I had to live there for job purposes.

Derek

good post!

no san diego?

[5thgenSF]

Originally Posted by Fontucky

Confucius say: "He who look for perfect place never satisfied."

the perfect place was palo alto, 40 years ago!

[Apple77]

Thank you very much for all of you for very helpful information and increasing my options. I understand it is hard to find a perfect place that meets all the criteria, that's why I listed them in the order of importance .

My first 5 criteria are most important for me in considering new place (safety, schools, more single professionals, climate, and local people being friendly to those who speak with accent), the rest is just "nice to have".

What other places would you recommend? Any advice is greatly appreciated!!

[5thgenSF]

i think they have pretty much covered all of california already. have you been to all these places?

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by 5thgenSF

i think they have pretty much covered all of california already. have you been to all these places?

This is a good point. We can throw our best suggestions/ideas out there. But only you will know once you visit these places to get a feel for them. Then you will be able to better compare and contrast their pros/cons with your preferences.

Since you don't want a small town nor the larger cities (e.g. LA, SD, SF) that narrows the field. Also a mild climate with plenty of single professionals further narrows options. So now its really just a matter of visiting them.

Derek

[hsw]

Perfection is illusory
But next best is arguably Woodside/PortolaVy/Atherton

[Apple77]

Thank you very much for helpful suggestions. I apprecate them greatly! So Silicon valley is not the best choice , as I see from the posts.

I been to Monterey, Carmel, Santa Cruz, Chico, but not the rest of places. I been just for short vocations and liked all of them, so hard to get a real feel, especially regarding the possibility of meeting single professionals (not young students, but rather people in mid 40's...) and also it is hard to determine during short visit how open minded and accepting local people are toward people from other cultures, which is very important for me.

All of those places meet the criteria of safety and good schools. Prior to going extensive travel in a limited vocation time I'd like to narrow the choices with the focus on two above mentioned criteria (single professional and no racism). Any suggestions?

[Apple77]

I'd also like to stay away from snooty and extremely expensive areas, and to find a community where it is easier for an immigrant to fit in. I am a US Citizen, but due to an accent do not want to be looked down at.

I lok forward to and appreciate any posts. Your input and thoughts are very helpful.

[MtnSurfer]

They all have different vibes/feels to them. Some prefer one over the other.

Santa Cruz is a college town with a lot that surfer town USA vibe. It is not as racially diverse as some of the other areas in the general Bay area. It is very liberal politically though I know some conservatives who live there as well. There is not as much work there so people commute into San Jose a lot or even Monterey. I work in Monterey with several people who live in Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz proper has a different vibe than its smaller suburb areas like Aptos, Capitola, Scotts Valley, etc... I think there are definately a lot of singles, many of which are college age.

Monterey has strong influence from the military presense (DLI, NPS, Fort Ord, the Presidio of Monterey, etc...). Even though the base is no longer active it still employs many people including those who commute in from Santa Cruz and even San Jose. Because of the Defense Language Institute and Monterey Institute of International Studies it is vary racially diverse. I work with people from many countries and its normal here. Monterey is known as the Language Capitol of the World. As far as singles, yes they are here. Like Santa Cruz many are students. But there are working professionals as well. Many are also married with families. Tourism is also a large industry with the Pebble Beach Company amoung others.

San Jose/Silicon Valley may or may not be a good fit. There are certainly a lot of people single and otherwise. I think it has more cultural diversity than Santa Cruz with some great international restaurants. Of course you have world class universities such as Stanford and its top notch medial center. That environment would be pretty cool to work in as a medical professional. Though I know some doctors who work at Stanford and they work very long hours typically. Maybe thats normal for a world class medical center though.

Sanata Barbara borders SoCal and Central Cal. They have a university. I don't think it is as ethnically diverse, but possibly more so than Santa Cruz. I have no idea about the single scene there beyond students. Regardless of which one you choose it would be good to connect with some kind of social groups like those related to your interests. Maybe a hiking club, community service group, church group, etc...

Others can comment on these as well as areas I am less familiar with like Chico.

Lastly keep in mind everyone has their own preferences/biases. So even though I prefer living in Monterey over San Jose. Maybe for you San Jose would be the best fit.

My 2c,

Derek