Is there a "safe" city in CA??? (San Diego: apartment, rental)

[star13]

Hi everyone!! I currently live in Central IL, and I am looking to relocate to California. I have also lived in NYC & Chicago. It seems like every city in CA that I look into has some major concerns attached to living there. I looked into Fresno: high crime & poverty and lots of smog. LA: lots of traffic & smog. Sacramento: huge potential for being flooded by the dam or the levees breaking. Most cities in southern Cali: lie on the fault line and everyone is saying that southern Cali is primed for the next "big one".
I really wanted to move somewhere that doesn't have snow, and I love the thought of living somewhere that has dry heat. I am beyond tired of winter, snow, and humidity! I don't want to live in a little town with not much to offer with respect to activities & jobs. I also want to live somewhere that doesn't have extreme traffic problems or lots of smog. I also want a city that is diverse with regard to its people and activities. I would also love to live somewhere with healthy food options everywhere instead of nothing but McDonalds and Burger King on every corner. I would also need reasonable rental rates.
Is there a city in CA that isn't primed for some big disaster and that offers the things I've mentioned that I'm looking for?? PLEASE HELP!!!!

[Roma]

I just wanted to comment on earthquakes because you seem concerned and for good reason.Earthquakes are just part of life in California. Just like other natural disasters that happen all over the world, Hurricanes, Tornadoes, ect.
San Fransisco in not in Southern California and it has big earthquakes so it is not just Southern California you have to be worried about for earthquakes.
I lived in Northridge when the 1994 earthquake hit. I had a apartment at the time and it was condemmed due to so much damage from it. The office where I worked in Simi Valley also was so damaged that they had to close the building too. So I know all I want to know about earthquakes. There are no warnings like you have in a Hurricane or something of that nature.
California is so large and has so much to offer pretty much anyone, that I am sure you can find your spot with some good researching. Good Luck in your search!

[Winston Smith]

Originally Posted by star13

...It seems like every city in CA that I look into has some major concerns attached to living there. I looked into Fresno: high crime & poverty and lots of smog. LA: lots of traffic & smog. Sacramento: huge potential for being flooded by the dam or the levees breaking. Most cities in southern Cali: lie on the fault line and everyone is saying that southern Cali is primed for the next "big one"....

I don't want to live in a little town.... I also want to live somewhere that doesn't have extreme traffic problems or lots of smog. I also want a city that is diverse with regard to its people and activities. I would also love to live somewhere with healthy food options everywhere instead of nothing but McDonalds and Burger King on every corner. I would also need reasonable rental rates.
Is there a city in CA that isn't primed for some big disaster and that offers the things I've mentioned that I'm looking for?? PLEASE HELP!!!!

Congratulations on your work so far, but please let me suggest that you need to dig further. So far you've gained some broad generalizations, but you need to get beyond those. For example, within the areas you've mentioned, you can find safe, healthy, less-congested, diverse enclaves. California is a big and vastly varied state with many nuances and complexities. You can approach narrowing down your choices from many angles, which you already have a good start with. But you might try a couple of others:

Weather and geography - can you narrow this down to things you can live with vs. things you can't (i.e. pine trees, beach, rain/drizzle, blazing hot, etc.)?

If the "big one" bothers you, stay away from areas near big, active earthquake faults. Again, you'll have to research this in some detail. Ground zero for the next "big one" is expected to be in the Coachella Valley (Palm Springs area). San Francisco could also be hit severely since the San Andreas EQ fault runs through the city.

With respect to earthquakes, I'd like to point out that the Pacific Northwest is overdue for a "mega quake" (Richter-scale 9 or greater) on the Cascadia. This would be an Indonesia-style quake that could affect the entire coast from Eureka, CA to Vancouver, BC, Canada, causing massive coastal flooding and a tsunami that could reach Japan. Just something to consider as you make your choices.

[bkeast]

Hi Star13, Well, I've lived in Southern Cali my whole life and can't think of a city off the top of my head that meets all your criteria. The best I can do is suggest to you the city I live in, which is in the valley (Inland Empire): Rancho Cucamonga (also borders Alta Loma). It does have quite a few of the things you're looking for, such as dry heat and no snow, it's a very safe city, it's upscale, but not overly expensive (compared to LA, San Diego, Fresno, etc.), and it has a lot to offer in the way of entertainment. Even though it's a booming city with tons of new construction, it's still very much a family-oriented city with low crime rates and beautiful views of the foothills. The draw back is that with all the new construction, the traffic here is not the greatest. However, the streets are all very well constructed, so you don't deal with bottle-necking and those sorts of problems; just lots of cars on the road. And you'll have to deal with freeway traffic since the freeways you'd have to use would be LA freeways, but I can't think of anywhere in Southern California where you won't deal with that. I encourage you to look up Rancho Cucamonga (and Alta Loma) and see what it's all about. It really is one of the nicest cities to live in, in SoCal. Oh, and about the earthquakes, yes, we have them, but we are also very prepared for them, so short of a 10.0 that turns Cali into an island, we're pretty well prepared with up-to-date building codes, and damage is usually minimal. Where you live now, I'd be more worried about the New Madrid fault, since the MidWest isn't nearly as prepared for structural damage as California is, and the ground is so much different. Good luck to you.

[star13]

Thank you for your responses! ...The search definitely continues!! I really want to get out of the midwest and be near one of the coasts again, but the west has earthquakes and the east has hurricanes. How do you choose between the two?? If I factor in that I don't want to live anywhere that it snows and has mild winters, my options seem to be very limited.

[greatbasinguide]

In 1811 there was an earthquake in Missouri on the New Madrid fault that made the Mississippi River run backwards and rang churchbells is Boston a thousand miles away. If you want to a place without danger, you are out of luck.

[SusannaK]

Originally Posted by star13

the west has earthquakes and the east has hurricanes. How do you choose between the two??

I've lived both on the west coast and the east coast, so I've experienced both. Personally, I'll take my chances with an earthquake any day over a hurricane. Earthquakes only last for a few seconds, and big ones don't happen very often. Yes, you know ahead of time if a hurricane's coming, but it's not always possible to get out of the way in time and you're more likely to come home to a lot of damage.

[merlin70]

Actually, if you like dry heat so much why not move to AZ?

All the dry heat you can stand, and no humidity.

Plus virtually no fires, no earthquakes, no hurricanes, etc.

[kawgpz550]

Try checking out Redding, CA. It does snow some years, but not every year. It is VERY BEAUTIFUL in Northern California. I was raised there and have a sister that still lives there. The place has grown ALOT and there is about anything and everything you could want, but away from the faults etc. It is diverse there. It may not be as large as say Chicago or New York, but I think that is a good thing It's usually kind of hot in summer, but not unbearable. Check out the city-data info https://www.city-data.com/city/Redding-California.html
It is really GORGEOUS! I think you would love it there.

[kawgpz550]

Another side note:
I think the stats on the city data site are a bit inaccurate.
Races in Redding:

* White Non-Hispanic (85.7%)
* Hispanic (5.4%)
* American Indian (3.8%)
* Two or more races (3.3%)
* Other Asian (1.9%)
* Other race (1.6%)
* Black (1.1%)
I don't know how this is figured, but from experience, there is a slightly higher Hispanic population than suggested here, and somewhat higher on the African American as well. Maybe check out some other sites.