where should i live in California?

[CA central coast]

Chico St., Humboldt St., Simpson College in Redding. Maybe UC-Merced? Merced is flat, but the foothills are nearby and so is Yosemite NP.

[Den Mathias]

Originally Posted by Steve97415

It doesn't show average winter temperature. It shows what you should expect for your lowest overnight low in winter during an extreme cold event -- one that occurs every ten years or so. Huntsville's characteristic winter lows may be in the 30's but it has many subzero lows on record (-11F is the all-time record). The map doesn't suggest anything about how warm it gets during the day in winter, and as such is only a rough approximation of overall climatic mildness.

Steve that is a great map! do you know of a place that can zero in to a smaller scale? Maybe find out the climate by say the zipcode?

[coyoteskye]

Originally Posted by chrissy1913

Hi all!
I am looking to relocate to California, but my knowledge on the state is rather limited. I was hoping people who know much more about some of the cities and/or areas of the state will be able to aid me in my search! Thanks for any help you can give! Here is what im looking for.

-A temperate climate, where i get all 4 seasons, even if just a little. If it tips just a touch to the cold or hot side, though, thats fine.
-Not flat! I love mountains, but hills are okay too. I am okay living on the coast, but dont need it.
-Lush vegetation, no desert for me please.
-Im okay with rain.
-if i had my choice i would take mountains over beach. And i love woods and national parks.
-It needs to have a university with grad programs. I dont care whether its a big or small school though.
-I either want a small college town, or a smaller town (150,000 people or less within 45 minutes of a bigger city.)
-hopefully a semi-affordable town/city
-i hate traffic!
-I would also prefer a more liberal than conservative area, not too crazy, just leaning more to the liberal side.

Can anyone offer any ideas? Or even help me reduce my search field down from the california as a whole to a certain area of the state?

Santa Cruz county (Santa Cruz, Capitola, Aptos, Soquel and parts of Watsonville). "Mountains" (they're really hills for those of us who know what real mountains are), redwoods (a lot), lush, green, beautiful, state parks, ocean, liberal, tolerant, diverse, UCSC, .......
There is traffic during rush hour on HW1 but there are ways to avoid it within the county itself. If you're travelling over HW17 to and from San Jose, that's another story.
There are seasons ... they are subtle yet strong, there is alot of rain in the winter but plenty of long stretches of sunny beautiful days as well.
S.F. less than 2 hrs to the north and Monterey just down the road (less than an hour).
I just saw that your budget allows for around $800.00 a month for a rental. This is an expensive area. You may have to pay a bit more for rent or, if you're young and open to house shares, that will allow you to spend less than than $800.00 for monthly rent.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Sac State ... but it's a bit more urban anywhere close enough to go to school there.