I am planning a move to California and am wondering where is the best place to go as far as rent and the cost of living and I suppose there are many other variables that will come to mind by the time I get set to go in the spring.
Despite the economy, people from other states still get a shock when they see the housing prices in CA. That's one of the reasons we have so many ex-Californians here, sell your house in CA and literally get twice as much for half the money. Do you have a job lined up in a certain area or will you just move out and start looking? The affordable places are either out in the boonies where there are no jobs, or nasty parts of big cities. You could try Oroville or grass Valley and commute to Sacramento to work.
Bisjoe makes a good point. LA and the Bay Area are very expensive. The Central Valley is very reasonable and the sticks are cheap. We're in the sticks and pay $550 for a 2 bedroom place. Saw where you could buy a house in a place called Trona (I've been there) for about $7000 clear title. Guess it all depends on what you consider an acceptable place to live.
Bisjoe makes a good point. LA and the Bay Area are very expensive. The Central Valley is very reasonable and the sticks are cheap. We're in the sticks and pay $550 for a 2 bedroom place. Saw where you could buy a house in a place called Trona (I've been there) for about $7000 clear title. Guess it all depends on what you consider an acceptable place to live.
I am not accustom to an expensive way of life, I live a modest life and in the sticks is were I have lived my whole life, it is were I am most happy. $550 for rent is more than I would pay around here but for California I am sure that that is very cheap. $7000 for a house sounds awfully cheap, surely you don't mean $7000, but that is right down my alley. I am starting my own business so where is not an issue as of yet, I would need to choose a place and then find out if my business could work there.
Despite the economy, people from other states still get a shock when they see the housing prices in CA. That's one of the reasons we have so many ex-Californians here, sell your house in CA and literally get twice as much for half the money. Do you have a job lined up in a certain area or will you just move out and start looking? The affordable places are either out in the boonies where there are no jobs, or nasty parts of big cities. You could try Oroville or grass Valley and commute to Sacramento to work.
Is Grass Valley affordable? I have a job in mind but will have to find an area and then see if my job will work out there.
I've been up in the Grass Valley area twice this year looking for houses, and most 3 bed/2 bath with 1-2 acres are running $400k - $450k.
That used to be cheap for CA, but I hear prices have dropped a lot from my family down there. For ideas check Realtor.com, they have both sale and rental listings.
I just checked for fun, Trona has 9 listings from $18,500 to $115,000. It's like going back in time. For me though, no thanks. Not a tree within 100 miles, no lakes, rivers or oceans, for a business no customers.
Grass Valley does have several under $200,000, even one for $65,000 on 1.5 acres but it's a tiny house. Nice area though in the Sierra Foothills.
California is a big place, narrow it down to region (northern, southern, inland, valley, mountain, coastal) and you will probably get more responses. Welcome!
California is a big place, narrow it down to region (northern, southern, inland, valley, mountain, coastal) and you will probably get more responses. Welcome!
Correction: California is a HUGE place and the regions are VERY different. For cheap(er) living, you're talking either mountains (not the KY kind), desert, or ag regions (also not the KY kind, but similar). Have a preference? How big of a local population do you need for your business or is it online/mail and doesn't matter? Why are you looking to come to CA?
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