surfnturf wrote:If I wasn't so afraid of getting hit by a Prius, I would!

Dude, you have issues. I ride my bike to Santa Monica from Westchester, which is down by LAX--a 13 mile trip--and it takes me an hour. You must be driving a squirrel powered clown car if it takes you an hour to get from Santa Monica to Santa Monica.

Rather than providing any practical advice to the OP, you just sound like an angry Republican on a rant. Just take a slow sip of your soy chai latte as you look over the Santa Monica Bay with the mountains receding in the distance as you wind your way over to the Wednesday farmer's market and pick up some farm fresh produce to prepare for dinner, just after your post-work mt. bike ride in the Santa Monicas, the trailheads for which are only 10-15 mins. from your office. Yep, sounds like hell to me.

I can't stand Santa Monica either. What a mess!!

I can't stand any of Southern California ( other than Idylwild and Joshua Tree ) - which is why I got out 23 years ago.............

So, to come to a conclusion, stay in Boulder If you move back, you'll be much further from any climbing and mountains and will have to pay even more for a house. Unless you love the ocean and summer weather, I don't see the motivation

Craig Peer wrote:

I can't stand Santa Monica either. What a mess!!

I can't stand any of Southern California ( other than Idylwild and Joshua Tree ) - which is why I got out 23 years ago.............

Uh, yeah.....because it looks like THAT everywhere down here. Interesting............
I spent the day south of Julian XC skiing Cuyamaca Peak and touring through Laguna Mountain area. In 183 miles, I had TWO traffic lights.....and those are just a mile from my house. hmmmmmmmmmmmm

I vote for northern San Diego county, Del Mar, Leucadia, or Encinitas for overall quality of life, air quality, less traffic than LA or Orange county, and reasonable access to climbing areas. I've lived in Southern California since 1982, spent about 10 years in West LA, about 10 in Orange County, and the remainder in Del Mar. Northern San Diego county is the best of all those places. I can get to Idyllwild in 1 hr 45 minutes which is about what it would take from LA, given all the traffic on 10. There is quite a bit of rock climbing in San Diego county proper also, more than in Orange or LA counties, although to hot for me in the summer. Getting to the Eastern Sierra is about 4.5 hours, kind of a long haul up 15 / 215 / 395. Getting to the north face of San Jacinto or to San Gorgonio or the Mt Baldy area is a 2 hr proposition.

Without a doubt, Santa Barbara... far away from the LA nightmare, beautiful mountains, pristine beaches... what more could you ask for?

Michele wrote:I'm living in Boulder, Colorado currently and loving it. But 2011 may find me back in California and this time in the south. Where are the good towns in southern coastal California? I come from Santa Cruz, so a community with the arts and not too much of the plastic, strip mall type environment would be ideal and relatively easy access to climbing is imperative. Does this even exist? What about Encinitis? Any ideas would be appreciated.

y, Encinitas is a good place. i have worked there for 1 year. wonderful. beachy, walkable, cycleable, train stop there, and outdoorsy. close to SD climbing + josh/tahquitz too. it has that santa cruz feel too. i live near pasadena i like it here because i like the foothill community feel. santa monica/venice is crowded and expensive. i would only recommend that area if you are really gonna spend time at the beach. i would say the beach is the least utilized (and most overlooked) place in LA. i hope it stays that way. i luv running on the beach and walking the sands not to mention the sunsets!

overall, socal is cool just crowded. but i assume work is bringing you here. so you might as well enjoy it!

Michele, if you had to pick one or the other, would you rather be close to the ocean or close to the mountains? Realize the best would be both, but in my experience it's tough to have both without dealing with traffic.

I would pick mountains over ocean any day! I really love living in Boulder and for me it's utopia (outside of the winter) but circumstances are forcing me back to the CA coast. So, now it's a matter of where to live that's not too traffic laden, full of plastic surgery cases, strip malls, etc. And it sounds like there may be places like that. Of course opinions vary, but it seems like Encinitas and Ventura are distinct possibilities.

Thanks everyone for all those ideas. And look me up if any of you are ever in the Boulder area this year...Eldo and Lumpy are so good.

I wouldn't pick Santa Barbara. While the town and environment is beautiful, it's too far out there and you have to deal with the annoying 101. And yeah, it's expensive as hell!

Luciano136 wrote:I wouldn't pick Santa Barbara. While the town and environment is beautiful, it's too far out there and you have to deal with the annoying 101. And yeah, it's expensive as hell!

I know what you mean. I have been through there and while a beautiful area, it does feel quite removed.

I honestly would stay out of the whole West LA county area and Ventura. If you do want to be in LA, I would pick the foothills around Pasadena, even though that's already too much traffic for my liking. Northern OC seems like the best compromise to me; less crowded but still pretty close to everything. I can get from my front door 1.5mi from the beach to Manker Flats in 1h15min; not bad. The western portion of J Tree takes about 2h, just like Big Bear.

True, traffic sucks living on the westside, but if your job is in the area (downtown LA for me) SM offers superior location and amenities compared to other places IMO. Definitely no recreation opportunities in town, but stuff is accessible (eastern Sierra) if you leave at the right time, but thats true of pretty much anywhere in LA County.

Also for the record, the tax rate isn't even the highest in LA County and let alone the world and while 95% of the residents are Obama/Prius worshipers, there are a few of us right-wing SUV drivers left.

surfnturf wrote:I live in Santa Monica now and I can't stand it (in the process of getting out). I have a 6 mile commute to work and it takes me an hour! Trust me, Santa Monica is NOT the answer for outdoor enthusiasts. If you drive a Prius with an Obama sticker and enjoy drinking latte's while talking on two blackberrys, then Santa Monica might work for you. It's also one of the most expensive and heavily taxed areas in the world and the beach is useless most of the year due to pollution, rains, parking, and other one time events. Beaches in South Bay / OC / SD are way better. To me, Santa Monica doesn't sound like what you are looking for.