With its 840 mile coastline and 163,707 sq miles, California offers its residents a unique way of life. You can choose to live in one of the largest cities in the world, Los Angeles, or shut yourself away in a small coastal town in Marin. You can feast your eyes on the majestic Pacific Ocean, or go water skiing at Lake Tahoe. But, as is the case everywhere, certain places in the Golden State are regarded as better than others, and it’s not always easy to decide where you might live, once you decide to relocate….
(emphasis mine)
I absolutely love Marin County. Mill Valley (#5) has been my all-time favorite town in the bay area since I stayed there at a friend’s house for a week in the ’70’s. It’s wa-a-a-a-y out of my price range now! Marin County is the best example of good planning in the entire state, with Mendocino County and El Dorado County 2nd and 3rd, respectively, IMO. The leaders in these counties have had nothing but preservation on their agendas for the last 50 years and it shows. All have had (subdivision) building moratoriums in place for decades, are low-density have generous single-family lots, have NO billboards, have NO big box stores, have NO franchise-type retail/fast food (very few in S. Lake Tahoe) and, except for S. Lake Tahoe (SLT), have very few multi-family units and the multi-family units and SFRs are never mixed, as it should be. Even SLT, a resort town, has a 3-story height limit on multifamily and most of it is just 2 stories high. The exception are the (newer) timeshares at the Heavenly Gondola, the 5-story (1st flr retail/office) Marriott Grand Residence Club, which is right on the state line.
The SLT area is absolutely stunning and kept pristine through the careful stewardship of the wise SLT City Council and El Dorado County Board of Supervisors who prohibited subdivisions there or anywhere along SR-89 on the west side of the lake. It’s still on my “retirement short list!”
On the list, #7 (Saratoga) and #10 (Livermore) are also fabulous towns, although Livermore can get extremely hot. However, it is very well-planned, very green and still “affordable.” Had I been able to relocate to Saratoga back in ~2000 when “sprawling ranch fixers” there were just $270-$300K, I would have immediately joined the Mountain Winery and would have been in heaven for the rest of my life! That town (with winding country roads to the west and southwest of it) is absolutely breathtaking and I love the lifestyle its incredible location affords. There’s nothing quite like it in CA, imho. I can easily see why those same large-lot ranch homes are now going for $1.5M to $2.5M!
Thanks for sharing this list of great towns in the Golden State, shoveler! Their ratings are well-deserved. I personally like all of them but Irvine and Redondo Beach, which are not my cup of tea.
