Favorite California city/town/village?

[river2]

I love Sonoma. Oh that valley is so beautiful.... Wine country, spanish mansions, meandering streams, bed and breakfasts, oak trees, and golden fields...

Whenever I hear Sting's 'Fields of Gold' I think of the Sonoma valley...

[Kathy in Cambridge]

1. Is that where you're from?

[river2]

2. no

but been there many times...spent months and months there....in a row...

[Sequoia]

62. Beautiful? Yes, Affordable? No way in hell.

[trof]

3. San Franisco

yep

[hippiegranny]

4. I'm going there in 2 weeks

for the first time. Also doing a day trip to Sonoma. I would like to use that day to gather info for a longer trip to just there.

[river2]

5. Glen Ellen

is in the Sonoma valley. Lovely little town, tucked away. Jack London's old house is there - and the Jack London State Park which is gorgeous goes up into the hills - you can either walk it - or rent horses.

[Sequoia]

65. Travel the beautiful River Road

from Healdsburg to Gurenville. Armstrong Woods is there with beautiful very big redwoods. All along the road are many wineries and Korbell is grand.

[GOPisEvil]

6. Santa Cruz.

I've only driven through for a bit, but I instantly liked Santa Cruz. I wish I could afford to live there.

[RevolutionStartsNow]

26. Yes, and near Santa Cruz is Aptos...

I came to Santa Cruz over 16 years ago, and instantly fell in love with it. It has just the right mix of beach and forest and hippies and political junkies and surfers and artists and cool stores and 2 independent movie theaters!

I've lived all over Santa Cruz, and now I live in Aptos, which is more forested but also right on the ocean. Just wonderful. There are times when I wish the weather was more like Santa Barbara but then I suppose it wouldn't be so green here.

[grace0418]

48. Aptos is beautiful!

When we rented a house in La Selva Beach last year, we had to pick up the keys at a realtor in Aptos. Just driving through we were in love with it. And I agree wholeheartedly with your description of the area. My niece lives in an apartment directly on the sand at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk. I asked her how she forces herself to actually go to class (UCSC) living in such an awesome spot. She says it's difficult.

[Gormy Cuss]

80. Aptos is on my short list

Nicene Marks, Rio del Mar and the charming beach town winding road down to it, the little park where the KPIG festivals were held. It's also a short drive to Santa Cruz and Tacos Moreno.

[RevolutionStartsNow]

83. And the other direction, not far from Big Sur, Carmel Valley...

and Monterey.

I really think I could live here forever, and that's saying something, considering I moved about every 3 years when I was a kid.

It's also a great place to raise kids, so many outdoor activities for them. I am just now getting my 9 year old into hiking -- so many incredible places to explore, and my 13 year old is a surfer.

My only complaint is that they are a bit sheltered -- it's fairly upper middle class and white -- not that there's anything wrong with that, LOL -- the only diversity is really in Watsonville, which is heavily populated by Mexican immigrants. There's a real divide, unfortunately.

[TheCentepedeShoes]

7. Carmel ?

Haven't been to CA since '63. Does Carmel still work as a good place?

[Ladyhawk]

68. Yep. Carmel is nice. So is Monterey just a little north of Carmel.

[zann725]

77. Amazing. The "energy" there, and the astounding natural beauty...

makes it my favorite place ever.

The whole Monterey Peninsula is lovely though.

[Forever Free]

8. Santa Barbara

Simply paradise.

[Justin54B20L]

57. I have to agree. Simply beautiful.

I had the great fortune of staying in/near Santa Barbara for a month back in 1998 and I have since longed to return. I stayed at a yoga retreat called White Lotus off of Rt. 150(I think). I can still conjure up memories that feel as fresh as the time I was there.

[Lannes]

9. Compton

Lots of great music came out of there.

[Lindsey]

10. I love the whole state and sometimes still can't believe I live here

(eventhough I moved here from Tx. 18 years ago)...but if I HAD to choose...I guess it'd be....I can't pick just one so:
Big Bear
Big Sur
San Francisco
Laguna Beach
Sonoma
Santa Barbara
Ojai

[bertha katzenengel]

17. LOL Yep. Pick one.

LOL

Ojai is lovely, isn't it?

[grace0418]

19. Lucky!

I would give my left arm to be able to live in California (I'd have to keep my right arm to do my job). The economy, the job market and the housing market prevent that right now. I guess I should just buy a lottery ticket...

[gardenista]

11. Hard to choose. Love all of it. You're right, tho, the whole county of

Sonoma is amazing.

[tyedyeto]

12. I love the Sierra's. ......

Lived for many years in Tuolumne County near Yosemite. Great pleace to raise a family!!!!

[Ladyhawk]

69. Yeah, the Sierras are great, except they've become infested with

fundies and rednecks. Folks here keep to themselves and the community and have no interest in learning anything "out of the box." I grew up here. I live here. It's disconcerting.

[maveric]

13. San Diego.

We've got it all down here. Repugs aside.

[kodi]

14. pt reyes

.

[grace0418]

20. Good one

We spent a day out there last year. It was breathtaking.

[kodi]

70. saw 3 whales, in february off the coast that trip

cold damned day, and beautiful. usually i stay at a b&b out there.

[grace0418]

81. Nice pic. 3 whales?! Awesome. We saw blue whales

on a whale-watching tour on that trip. That was amazing. The guy kept telling us not to expect much from blue whales because they don't frolic the way humpback whales do (because of their size). He said the most we'd see was the arch of their back and the water plume. Just as he was saying that a blue whale really arched out of the water, then totally flapped his tail. That was so cool.

[NV Whino]

15. So happy you all like Sonoma...

just that many fewer tourists in the Napa Valley.
:P

[Sequoia]

66. Less money for you too I guess!

Anyway, everyone knows there's the wine battle between the two counties. Sonoma and Russian River wines rule!

[bertha katzenengel]

16. Huntington Beach. My home town. A great place to visit. A great place

to be from. But as much as I miss it, I wouldn't want to live there anymore.

[cleofus1]

47. used to ride my 10 speed to huntington

when i was in high school...long trip but loved it...huntington was the beach we used to go to as a family...mom and dad and siblings in the station wagon...93 KHJ on the AM...listening to the beach boys...huntington was very cool...

[bertha katzenengel]

49. From where, cleofus?

93 KHJ! Heck yeah. Now there's a blast from the past! Did you get strips from the snack stand? :9

[cleofus1]

52. yup

i used to live in la puente as a kid...valley blvd and la seda...just down the street from azusa blvd...used to drive thru the hills to get to beach blvd and then straight shot down to the beach...lots o babes and cool waves...baby!

i had a volkscycle mark IV...skinny longhaired kid...

[grace0418]

18. I love Sonoma too. We rented a place north of Jenner

for a week and it was gorgeous. I loved it there. I also love Napa, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, the whole Monterey Bay area really. We also rented a place last summer in La Selva Beach and it was GORGEOUS. Watching dophins frolic in the water outside our deck was like a dream. I would move to Cali in a heartbeat if I could. Just thinking about it makes me hate Chicago.

[henslee]

37. Hey, i just posted Jenner too!!!! Did you go by the Timbre cove Inn?

What a cool joint.

[grace0418]

42. The turnoff to the place we stayed was RIGHT NEXT to the Timber

Cove Inn. It looked really neat. Did you stay there? We considered staying there but then found this house to rent that was really secluded. Other than a couple of forays into Sonoma Valley and Napa Valley, we spent the whole time relaxing, cooking, reading and tide-pooling. It was pure heaven... sigh....

[henslee]

45. stay there? nah. ate there. yeah. the place was built by some

crazy old hippie who ran out of money and was then finished by someone else/ The main huge lobby has a giant giant fireplace and a bunch of pet cats in it. And the folks that run it feed the local racoons so as you eat dinner and look out the windows, you see a bunch of racoons little eyes in the trees. Oh and i'm sure the view rocks in the day.

[deadparrot]

21. Napa.

Reminds me of Tuscany...I've always dreamed of living in wine country. :)

[tyedyeto]

22. Seems like.....

everyone's 'into' the wine country. There is more to California than just that region.

I lived in the Sierra's for many years. Love the ocean (Monterey, Half Moon Bay, No. CA coast),love the mountains, deserts there are awesome cities (esp. SF).

There is so much variety there. What is to say that one region is better than another?

[Arugula Latte]

23. My heart belongs to Berkeley.

That view from the hills, west over the campus to S.F. and the Bay ... sigh ...

[Crazy Guggenheim]

27. I lived there for many years. Sometimes I miss it.

[Seabiscuit]

30. So does this Berkeley alum's heart. :)

But I love where I live now - Del Mar.

[Arugula Latte]

44. Hey, class of '88 here ...

:hi:

Del Mar is gorgeous as well.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

24. Well, I've got to put in my two cents for MY little town, Manhattan Beach

since it is where I live. The coastline here is breathtaking and the views of Catalina and Pt.Reyes and Malibu are wonderful...I feel very lucky to be here...

[cleofus1]

34. i have some very close friends in MB and in Redondo

very nice places to be...love the pier...when i lived in compton i used to walk to the pier on the weekends...years ago...

[Kathleen04]

25. Riverside!

Simply because that's where I'm from. But if I'm going for beauty, I'd say the Tahoe area. :)

[foreigncorrespondent]

28. Stinson!

Beautiful little beach side community. Great beach. Just down the road is Point Reyes.

Sapphocrat asked me to marry her on Stinson beach right at sunset. She couldn't have chosen a more romantic spot to do it. :)

[Blue_In_AK]

31. I lived in Bolinas from 1970-74 (near Stinson Beach)

which is my favorite place in California. My oldest daughter was born there in 1972 at home with a houseful of friends and a midwife. I have wonderful memories of that place. Last month I was there for the first time since 1974 ... major nostalgia. I couldn't believe that some of my old friends were still there after all these years.

[Left Is Write]

29. I've only been to a few - San Francisco, Sausalito, Vallejo.

I've been to Tahoe too. I think the whole Lake Tahoe area is the most beautiful place I've ever been to.

[Carla in Ca]

32. I am a second generation native of Ca

My favorite place...Dodger Stadium.

[RevCheesehead]

33. Solvang.

I lived there for a year, in the great Santa Ynez Valley. It was great, but I sure missed the snow. (now? Not so much)

[BlueIris]

35. Redding.

Or pretty much anywhere in that little area of North State. Love it. Such nice, friendly people.

[henslee]

36. Jenner /Russian River is so pretty and cool. Except that there is a weird

killer who hasnt been caught who shot that young couple sleeping on the beach about a year and half ago.

[grace0418]

51. Yeah, that happened right after we stayed there. That was weird.

Even so, beautiful area. And people get shot in my neighborhood once a year pretty much, so I guess that's not really a big problem for me.

[Sugar Smack]

38. I love San Francisco and Monterey!

They are two very different and beautiful areas.

[SarahB]

39. San Francisco.

I've never been to California, but I was conceived in San Francisco, so I guess I'd go for that. Although I question it's futility sometimes. Clarence? Clarence? Tell me what's the point?

[kwassa]

40. Los Angeles

It's got everything, good, bad, indifferent. I lived there 17 years.

If I moved back to the area, it would be either Redondo or Hermosa Beach.

[swag]

41. 29 Palms has its scuzzy charms, and Bakersfield is so fucked out,

but I like SF best.

Santa Cruz has the right attitude, though.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

43. Haha...tombstoned!

I knew this one was striving too hard for believe-ability

[cleofus1]

46. damn....

just for complementing sonoma?

[Misunderestimator]

53. LOL.... I hadn't even noticed...

losing my edge I guess...

[Sequoia]

64. How could you tell?

[ronnykmarshall]

50. San Francisco

:loveya:

[cleofus1]

54. ah the sights and sounds of Los Angeles

though i haven't lived there in years...this sight is burned into my mind...the freeway around la puente

[khashka]

55. SF

The hills, the weather, the little neighborhoods, the random anonymous sex, the progressiveness. San Fran will always be my true love.

However, I have been known to flirt with the Peoples' Republic of Berkely.....


Khash.

[jswordy]

56. Redding.

[Crazy Guggenheim]

78. Why Redding?

[Hand]

58. Bakersfield--Needles is a close second.

Just kidding. :evilgrin:

[desertalien]

59. ROTFLMAO! Bakersfield?

Mammoth Lakes, eastern sierras. Beautiful!

[redacted]

60. Please come to Sonoma.

The local economy needs YOU, and we are all by some huge percentage Democrats.

[JRob]

61. Hermosa/Manhattan Beach circa 1975

and a lot of the coast, starting about 20 years back... with few exceptions So. Cal. has become an over-priced series of cookie cutter sudo-Mediterranean sub-developments, corp. strip centers and malls...

signed, a 3rd generation Californian that move his family out of the state in 2002.

[Sequoia]

63. Yosemite Village

okay, Santa Monica, and yes Sonoma and Marin Counties.

[Mr. McD]

67. Monteray Bay- Big Sur

Love it there.:) :loveya:

[zann725]

79. Nothing like a slow drive down Highway 1 (Big Sur) at 7:00 a.m....

to take one's breath away. (If you go early in the morning, you can keep pulling over to oooo and ahhh and just take it all in. Plus in the early morn, you get all the ocean mist on the cliffs at its best.)

Gosh I love that area. Sigh...

[Awsi Dooger]

71. Baker

You've got the Bun Boy restaurant and the world's tallest thermometer, no doubt boasting a high number these days. Desert flowers nearby and a big hill on I-15 in case your engine is dangerously cool.

[nicktom]

72. Myers Flat, Humboldt county,

Tiny town in the middle of the Humboldt Redwoods State park. About the mid point on the Avenue of the Giants, the most surreal drive I have ever taken. Great fishing, camping and hiking. You feel like you are on another planet.

[LeftyMom]

73. Stockton!

:spray: :rofl: :rofl:













Oh, and a little :sarcasm: smiley for the humor impaired or those fortunate enough to be unfamiliar with Stockton, CA.

[Redstone]

74. Lone Pine and Darwin.

Also Independence, Kelso, and Bishop.

And Mono Lake, though that's not a town, so I'll subsitute Lee Vining.

Redstone

[nicktom]

75. That whole stretch of U.S. 395 all the way to

Nevada is awesome.

[Redstone]

76. Yes, sir. One of my favorite roads in the whole USA.

Redstone

[carpetbagger]

82. Bombay Beach.

It's the quintessential post-apocalyptic desert-wasteland spot. Mud-flooded trailers in the blazing heat snuggling up to a briny, reddish-brown waterfront.

[salin]

84. East Palo Alto

... hey I lived there for years - gotta count for something

even though it was the murder capitol - per capita of the country in '93; and didn't get its first atm machine - any where in the community, until about 1998... hey - it was still an.... er... interesting place to live.

[SW FL Dem]

85. Ventura County

The best of So Cal, hills, mountains and ocean breezes, wonderful fresh produce, strawberries picked off the vines, corn right off the stalk.