Older Folks/Parents - Advice on Moving to Cali?

Hi there! Haven't posted on these boards in a LOOOONG time - after 9/11 they got infiltrated by a bunch of pro-america types and got real annoying, but it just dawned on me that some folks here might be able to offer me good advice. I'm not dissing younger folks, and if you have good advice I don't care what age you are, but I know for younger childless people, it's probably way easier to move and rent a room/travel around searching for the perfect place/check out shorter-term situations, etc. So I was hoping maybe some older folks and/or people with kids could help out.

My husband and I are living in PA with our 3 young kids and absolutely despise it here. I have waist-length dreads and my husband has long hair. Everywhere I go, people either give me dirty looks or ask me questions about my hair (I don't mind answering questions, but this is ALL anyone ever talks to me about here, you know, like I'm a sideshow). We're vegetarian, extremely socially liberal, and my husband genuinely needs medical marijuana for his adult ADD. The scene here is really dull and drab - we lived in Madison, WI for a while and there were street musicians, kid-friendly block parties, lots of interesting and friendly people, lots of vegetarian places, etc. We would have stayed there, but it was freezing cold. We ended up back here because my family's here. But neither of us can take it much longer.

I have a couple friends in northern California, and they - along with other people I've met over the years - tell us constantly that we would be so much happier out there. I've been out a couple times for short visits and thought pretty much everywhere I went was amazingly beautiful. Loved the hot springs and redwoods, especially.

My worry is money. My husband is an electrician and we are getting by ok here, but it's hard to save much. We'd have to sacrifice to save enough to move out there, and then that would be it. We'd be stuck. So moving that far is a big deal for us, and we don't want to do anything crazy with our kids. I was reading the citydata forums, and people were talking about home prices around $600,000 for something "decent." Hoping parent-types or older folks can give some input on the cost of living there for more hippie types. We buy at thrift stores, aren't interested in new gadgets, would be happy to not have cable or go out to eat much in order to save money, etc. We're happy to live in an older home and keep a car till it dies. But we don't want to be in a situation where we have to move our kids to a bad area because we can't afford to live anywhere or have them in the worst schools in the state or something.

Sorry this is getting long, but I'll just add - we absolutely love water (oceans or rivers) and would like to be within an hour of some nice swimming if possible. I've had Santa Rosa and Guerneville recommended on the citydata forums, as well as Sebastapol. My friend lives near Arcata, but I'm starting to think that it's too rainy and cloudy for what we'd really like. Anyone have any input on these places, or can you recommend new ones? We are really looking for places with sizeable groups of welcoming, community-minded, conscious, solid progressives - not somewhere with lots of fake yuppie types, or partying and weed (though we're not against this, but we're looking for home WITH a party, not JUST a party...lol). Hope I've been clear - please feel free to ask me ANYTHING if you think you can help!

 

Hamilton Solar Village (Formerly Hamilton Air Force Base,Marin County,Calif.)

 

Interesting video, and I'm actually familiar with McKenna's philosophies, but unfortunately doesn't help with locations that might be good for my family to live...

 

I used to live in Mariposa county CA.... in the mountains. Beautiful area. Big thing about all of CA. Damn expen$ive.

 

http://discoveryhomes.com/areamap.php

 

it isn't eden. it's just a place. and there's every kind of people here just like there is every place else.

that would be my first word of advice to anyone who thinks california is some kind of hippie promessed land.

cities are cities and rural folk are rural folk, here like everyplace else too.

none of which is any sort of reason to stay away. it's just don't expect any more here then you would anyplace else.