After being cleared for light duty following recovery from a hernia operation last month my wife and I flew out to California from our home in Florida to help my daughter find an apartment and move from the house she shared with her fiance. Bad breakup but initiated by my daughter and the guy was the teary eyed one during the process of getting her moved out and into a new place. Just a few observations about California since this was our second trip of over a week long in less than a year. Temps during the middle of the day in the central valley(Fresno) were running from about 95 to 104 with the humidity abound 22 to 23 percent. We could comfortably sit outside under shade and eat lunch up to about 97 degrees and then after that we finally started noticing the heat and headed for AC. Here in Florida I can't sit out on my Lanai in even 80 degree temps and comfortably enjoy my lunch before heading into the house for the AC. Mornings and early evenings in Cali were positively perfect temperature for anything we wanted to do and the only time we were even a little bit uncomfortable was for a couple of hours in the middle of the day and then only when in it for more than an hour at a time. Never any sweat running down my face or clothes sticking to me soaking wet with perspiration. Wow! A guy could get used to that pretty quickly. We were able take a few hours off to drive up to Shaver Lake in the Sierra National Forest for a pleasant afternoon. If it wasn't for my fishing addiction I would seriously consider moving out to somewhere in California even at my age. Love the friendly easy going people and the variety of places to go and things to do from the mountains to the sea. When we arrived back in LA in the late afternoon to return the rental car and check in for the return flight the temps were perfect with a slight breeze and positively glorious. We got back to Florida yesterday morning and as soon as we walked out the airport doors the heat and humidity pummeled us into a slight non talking depression. But our spirits lightened up on the drive home observing all the shades of green in the environment compared to the shades of brown in California. Too bad we aren't wealthy enough to maintain a house in each state and go back and forth on a whim.

Nice review and spot on. I lived in Florida a few years and couldn't handle the humidity and heat. CA has it all when it comes to weather which is why so many have come here.
Shaver Lake is a tremendous area though Fresno isn't one of the bright spots. Regardless. Even the more conservative that live here and grouse about some policies never seem to hate it enough to leave.....which speaks volumes.

The only reason my daughter moved to Fresno from Sarasota was because of a job offer. Her fiance got a film job with ABC Disney News and she got a graphic design coordinator job with Duncan Enterprises both in Fresno. On the plus side the cost of living is low in Fresno and like any town there are nicer neighborhoods to choose from.
I found that you can get to many interesting destinations quickly from Fresno. Sequoia National Forest, Sierra National Forest and Yosemite being the closest and all about one hours drive from Fresno. Going west, Monterey, San Jose, & San Francisco are just a short hike. Then the fruit & vegetables available in Fresno which is in the center of the San Joaquin Valley in the southern part of California's Central Valley is amazingly good, fresh, & cheap. But, if I were to move to California I would choose more of a country location with easy access to a major metro area for jobs and shopping. I drive a semi part time and my wife is manager at a Marshalls dept. store so we can move rather easily and she can transfer and I have never had trouble finding work. takehikes wrote:
Nice review and spot on. I lived in Florida a few years and couldn't handle the humidity and heat. CA has it all when it comes to weather which is why so many have come here.
Shaver Lake is a tremendous area though Fresno isn't one of the bright spots. Regardless. Even the more conservative that live here and grouse about some policies never seem to hate it enough to leave.....which speaks volumes.

I lived in Fremont CA between 1988 & 2001.
I hated leaving & if I could pull up roots again somehow I'd go back in a heartbeat.
There were days I would be downhill skiing in Tahoe in the morning & bodysurfing in Santa Cruz before sundown.
I think I'd head for the Gold Country if I ever did go back, or maybe the Wine Country north of SF.
Both just gorgeous country.

You know it's funny you should make these comments because there are so many places to set down roots in California that it's really difficult to decide where in the state to relocate. Even the coastal areas if you stay away from the major metro areas are affordable and the full length of the central valley is a possibility. Then there are the small towns in the foothills which offer great views of the mountains but are still within a short commute of towns large enough to have a Marshalls, Home Goods, TJ Maxx, or Sierra Trading Post (wifes corporate group) so she could transfer seamlessly, maintain her position, salary, and seniority. Oh yeah, noticed that you live in Wisconsin and forgot to add that my wife grew up on a dairy farm in southern Wisconsin. BubbaKahuna wrote:
I lived in Fremont CA between 1988 & 2001.
I hated leaving & if I could pull up roots again somehow I'd go back in a heartbeat.
There were days I would be downhill skiing in Tahoe in the morning & bodysurfing in Santa Cruz before sundown.
I think I'd head for the Gold Country if I ever did go back, or maybe the Wine Country north of SF.
Both just gorgeous country.

I flew from Florida to California for work numerous times in the past. My observations about the weather, scenery and how nice the average person is that you meet on the street were the same as listed above. My wife flew out there one of the times I was in Huntington Beach to spend a few days with me for sightseeing, driving up the Pacific Coast Hwy etc. We had a great time

As much as I liked it I could never live there because of their bizarre politicians who are so anti second amendment.

Shoot the perp, change out the mag, then call the police to write up the report. Not a big deal to me. 30 round mag in the rifle at home and three 10 round mags at the range. 129drifter wrote:
I flew from Florida to California for work numerous times in the past. My observations about the weather, scenery and how nice the average person is that you meet on the street were the same as listed above. My wife flew out there one of the times I was in Huntington Beach to spend a few days with me for sightseeing, driving up the Pacific Coast Hwy etc. We had a great time

As much as I liked it I could never live there because of their bizarre politicians who are so anti second amendment.

curmudgeon666 wrote:
The only reason my daughter moved to Fresno from Sarasota was because of a job offer. Her fiance got a film job with ABC Disney News and she got a graphic design coordinator job with Duncan Enterprises both in Fresno. On the plus side the cost of living is low in Fresno and like any town there are nicer neighborhoods to choose from.
I found that you can get to many interesting destinations quickly from Fresno. Sequoia National Forest, Sierra National Forest and Yosemite being the closest and all about one hours drive from Fresno. Going west, Monterey, San Jose, & San Francisco are just a short hike. Then the fruit & vegetables available in Fresno which is in the center of the San Joaquin Valley in the southern part of California's Central Valley is amazingly good, fresh, & cheap. But, if I were to move to California I would choose more of a country location with easy access to a major metro area for jobs and shopping. I drive a semi part time and my wife is manager at a Marshalls dept. store so we can move rather easily and she can transfer and I have never had trouble finding work. takehikes wrote:
Nice review and spot on. I lived in Florida a few years and couldn't handle the humidity and heat. CA has it all when it comes to weather which is why so many have come here.
Shaver Lake is a tremendous area though Fresno isn't one of the bright spots. Regardless. Even the more conservative that live here and grouse about some policies never seem to hate it enough to leave.....which speaks volumes.

I live just 30 miles above Fresno in Madera and the one thing central cal has is it's only a couple hours from everywhere. mountains one way ocean the other,glad you had a good time there. Ken

Hey Doug,
Glad to see your up and around again, take it easy for a spell and heal up
Thanks for the report on Calif. Makes me want to go there, a little. But I'm not movin.

I do really enjoy living in the northern cali mountains. Up here, rarely gets hotter then 90, always nice dry heat. Humidity just kills me.
My friend who lives in florida has been trying to get me to move there for years, but the heat and humidity would kill me.

You can find just about anything that would suit you in this state. I prefer the higher elevations and lower populations, but there are some really nice communities even around the outsides of the major cities.