I live in Lake County which borders Napa and Sonoma counties on their North. Now we don't have that wonderful weather like San Diego, and we are not as blue as other places, but in recent years Democrats win here and we are trending more blue every year. Triple digit temps are not unusual during the summer, and a light dusting of snow once or twice during the winter sometimes happens.
What we do have is the largest natural lake in California, Clear Lake, with world class bass fishing. The lake is 44,000 acres and very uncrowded. Great place for sailing, too. We live in a very nice senior mobile home park one mile from the shore of that lake and we paid in the low five figures for the home and our space rent is less than $500 a month. Very little traffic and noise and a low stress level. Clean air to breath. Yes, there is a risk of fires, but some areas are relatively safe.
Now we don't have world class shopping and dining and the nearest international airport is 100 miles away in Sacramento. San Francisco is also about 100 miles away. Close enough for overnight trips to a ball game or other events. We go there several times a year. Costco is about 50 miles away, convenient enough for semi-weekly shopping trips. Medical care is very good with two small hospitals.
In short, we are living quite comfortably on a mid five figure income. I'm sure not everyone wants to live in a trailer park, but you can buy a nice house around here for 300K or even less. I sold my last house here for 260K and it was on a golf course.
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