Would you move to Monterey, CA?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Love it there! Very pretty, and lots to do. However, I don’t get the sense it’s a great place to raise young kids. It seems like a much older crowd of people who retired there. I’m sure there are young families but it might be something you want to look into before committing to moving there.

I'm the pp that used to live there, and this is true. There are families, but not as many as previously, as now it's becoming more of a tourist/vacation home area. I also feel that there are not as many kids' activities as you see in the DMV, because it's really a small area. You can go to the beach and outdoor activities, but after a while that's not so interesting when the ocean water is cold AF and it's cloudy all of the time.

In response to one of the pp's saying that it's too expensive, my relatives have lived there for years with an income far less than 350k, and they are doing fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look at Pacific Grove.

You can't get much for under $2M.

If it weren't for the COL, I'd move there in a heartbeat. I'm not sure $350K will get you very far unfortunately.

My relatives have lived there for years with an income far less than that. Granted, a lot of people rent there.

[Anonymous]

Long time ago when I lived in Silicon Valley area, I wanted to move into Monterey area and I did a year long extensive housing search for that area. Eventually I gave up making a move for some reason. Anyway, during my visits in Monterey area, I really loved Monterey-Salinas Freeway area, especially Washington Union Elementary School district area located between Monterey and Salinas. The area with beautiful hills is dotted with many luxury mansions with a great view, and boasts of the perfect weather, not hot and not cold all through the year. I loved its top notched public schools, elementary and middle schools. Still the Monterey-Salinas Freeway area is where I dream as my future retirement place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What do you do that Monterrey has more job opportunities? Just out of curiousity- Monterrey isn’t exactly known as a hub for high paying jobs.

My question too! Marine biologist?

[Anonymous]

OP here. All great recommendations and input, thank you everyone! I have been looking at the homes in Pacific Grove and the Washington Union school district, and I have to admit, we are very torn about this. We have a fairly large, newer home for under 1 million here in DC, and are happy here with the options for our toddler. To get a house in a good school district in Monterey, as others have pointed out, you have to go well north of 1 million. We would absolutely be comfortable downsizing to a bungalow, but still it does look hard to find anything that is not very old/small for around 1 million. I know that Monterey is a good option to have, but still not sure if it will be a complete culture shock and if there will be enough for our DS to do in the area given some comments about this being a touristy/retirement community.

[Anonymous]

We lived there when our kids were toddlers and have friends who are still there. There are tons of families with kids in Monterey and Pacific Grove and all sorts of sports, clubs, dance lessons, etc. for kids just like you would find anywhere. I'd happily take my high-schoolers back if the opportunity arose.

[Anonymous]

Absolutely without a second thought.

[Anonymous]

Do it op! I was born and raised in Monterrey. Went away for college, but am back and wouldn't live anywhere else. It's relatively quiet, safe, and a boat load to do in or around the city. He weather rocks year around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do you do that Monterrey has more job opportunities? Just out of curiousity- Monterrey isn’t exactly known as a hub for high paying jobs.

My question too! Marine biologist?

I'd guess military / defense. There's a huge military presence there.

[Anonymous]

We live in the Bay Area. There are very few scenarios in which I'd advise someone to move to California right now, but yours is one of the very few where it would be a great move. There are many families there, and if you're not trying to commute to Silicon Valley, the traffic isn't bad.

The main consideration in not doing it would be where your families live. If they are in the DC area--don't underestimate how far it is, how challenging being away from family is, and how much trekking across the country with a toddler will take out of you. If they live elsewhere anyway, you're set. We contemplate moving back periodically but there is so much in CA that we've gotten used to and would miss at this point (and DH, who is from CA, cannot deal with DC weather at all!)

[Anonymous]

We currently live in Monterey. Schools are not great, even Carmel Unified and PG Unified offer far less than just about any district in DMV. Things like busses to and from school or afterschool activities do not exist here. Unless you have the money for Stevenson, you will be underwhelmed. Most of the other private schools in the area are mediocre at best. The local community colleges are wonderful and are partnering with local public high schools offering dual enrollment which is promising. There are tons of opportunities if you look for them, STEM programs for girls and boys, sports, though much smaller than DMV. No lacrosse but water polo is big. I really like that at the high school level, kids can join any sport without having played it prior. It’s a small community so everyone gets a chance to play. Local music and theater options for kids and adults are plentiful if you or your children are interested in that. Monterey Jazz Festival is wonderful and they have a great student program. It’s beautiful, there is a farmer’s market somewhere nearby every day of the week, hiking, camping, water sports etc. We now have paddle boards, surf boards, boogie boards and an array of wetsuits and swim year round. We live within walking distance to the beach and downtown Monterey. It’s a very walkable, bikeable area. My teens easily meet with their friends to hang out, volunteer at the Aquarium, go to sports games, meet at the Sports Center etc They take thier bikes or walk mostly.
The weather is great, about 65 degrees all year long. It took me a while to get used to the fact that we keep our sliding glass door open without a screen. No reason to worry about bugs.
We get fog but live in the sunbelt of Monterey (and husband and I also work in the sunbelt) so even during “June gloom” we get our daily sun. Pacific Grove and Carmel are foggier than Monterey. Carmel Valley is a great close year escape if you need sun.
Monterey Peninsula is a little bubble. Traffic is so much better than DMV. There is some, but it takes both me and my husband less than 10 minutes to get home from work everyday.
We go into San Jose or San Frnacisco for shoes/exhibits several times a year. For example Went to Hamilton in 2017 and we went to a Foo Fighters concert this week in San Jose. Jerry Seinfeld is in town in a couple of weeks at a local theater here and we have tickets to go.
It’s a small town so everyone knows everyone, there is good and bad with that. Also, this area is not very diverse. PG and Carmel are virtually 100% white. The only diversity in the area comes from DLI and the Naval Postgraduate School as the military is far more diverse than the local
Community. Monterey County overall by population is majority Hispanic, but Monterey, PG and Carmel (along with Big Sur) are mostly white. The rest of the county is mostly Hispanic. Monterey County has the highest unemployment rate in the state. It’s not perfect.
Housing is ridiculously expensive. Really crappy 2 bedroom homes rent for over $3000 a month and sell for close to $850 to $1 mil in Monterey. PG and Carmel are higher. Monterey Salinas Highway can be cheaper but the traffic is a bummer if you are commuting to Monterey for work. Seaside and Marina are less expensive but not by very much. There is new housing in Marina and Seaside. A 4 bedroom will cost about $1 mil in those areas and you will want to send your kids to private schools unless you do a charter and your kids applies and attends MAOS at Monterey High. It’s not Silicon Valley, but it’s expensive. Housing is more affordable and newer in Salinas but you pay in the commute. Gang violence is an issue in Salinas in some areas too.
I still wouldn’t trade it for NOVA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We currently live in Monterey. Schools are not great, even Carmel Unified and PG Unified offer far less than just about any district in DMV. Things like busses to and from school or afterschool activities do not exist here. Unless you have the money for Stevenson, you will be underwhelmed. Most of the other private schools in the area are mediocre at best. The local community colleges are wonderful and are partnering with local public high schools offering dual enrollment which is promising. There are tons of opportunities if you look for them, STEM programs for girls and boys, sports, though much smaller than DMV. No lacrosse but water polo is big. I really like that at the high school level, kids can join any sport without having played it prior. It’s a small community so everyone gets a chance to play. Local music and theater options for kids and adults are plentiful if you or your children are interested in that. Monterey Jazz Festival is wonderful and they have a great student program. It’s beautiful, there is a farmer’s market somewhere nearby every day of the week, hiking, camping, water sports etc. We now have paddle boards, surf boards, boogie boards and an array of wetsuits and swim year round. We live within walking distance to the beach and downtown Monterey. It’s a very walkable, bikeable area. My teens easily meet with their friends to hang out, volunteer at the Aquarium, go to sports games, meet at the Sports Center etc They take thier bikes or walk mostly.
The weather is great, about 65 degrees all year long. It took me a while to get used to the fact that we keep our sliding glass door open without a screen. No reason to worry about bugs.
We get fog but live in the sunbelt of Monterey (and husband and I also work in the sunbelt) so even during “June gloom” we get our daily sun. Pacific Grove and Carmel are foggier than Monterey. Carmel Valley is a great close year escape if you need sun.
Monterey Peninsula is a little bubble. Traffic is so much better than DMV. There is some, but it takes both me and my husband less than 10 minutes to get home from work everyday.
We go into San Jose or San Frnacisco for shoes/exhibits several times a year. For example Went to Hamilton in 2017 and we went to a Foo Fighters concert this week in San Jose. Jerry Seinfeld is in town in a couple of weeks at a local theater here and we have tickets to go.
It’s a small town so everyone knows everyone, there is good and bad with that. Also, this area is not very diverse. PG and Carmel are virtually 100% white. The only diversity in the area comes from DLI and the Naval Postgraduate School as the military is far more diverse than the local
Community. Monterey County overall by population is majority Hispanic, but Monterey, PG and Carmel (along with Big Sur) are mostly white. The rest of the county is mostly Hispanic. Monterey County has the highest unemployment rate in the state. It’s not perfect.
Housing is ridiculously expensive. Really crappy 2 bedroom homes rent for over $3000 a month and sell for close to $850 to $1 mil in Monterey. PG and Carmel are higher. Monterey Salinas Highway can be cheaper but the traffic is a bummer if you are commuting to Monterey for work. Seaside and Marina are less expensive but not by very much. There is new housing in Marina and Seaside. A 4 bedroom will cost about $1 mil in those areas and you will want to send your kids to private schools unless you do a charter and your kids applies and attends MAOS at Monterey High. It’s not Silicon Valley, but it’s expensive. Housing is more affordable and newer in Salinas but you pay in the commute. Gang violence is an issue in Salinas in some areas too.
I still wouldn’t trade it for NOVA.

This is OP - thank you for this detailed overview. Where you live within Monterey sounds ideal. One question, where exactly is the “sunbelt” in Monterey?

[Anonymous]

OP, think of it this way...Monterey and surrounding areas are small towns and therefore hard to find a job in--hard to get into. By contrast, DC is big, and easy to get back to.

My point is, you already landed the hard part (entree into Monterey).

So GO, try it out. If it doesn't work out, getting back to DC is easy. Super-easy--I think DC (and the surrounding areas) is one of the easiest cities to move to because there is so much transitioning constantly going on with the political cycles. You'd always be able to figure out how to get back to your old neighborhood and school if you didn't like Monterey.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes! I would live anywhere on the coast from Santa Barbara up through Monterey. It's lovely.

Lovely is an understatement.

[Anonymous]

The bungalows are cute. Honestly, I would probably be fine with homelessness if I could live in Monterey. I have to go to Monterey regularly and the outdoors are so spectacular that there's no reason to worry too much about having the right house.