As the Flower Wilts Two Start to Bloom - Brothers Building A Life Together

Me and my older brother are currently renting an apartment in North Carolina. The weather here isn't anything to complain about, but it's surley no paradise.

Our father has recently been diagnosed with Stage 4 Lung Cancer which is what finally pushed us to make this decision. We want him to be in an area where he can get the medicinal help he needs. As of now the "western-medicine" doctors deemed him inoperable and put a two year time stamp on his life.

Both of them (My older brother and father) moved from Hawaii in 2007 to keep the family together. Being that i'm now 18, and had the "pleasure" of experiencing Charlotte for 5 years, I know for certain I don't want to build a future in this backwater hill-billy town.

Financing the move won't be a problem. The problem my brother and I are having is that we want to move into a quasi-urban area hopefully avoiding the gangs that have plagued us here.
Any information on upper/middle class areas would be greatly appreciated. We were raised by a true hippie who's only mistake was falling in love with a lying-cheating-diamond-hungry-not-so-nice-birth-giver.

I suppose in short, all i'm asking for is a suggestion of city(s) that two neo-hippie caregivers could build their lives in, go to school, and make these last years the best for my father.

eace:

 

i'm a little confused.. we are taking about CALIFORNIA and not north carolina.. right?

 

Sorry about that, yes were moving from NC to CA.

As of now I'm focusing on the SF bay area, specifically Santa Rosa. Does anyone have an idea of the area's crime/gangs?. As of now i like it because it's close to the junior college, the rent is affordable, and we'd be close to a hospital.

 

I Can't Offer Any Advice, I Live On The Other Side Of The Globe, But What I Would Like

To Say Is How Much I Love The Title You Gave To This Thread....



Cheers Glen.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Rosa,_California

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/

try these two places.

 

I like the wiki page a lot! thank you

It's much 'nicer' then the horror stories on City-Data.com about the Nortenos and Surenos

The last thing i would want to do is move into a heavily populated gang area, adding more stress to this already hectic time.

 

i don't live there, but i also don't think there are many gangs there either. gangs tend to keep to southern california and the east bay area.

 

Good; thats honestly the only thing that had me unsure about the are. Because where I am right now i see more 'action' looking out the window at night then I would on TV.

You have definitely put my mind at ease. I love this community

 

northern california is more mellow than southern. the closer you get to the SF bay area the more expensive things are. sometimes if you are lucky and don't mind having a little less you can find awesome deals.

i live in davis. it's close to sacramento and a pricey town because it's a college town. however we bought an older used trailer in a mobile home park for the same cost that one months rent would be. so just do some research, keep asking questions and you'll find something good!

:2thumbsup:

 

See i'd love something like that... A double wide next to a friendly relaxed community to me would be paradise. I'm absolutely disgusted with the fake image of "community" you get here in the south. And god forbid if you have long hair and look a bit scruffy...

What would the price range be for a 2-3bedroom mobile home in your area? (Rent wise)

 

I asked such a basic question; i just used craigslist and got a good idea. It's quite affordable

A better question would have been: whats the feel of the area, age, interests, activities, social gatherings? Because I'm not one of your average college party goers.. A quiet group of friends having a smoke is much more pleasurable then a nightclub or the such.

 

why didn't i see this earlier? sorry!

well the park i live in the rent is 500 plus utilities if you buy a park owned home or 800 (i think) plus utilities if you buy a third party seller home.

the two houses on either side of me are for sale.. one is a newer double wide.. 3 bedroom/ 2 bath... 30,000 dollars (third party seller). on the other side it's a 3 bedroom/1 bath fixer-upper... 2,000 dollars (park owned)!

so you buy/make payments on the house and then pay space rent. if that makes sense.

the park is a very short 5 minute bicycle ride to the uc davis campus and the downtown area.

i'm guessing roughly 1/3 of the park is EMPTY and very slowly filling up. the landlady is really nice too. she lives in the park. it's mostly families and serious college students.

davis is freaking awesome! there is always plenty to do. tons of great restaurants. the community is very active.. many things to get involved in. theres lots of scrufffy 'hippie' types around too! check out

http://daviswiki.org/Front_Page

i get lost on that site sometimes just looking at everything there is.

if this sounds good to you PM me and i can give you more info and link you to craigslist ads if you like.

 

The 2 most bohemian towns in southern California are Ojai and Idyllwild. Ojai is a coastal valley a few hours north of Los Angeles, surrounded by mountains with a lot of water, hiking and only 25 minutes from the ocean. The climate is mild enough to grow oranges, and it's hippie roots go back even before the 1920's. Indian philosopher J. Krishnamurti lived and died there, and the place has a great music & art scene. No gangs to speak of.

Idyllwild in in the San Jacinto mountains about 5000 feet up in the pines, 2 hours east of Los Angeles, and about an hours drive from anything else. No traffic lights, a few natural food stores, yoga studios, climbing shops, Buddhist retreats, great hiking. Timothy Leary lived on a ranch just east of there from 1968 -1969....

Culturally, the rest of southern California is a bit of a wasteland, but these are 2 exceptions and you can't do much better anywhere in America....