Owning a home in California
I think I am pretty darned lucky that I was born and raised in the great State of California. My childhood home was nested in the hills overlooking the San Francisco Bay. From our living room window, we had clear views of all three brides – The Golden Gate bridge, the Bay Bridge and the San Rafael Bridge. I kind of took it for granted, I think, as it was just what I was used to.
After we got married, my husband and I bought a home in Contra Costa County (Pleasant Hill). Pleasant Hill is a nice little town – we are about 40 minutes away from San Francisco, and have everything nearby. One thing we really enjoy is the selection of ethnic food (the best, in my opinion). We can head to Oakland (or San Francisco) for amazing Dim Sum, or to the North Beach area of SF for yummy Italian Food. We enjoy Broadway Place in Walnut Creek, which has some of my favorite stores – Crate & Barrel, Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn and much more.
Last year, my husband and I bought a 2nd home (our retirement home) in a different part of California. This home is in the Central Valley and is completely different than our other area! We were lucky enough that a friend of ours, who lives in the area, suggested a realtor for us. They were actually a husband and wife team who did a fantastic job, and they turned into good friends of ours too!
Our retirement home is absolutely dreamy – it sits on a man made lake in a gated community. I love everything about this house and cannot wait to be here full-time. It is a bit of an adjustment though, as it is a much more relaxed way of life, and there are not as many things to do here. Of course, we don’t often leave our home, because it is our own private paradise. What we have found about this area is that the people are SO friendly, and when we do go out, we get a warm and fuzzy feeling. It is much less rushed that at our Pleasant Hill home. There are plenty of things to do outside of our gated community too! We can drive for a half hour and visit a gorgeous town called Three Rivers. From there, about another 30 minutes up the hills, we are in the Sequoia National forest, which is breathtaking.
Oh! One of our favorite parts of spending time at our lake home is that we have ducks that visit us! It has been so exciting to watch the babies from last year grow up and have their own babies this year. Look how cute!
Sometimes it’s the little things in life that bring the most happiness. There are so many reasons that I am glad we own a home in California. It is truly a beautiful state, with moderate temperatures, and so many things to do!
What do you love about the area you live in?
was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
50 Responses
Your retirement home is absolutely beautiful. I live in a small area outside of Buffalo, NY but we have so much history here. Such as it is the birth place of Lucille Ball. Lucy Days are coming up and everyone dresses up just like Lucy. It is fun!
wow, what a gorgeous place to retire to, and being so close to sequoia? dreamy! 🙂 i live in sf, and just love it here. not sure when/if i’ll be able to afford anything bigger here in sf…
Wow….no wonder you can’t wait to go there. My niece is in California and I’ve seen some of the shows where people fix up homes but I often wonder how people can afford to purchase 1 home let alone 2 there. From what I’ve seen or read…everything is SO expensive, How cool for y’all, that is awesome!
My daughter went to grad school in CA and never came back! She loves it out there.
I love the temps in GA where I live and my area is more new and safer than where we used to live.
Nice video! I wish I owned a home in California. Our home is Alabama is fine–and I do appreciate the warm (not snowy) weather, even if it’s not terribly scenic.
Oh I wished I lived somewhere that the weather was always fairly nice. I would love to own another home that was on a lake or close to a beach. I could totally get into the slower paced life that you have at your second home. My husband and I have talked about moving to a warmer climate when we are older. California is one of the areas we have talked about. It’s nice to know there are nice homes like yours that still have a lot to offer in the area.
California is such a great place to live and own a home! I wish I lived there. Your winters are so mild and that is one thing I find to be great. And all of the awesome places to get to visit and eat at! I have traveled to California and I had a blast when I was there. Your retirement home is absolutely gorgeous and the ducks are so cute. I like ducks! What a great place to grow up in and live!
We are lucky to own in California the wether is the best and we love it,we are lucky to aso hae a home in arizona on a lake and just like you we have alo ducks and fishes…weare so lucky.
It sounds like you live in a wonderful part of California! We also like to eat all kinds of ethnic foods. We have started thinking about where we want to buy our retirement home. It has to be someplace warm!
i was born in california and my dad lived there the whole time i was in high school and got to fly out and visit there! i had so much fun and i loved the weather there and so much to see and do.
I would so love to live in CA
I’ve always wanted to visit California, never been there. I just wish it wasn’t so darned expensive!
I could definitely learn to love someplace like CA. I hate cold weather, snow, and ice since falling on it a few years back so if I could I would love to move someplace where it was warm year round 🙂
I would love to own one home in California, you are so fortunate.
We live in a very wooded tiny city, the smallest in Georgia, north of Atlanta. Our city is considered a wildlife refuse and I love being surrounded by trees and nature. It feels like we live in a tree house.
what I love about living in SoCal is that everything is nearby, the weather is pleasant 95% of the year
Beautiful retirement home! Those ducks are too cute!I have visited CA a few times, there are some wonderful places there, it definately is a great place to visit 🙂
I live in Colorado and love it. My townhouse is paid off and I live between two lakes.
I’ve never been to California, but I sure would love to visit. I live in Pensacola Florida and we have the world famous sugar white sand beaches and emerald waters, it’s really beautiful, but I still love to visit other places.
that house is huge,,is it a single family or duplex? we have a retirement home too,but they are small one in Tennessee an one in Vermont,,we have 3 yrs left till retirement
I live in Florida, and we also enjoy fairly nice weather year-round. I live on the coast, and I love that I am only a few minutes away from a beach and that there are so many water activities around here (like my personal favorite, kayaking down one of the many beautiful rivers). I live in a small town, so I wish that I were a little closer to some things, but I like how relaxed it is. I have visited California several times and it is lovely, but I love being on the East Coast!
I have always wanted to visit sunny Cali but have yet to made it there. I would love to be a snowbird and have a winter home there. It is my dream. If or when my ship comes in and I get that chance I’m going to call on you for advise on a great community 🙂
P.S Love The Ducks~!
Wow ~ I can’t even imagine being able to purchase a retirement home anywhere! Congrats. My hubby’s grandfather lived in Oakland and loved it. Pretty area for sure!
I hope to move to California when I retire too!
I have never been to Cali before and would love to visit. There is so much fun to be had there and so much history to learn there. I would love the opportunity to go so hopefully in the next two years. 🙂
I really hope you can – it is so nice!
Your retirement home is beautiful!!
Thank you so much – I absolutely love it there!
Your retirement home sounds ducky and the other – wow location location location! I used to live in SF and LOVED it – close to everything I ever needed – by walking – my boyfriend and I never used a car except weekends for adventures to nearby Marin – my favourite – but no only hiking place was Muir Woods – Sausalito, Carmel and more – I mis it – the most beautiful city in the world! I remember going by Pleasanton alot by train – oh thats the other thing – the public transport was exemplary! The only kinda sorta drawback thought I’d meet more artists. Everyone – including my BF ad most of my sister’s friend were in the Finance industry in some fashion – so they did well – movers and shakers but were more apt to buy art then create it. Although my bf’d dad did own a frame shop and I swear it took an artistic eye for him – and on weekends sometimes my bf for a client we delievered to in MArin – to find and create perfect frames – lol definitely rambled here!
Carmel is gorgeous! I haven’t been there in many, many years. I think it’s time for another visit! Thanks for stopping by – it was interesting to hear about your experiences in the Bay Area!
Love your retirement home! California looks like a beautiful place 🙂
gorgeous home! I live in Maine, about an hour or so away from the coast. Because it is in Central Maine, I’m not that far away from the coast, and about 3.5 hours away from Boston-Providence metro areas (where I lived for 7 yrs) and 3.5 hours away from Quebec City. I like that I can visit the coast, or travel inland to the mountains both within an hour or so drive and get 2 different perspectives of life in Maine. We are building our retirement home in Guatemala, on the outskirts of the city (hubby is from there) within a year or two. Currently we are focused on purchasing some rental properties there and doubling the size of our coffee/fruit fields as my husband wants to go back into agriculture once he retires. I’ve been to California twice, and enjoyed my visits to LA and to San Jose/San Francisco, so I can see why you absolutely love your state!
How interesting! Your reasons for loving Central Maine are kind of the same reasons I have for liking where I live. I didn’t realize you could drive to similar things where you are – neat! Guatamala sounds interesting, and how fun that you get to build your retirement home. I wish you the best of luck!
I live in the Midwest and love the seasons. After our brutally cold miserable winters it makes Spring so much more appreciated-the best part being the colors of the trees and flowers and bushes. I have visited California many times mostly Southern California and have not liked it at all. Too much time on the freeways and too many people. Where you live sounds idyllic though
I am from Cincinnati…and while I miss the trees, and the green and the hills…and the climate..I have fallen in love with the area I live in, in North Texas 🙂
California is so beautiful. It’s always been one of my favorite vacation spots.
We also live in Northern California and love it. We are a couple of hours from the ocean, an hour from S.F. 3 hours from Lake Tahoe. So much to see and do!
the weather..things to do.. califormia is the place to be during all seasons
the best place do during all seasons..so many thing sto do.. and see
I live in FL, which sounds similar to CA! I, too, love all our farmer’s markets and great shopping choices. 🙂
California sounds like a great place to live!
All the wild birds.
You have a lovely home and appreciate you sharing info and pics with all of us!
What a beautiful house – I visited California once and loved it. The weather is so nice. I live in the North East and I am tired of the cold and snow.
I’ve never been to CA before, but it looks like you’ve got a lovely retirement home! My husband used to live in Huntington Beach years ago.
The best part of owning a home in Southern California is that family members from other states loves to come and visit with us and take their vacations here!
My home in the northwest Chicago suburbs is nice and I enjoy living so close to Woodfield Mall and all our parks and great schools. There is always something to do here. But the long winters can be hard to handle with some large snow storms and icy weather for days. The few times that I have been to Los Angeles and San Francisco and Orange County were wonderful. The weather was spectacular and everyone seemed so healthy! I like the cooler weather in San Francisco and all the tourist things to visit. Your retirement home looks great!
What a gorgeous retirement home. Ca is a great place to live.
One day I would love to move out west and enjoy the weather and scenery.
I love your house! I want to live in CA!