Plan extended seasonal vacations during summer and winter months.
Group destination locations together in regional trips to explore what several bucket list towns have to offer in the general vicinity
Dedicated to helping you live, love, work, play, invest and leave a legacy. Enjoy our latest newsletter inspiring you to appreciate California’s natural beauty and awesome adventures waiting for you.
Curated Highlights and Headlines
California Coast: Tip to Tip
South Coast Region
South Bay
Ventura County: Mission San Buenaventura. “This ghost tries to help people and some say he is an unknown saint who wants to comfort those in spiritual need.”
North County
Del Mar: “KAABOO (September 13–15), the three-day music, food, and comedy festival based at the county fairgrounds in the coastal town of Del Mar. This year’s lineup has been announced, with Kings of Leon, Dave Matthews Band, and Mumford & Sons headlining the three nights.”
Orange County Beach Towns
Competition with Santa Cruz: “After battling it out with the beachside city of Santa Cruz to their north, Huntington Beach in California’s Orange County officially claimed the title of USA’s “Surf City” in 2008. The surf influence around Huntington Beach is glaringly obvious, but what exactly is it that gives the city its label as the USA’s home of surf?”
Huntington Beach: “The city is also home to terrific seafood, fun bars, acclaimed resorts, epic bike rides, surf schools, surf competitions, and a surf museum. Okay, so maybe it is mostly about the surfing here.”
South Orange County
San Juan Capistrano: “Development in the area, and loss of the birds’ habitat, are the likely culprits behind the disruption of the birds’ migratory patterns. The replicated nests worked. A cliff swallow has built a nest in the East Corridor of the mission near the Serra Chapel entry, and rough-winged swallows have been spotted nesting in the ruins of the Great Stone Church, a popular spot for the swallows many years ago”.
Central Coast Region
San Luis Obispo: “It’s on the central coast, but 12 miles inland, out of the fog belt; has eternally perfect weather; and sports a self-aware downtown core that manages to be both hip and historic — and, yes, very walkable.”
North Coast Region
Fort Bragg: “There are all sorts of ways to eat, sip and play in Fort Bragg, the bustling fishing town on Mendocino County’s spectacular, craggy coast. Here are three ideas to get you started.”
Peninsula Region
Half Moon Bay: “A day by the Bay, the OTHER Bay — Half Moon Bay — combines so many of the best things about Northern California, all in one stop. From amazing beer and diverse food offerings, cheap or expensive things to do, a fascinating dock, beautiful trails, world-renowned surfing, reasonable or outrageous hotels, and all a short drive from the chaos of the city.”
San Francisco Bay Region
“Romantic and beautiful, San Francisco has been the backdrop for many of the world’s favourite films, such as Bullitt and Mrs Doubtfire. The reality is even better, from the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz to cable cars and fog. With great restaurants, shopping and museums, this is a five-star destination.”
Steps:
21) Spend the time to find the best place to live and invest. It will be worth your while. The great thing about living where others spend their vacation is the year round quality-of-life.
24) Determine which maker or breaker community issues you will find across all resort communities vs. those unique only to the quality-of-life towns at the top of your best places list.
32) Plan extended seasonal vacations during summer and winter months. Group destination locations together in regional trips to explore what several bucket list towns have to offer in the general vicinity – with only a week or two vacation time to spend, we recommend organizing your itinerary by travel regions.
33) When you move, will your established neighbors share your same values? Does your new home have potential over the long-term to develop into a high appreciation real estate investment while being affordable for mid-life or empty nesters? Do the weather patterns in winter or summer make you want to live there year round, or only on a seasonal basis. Does your new community offer a variety of outdoor recreational opportunities?
34) On your visits look for any newer developments that may trigger changes in neighborhood patterns. New construction in or around the neighborhood? Major regional economic adjustments? Transition from households with children to ones that are empty nests? Rezoning, and dramatically rising/falling land values?
“Actor 
“Nicolle Otman paddles in a kayak as great white sharks circle. Captain and Marine Biologist Giancarlo Thomae took the video and says about 40 young great whites are making the waters off Aptos their home in spring. Thomae has been kayaking with great whites ever since they started showing up in increasing numbers off the coast of Aptos, just south of Santa Cruz, four years ago. He and other experts believe about 40 juvenile great whites are making the area off the pier at Seacliff State Beach their home each spring. In the first year, the sharks were small, at about eight-feet long, and in each following year, they measured larger. This year, they average 10 to 12 feet with some as long as 13.” SF Gate · By Amy Graff, SFGATE Photo taken: June 23, 2018. Media: Giancarlo Thomae/Sanctuary Cruises.
“View down Sacramento street, May 1855: This view is the fifth plate in Fardon’s seven-plate panorama. From the slopes of the Clay Steet Hill (Nob Hill), the view is to the east down Sacramento Street to the bay. At the right is the back of Saint Mary’s Church (which faces California Street at Dupont.) On Sacramento, several signs in Chinese are visible, as is a “family grocery”, two “coffin ware rooms”, and “Vance’s Daguerrean Rooms” (the photographic studio or Robert H. Vance.) Across from Vance’s is the Armory Hall. (This view provides and interesting comparison to a daguerreotype in the Bancroft Library; BANC PIC 1905.16242:104–CASE.) Barely visible at the far left is a sign for the City of Paris store.” SF Gate · By Amy Graff, SFGATE Photo: G.R. Fardon / UC Berkeley, Bancroft Library
“The 14,200-square-foot home boasts over 300 feet of bay frontage, along with views of the turning basin. An imposing, French neoclassic mansion on a half acre at the western tip of Harbor Island is on the market for just under $60 million. Built in 1990, the lavish, 14,200-square-foot home boasts over 300 feet of bay frontage, along with expansive gardens and views of the turning basin. The dock can accommodate a yacht larger than 120 feet, as well as other boats, according to the listing. The updated, three-story home has six bedrooms and 12 bathrooms, formal living and dining rooms, and catering and staff quarters. An elevator, walk-in wine cellar, waterfront tile pool and subterranean parking for eight cars are among the amenities.” Orange County Register By Marilyn Kalfus (Google Earth)
“While you can find these four colors all over the world, I had the chance to discover them in Carlsbad, California. About an hours drive north of San Diego, the small beach town sometimes gets lost in the Santa Monica’s and Newport’s of the state, but it’s not one to miss. You may know it as where Legoland is found, but there’s plenty more to see than just that. The small city has that coveted beach-town vibe without the touristy feel. Here, everyone feels like a local. For the most colorful view of Carlsbad, visit March through mid-May when 
“Old Home Beach, also known as Indian Beach, is a narrow beach on Trinidad Bay in the small town of Trinidad. It has been renamed, probably out of political correctness, but some signage still has the old name. This protected beach offers great views of Trinidad Head and the bay with many picturesque rocks sticking up. There are two ways to get to Old Home Beach from the bluff above it. The first is down a trail with stairs behind the Trinidad Lighthouse Memorial at the corner of Trinity and Edwards Streets.The second beach access is down a trail at the end of Parker Street called the Parker Creek Trail (park on grass at top of the hill and walk down Parker St.). The view from the lighthouse memorial is stunning.” californiabeaches.com
“This village on California’s northern coast combines big scenery with small-town charms. Winding three and a half hours north of San Francisco, the road to Mendocino may be as magical as the destination itself. Frequently no wider than a country lane, it corkscrews through mountain passes, parallels patches of farmland and vineyards, traverses a cathedral of redwoods, and chases the Navarro River to the sea. And what an arrival it is: tabletop headlands carved below by massive sea caves and topped above with barns, lighthouses, and cliffside inns. Amid the dramatic landscape nestles the downtown, with Victorian homes in Easter-egg colors and Main Street lined with a bookstore, museum, toy shop, chocolatier, B&Bs, and eateries.“
“A sprawling ranch in northern California that’s almost twice the size of Manhattan has hit the market for the first time since being created by the late stock market tycoon Dean Witter. Lone Pine Ranch, in both Trinity and Mendocino counties, is asking $31 million. It’s typically difficult to find ranches that have everything, according to Mr. McDavid. “Usually you have to make some sacrifice, like I really want a big herd of elk or I want trout water. It’s very hard to get it all in one place,” he added. But Lone Pine Ranch has an extremely diverse amount of wildlife and land, Mr. McDavid told Mansion Global. There’s viable cattle and timber operations, fishable water, and resident wildlife includes populations of elk, blacktail deer, pig, bear and quail. “You go to some other parts of California and you’re going to find some pretty desolate land, this place is really rich,” Mr. McDavid said. “It’s just a really beautiful landscape.” The Los Angeles Times first reported the listing. Mansion Global · Liz Lucking BILL MCDAVID
“A Northern California utility said Thursday that it expects to pay at least $2.5 billion in connection with deadly wildfires that whipped through wine country last October — some of them ignited by its fallen power lines. Pacific Gas & Electric Co. also