Norcal vs Socal (General & for Cycling)

[CKT88]

If one were looking for the best combination of great riding and general livability...would you pick:

Mill Valley/Marin (North of SF, across the bridge)

or

Malibu/Topanga

?


I've ridden thousands of miles in the Santa Monica mountains and loved it. Was a runner when living in Marin but always saw tons of cyclists...never experienced it but could see that it would be good.

[jtakeda]

This question is so dependent on personality and preference. It sounds like you have plenty of money if those are your two choices. Find out which place suits your lifestyle

[joosttx]

Originally Posted by CKT88

If one were looking for the best combination of great riding and general livability...would you pick:

Mill Valley/Marin (North of SF, across the bridge)

or

Malibu/Topanga

?


I've ridden thousands of miles in the Santa Monica mountains and loved it. Was a runner when living in Marin but always saw tons of cyclists...never experienced it but could see that it would be good.

Malibu has better variety of riding. Also I would argue Santa Cruz and Palo Alto have more riding opportunities than Marin. There are not a lot of roads in Marin but they are spectacular and never get old. I am more of a NorCal person so I don't think I would live in SoCal unless I could live on the beach on Malibu.

[Ken Robb]

Originally Posted by joosttx

Malibu has better variety of riding. Also I would argue Santa Cruz and Palo Alto have more riding opportunities than Marin. There are not a lot of roads in Marin but they are spectacular and never get old. I am more of a NorCal person so I don't think I would live in SoCal unless I could live on the beach on Malibu.

You would miss Donut Alley.

[prototoast]

Somewhere between Palo Alto and Santa Cruz. That's where the good stuff is.

[Dead Man]

Originally Posted by jtakeda

This question is so dependent on personality and preference. It sounds like you have plenty of money if those are your two choices. Find out which place suits your lifestyle

or none at all

[Hellgate]

Colorado?

[CKT88]

Originally Posted by Hellgate

Colorado?

Love CO but need to avoid winter.

[Louis]

I don't know if things truly were as bad as they seemed in the news, but from here the last fire season looked pretty scary. And they say that things are only going to get worse.

If I were choosing between two locations for a home in CA I would at least think about which one was more or less likely to have wildfires.

[Clean39T]

The future is mobile - why limit yourself? Small basecamp if you need it (in Nevada for tax purposes), minimalist lifestyle, and a well-kitted class B that can stealth camp sounds like heaven to me..

[pasadena]

No question, Norcal!

[GOTHBROOKS]

805 or go to hell.

[Saxon]

Originally Posted by Louis

I don't know if things truly were as bad as they seemed in the news, but from here the last fire season looked pretty scary. And they say that things are only going to get worse.

If I were choosing between two locations for a home in CA I would at least think about which one was more or less likely to have wildfires.

I love the riding in my area (Norcal) but the fires have become their own season and we have months of awful smoke and I don't think it will be getting any better. I know SoCal was having their share of bad fires at the same time, so I think if I could go anywhere, I'd most likely avoid CA.

[KJMUNC]

I love riding in Marin, but we just left LA for San Diego. It’s still California expensive, but relatively less compared to the majority of LA.

Great riding, great weather, and no winter.....access to major climbs like Malibu isn’t the same, but still plenty of elevation around San Diego county without having to schlep out to Palomar.

[FlashUNC]

The real question is where are the drivers worse. That'll influence the riding more. And Marin, well....