My next adventure

[rachelmanija]

I'm moving to a small house or cabin somewhere with trees and, ideally, snow, driving distance from LA, where I can garden and keep chickens. Exact location to be determined but most likely in the San Bernadino mountains; top choice is currently Idyllwild.

I've given notice to my landlord, and will be out by December 31 and hopefully sooner. I will move into my parents' cabin for the winter, spend some time investigating possibilities, and move into my new home in the spring, in time to start a garden and raise some chicks.

I will have a flock of six hens. I don't want a noisy rooster. Six will be more than enough eggs, and a small enough flock that I can cram them all into document boxes and flee with them and the cats if/when I have to evacuate due to fire - which I intend to do if a fire gets even the slightest bit close, whether there's an evac order or not. I am taking no chances.

I still love Los Angeles, but that makes it really sad to live here right now. A vaccine is coming, but between slow distribution and refusal to take it, I think it'll probably be a year before it's safe to do most fun city things, and several more before the city economically recovers. In the meantime, everything work-related that I do is completely online, and everything I've been enjoying most lately is really difficult to do where I am. I think living in a more rural area, but close enough that I can easily drive to LA for a day or weekend whenever I feel like it, will be perfect for me.

If you have any suggestions, advice, or commentary, feel free! I welcome knowledge about Idyllwild, other places in the San Bernadino mountains, or other places you think I might want to consider. I also welcome thoughts on gardening in a shorter growing season and/or high altitude.

I require: trees, natural beauty, good internet access, not too many people, not currently on fire, no more than a five-hour drive from LA (ie, south of Yosemite), not insanely expensive, and with a reasonable number of locals who are not Nazis, fascists, or anti-maskers. (Some Trumpers are inevitable - I got a death threat from one in my own neighborhood in LA - I just don't want everyone to be a Trumper but me, or for there to be a local, active, and aggressive anti-mask or fascist contingent.)

I prefer: snow.

Not interested in: Ojai (not enough trees), Santa Barbara (too urban), Santa Clarita (too suburban AND not enough trees), Mariposa (too close to my parents - I want more of a feeling of solitude).

Comments

[pauraque]

That sounds awesome. I hope you find a place that suits your needs!

[kass]

I have no wisdom to offer, but this sounds really smart to me, and I wish you all good things in this next turning.

[karalee]

I have no information but I want to chime in and say this sounds fantastic. You have my best wishes and I hope to hear updates!

[cahn]

My uncle has a cabin in Idyllwild and we visited several years ago -- it's really a lovely place -- sort of like Yosemite Lite (not nearly as scenic as Yosemite, mind you, but with a bit of that feel). I should think it would be a lovely place to live while in lockdown.

A couple of things from our visit that might be relevant:
-When we were there (in the summer) it was pretty hot. Not as hot as LA, I imagine, but it was on the uncomfortable side without air conditioning (which we didn't have). It did get pleasantly cooler in the evenings, and there was usually a breeze which also cooled things down.
-The cellular service was really spotty and often nonexistent. Though this was several years ago, so it's very possible the cellular service is better now. Anyhow, you'd want to make sure that the place you were staying at had good reliable internet (which I imagine you were going to make sure of in any case)

[davidgillon]

Mariposa (too close to my parents

Laughed at this one, too much similarity to my reasons for living where I do.

Can't advise on the locale from half a world away, but I can certainly see the logic in it - in fact I've read several stories about a shift to the country over the weekend. And now I think of it one of them is relevant to you, because it's about current issues with moving in California, specifically SF, but I would imagine it applies at least in part to LA : https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/nov/15/leaving-california-exodus-move-out-movers

[qian]

No advice, but it sounds a really exciting move for you. Good luck!

[melita66]

I live in Highland and work in Redlands. My company is a software company that didn't encourage work from home before covid-19 and likely will discourage it again once vaccines are available. Anyway, I have several friends/colleagues who live in Forest Falls. They get snow, but it's an easier drive to work, I believe. However, it's in a box canyon. I think the phone coverage is poor too. I think it's a bit cheaper than the larger towns like Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear Lake. From the few times I've been up there, it seemed to me that Lake Arrowhead was a bit tonier/more expensive than Big Bear Lake.

All of these towns get a lot of visitors on the weekends year-round.

[jack]

Oh excellent! Best wishes on the whole plan.

[cyphomandra]

The only thing I know about San Bernardino is the Mountain Goats song :D but this sounds like a good plan! I look forward to the next series about chicken shifters.

[havocthecat]

I hope you find a great place! I look forward to reading about your continuing adventures.

[loligo]

So cool! I was wondering about all the packing and organizing photos on Instagram, but now it becomes clear!

[starlady]

That sounds cool! I will be very interested to follow your chicken adventures, I love chickens.

[princessofgeeks]

No advice but lots of good wishes!

[oracne]

That sounds absolutely. Having only been to California once, and never to L.A., I have no suggestions.

[yuuago]

Wow, that sounds exciting! I have no suggestions, only well-wishes. :) Hope the move goes as smoothly as possible.

[minnaway]

Oooh, best of luck in your next adventure! Hope you find a lovely place that suits you.

[sheliak]

That sounds like a lovely plan!

(Hopefully there will be no accidental roosters.)

[lilacsigil]

Good luck! I also live in a fire-prone rural area, and I recommend checking your local laws on how much maintenance people have to do on their properties before choosing a location. Most places are sensible, but sometimes you get a town with a lot of holiday houses with city owners. Then council goes easy on them about clearing/mowing (racking up the danger level for everyone else) because they're fond of the rate payments. If you live somewhere where tourism is not the main draw, you should be okay.

[genarti]

No advice, but yet another person cheering from the sidelines! This sounds like a fantastic move, and a small house or cabin with your cats and chickens and a garden sounds lovely.

[tibicina]

The area up around Blue Jay and Lake Arrowhead is pretty nice, though it may be pricier than you're wanting. (Or not, I have no idea how Covid has affected the rental market up there.) Though I will warn you that in a bunch of spots you don't get mail delivery to your door, you need to have a P.O. Box.

Definitely will supply trees and snow. Visiting up there, I didn't interact with the neighbors much but got the feeling it was pretty mixed and mostly people kept to themselves. About a 1.5 - 2.5 hour drive from L.A. in my experience, depending on which part of L.A. you wanted to reach. Several good Mexican places, a decent Italian place, and a good burger spot, at least when last I was up there (which, it's been a couple of years and who knows with Covid.)

Memory says internet was pretty reliable once they switched to cable. Cell service could be spotty, though. So check for where you are.

[vass]

Good luck! This is one of my near-to-medium-term goals too.

[dhampyresa]

I have nothing to give but best wishes!

[rilina]

Good luck with your adventure!

As someone who loves urban life and made my most recent big move partly in order to be in a more urban area, the pandemic has been really hard. Sigh.

[rattfan]

Sounds fantastic. I will be with you vicariously the whole way. Can't help with location, except that I once visited San Bernardino and it was sort of desert-y, as I recall. And huge agreement with being far from parents. *My* pandemic got me trapped inside the same state with my mother, with my brother safely outside the hard border.

Chooks sound great. No rooster also great :-) Some friends once had a rooster by accident and until they managed to pass him on, they got up at pre-dawn to put him in a box so he wouldn't crow in the midst of suburbia.

[sheron]

Good luck with figuring out the move! I don't have suggestions primarily because my preference is always as little snow as possible ( thus I live in Canada, irony XD ) but I am jealous of the eventual chickens.

There are so many different coloring varieties for the hens. They are so cute (and useful!).

[kathmandu]

FYI, hens can be noisy too. Ursula Vernon's husband keeps chickens, and she has talked about how a hen will sometimes chirp "I'm about to lay an egg! Oh my gosh, you guys, this egg! It is so big! Hey, everybody..." for an hour.

There may be breed differences in this. Anyway, something to look into when you're ready to get hens, in the spring.

Good luck with the move!