Looks like your preference is for green cottages! For myself, I like yellow:

{{!gwi}}

I liked the green one with the garden.

Yes, I love the green house with the garden, as Alexr pointed out. That one is my favorite! While I wouldn't turn down a pink one, (but my interior decor is shabby chic, country cottage, blended in, rustic here and there), I would opt for a green house. I DO love yellow ones like your picture Teresa. I have fond memories of my one Aunt living twice in homes that were that style, and yellow!

Now where in CA do I find a home like that, is my next question?

What cute homes.

If you are serious about buying what worked for me was getting a real estate agent. I had wanted to buy for awhile but didn't know how to pull it together. I had a roommate move out on me with no notice. I was so mad at the situation I drove to the grocery store the second after I read the note. I picked up one of those free "Why Rent When You Can Buy" magazines and began calling. I hooked up with a great realtor who got me through the process. Before that, I would get packets from Fannie Mae and begin filling them out, until I would quit in frustration. A realtor pulls together all the paperwork, and the banking and insurance issues for you. That roommate was a blessing in disguise 8 years ago.

If you contacted a realtor with your pictures, they could set you on your path. If it ends up that your area doesn't have the type of housing you are looking for, they will refer you to a colleague. They are the experts in geography and housing. Find a realtor in a nationwide company, not a local small agent. Good Luck.

doxies: That's a good question that deserves an answer, but in California such a big State, so much depends on two things, what general area, and how much money are you willing to spend. In general, older out of the way communities are more likely to have resonablely priced small homes with quaint surroundings. But if you can't make a living in an out of the way area, it gets harder to find and expensive. A friend of mine bought a small home near Clearlake, as an example, but he had such a long commute to San Francisco, he rented a small apartment during the week.

My idea of a small, quaint cottage....mine...well it used to be, but we have sold it and are renting it from the new owners until our new house is built..:)

{{!gwi}}

Mrsmuggleton, that is definately one gorgeous cottage dream home.

Hi all,

I haven't had a chance to post my reply to
your posts. Alexr: I don't know what your
friend does for a living, but when you buy
in the rural, for instance, you should think
of changing careers. Many people in business,
for instance, are not willing to give up their
suits and ties to become a rancher or work
in the local county. Sometimes you have to change
careers. I have been an office manager and accountant
for many years. Rather than commute, I would
(and I am in the process), of changing careers to
something else. You only live once, and I for one do not
live for my job.

I have read in Business Week, where a fortune 500 business
man left his upscale corner office job, to own and operate
a ranch. Sometimes we have to change.

Ok, I have been searching and found some neat
small towns inland from the coast, here in CA, and 1/4 the
price of what they charge to live on the CA coast, now that
it has been ruined by politicians and celebrities living here.

A couple of the neighboring towns that intrigue me, are
not only 2 hours from where I am now, and significantly cheaper,
but rather rural. One thing concerns me and that is that
a major men's prison is in one of the cities. Not a city I would
choose, but with that sometimes comes the family members that move
to those areas to be closer to the prisoners. Not something I like,
but would have to really check everything out.

If you simply want to take a tour of a place with a lot (and I mean probably a few thousand dating from the 1880's to mid-century modern)-cute little cottages, then you must visit Eureka CA. I also recommend Arcata, about six miles north on 101. I live in this area, I don't intend to retire here, the cost of living is like San Francisco, there's few choices when it comes to a job, property is outrageeous; your basic tourist town. A lot of people recommend Ferndale, about 15 miles south of Eureka on 101, it is a small dairy community with a fraction of what you would see just driving around Eureka neighborhoods, it's also at sea-level on confluence of earthquake faults. I'm planning on retiring in the upper central valley of CA myself, although meanwhile I plan to sell my current cottage and build a small alternative home somewhere locally for the rest of my job career.