Best town to live in near sierras

I know a little about Grass Valley – I think the schools have a good reputation, and I know that a lot of well to do boomers and former hippies have retired up there, making for an interesting cultural life – lots of art and music going on around there, and it seems more liberal than many mountain backwoods areas. Henry Shires lives there too, though I wouldn't place him in either the boomer or hippie categories! You could ask him about those areas, actually.

Auburn/Grass Valley etc. grass Valley is very charming with all of the advantages already mentioned. A good choice.

Christopher,

It might be worth your time to research Reno.  As was mentioned earlier, Reno is in a period of economic development (they call it the Renoissance).  They are hoping to turn the city into a tech hub.  And there are the large casinos which always need network security people.

Relative to the traffic you’re dealing with in the Bay Area, you’ll find Reno traffic very light.

UNR is developing a cybersecurity center.  If you could get a job teaching, I bet you would have a lot of free time to hike around Tahoe.  Alternatively, the Washoe County sheriffs have a cyber-crime center that you might find work at as a consultant.  I suspect that would also be a short work day.

Everyone I know here calls them “the Sierras” so you won’t have to learn a new pronunciation.

Kris

I’d vote Tahoe/Truckee but that’s for personal reasons.  I love the country around the lake, emigrant, and desolation wilderness areas.  There’s enough town in Truckee or Tahoe City for my tastes, though I’d likely hit Norden or something quieter but equally nearby.  don’t know the mammoth/south/east side of the sierras well.  The bear valley sonora tip makes sense too. Really just commenting to say, thanks for the hilaRious read.  grammar police – what do they say, LOL? – anyway, lots of food for thought.  My favorite point is the religious vs. secular argument. Off to apply that to my work and personal lives.  I’m serious.  Pure gold.

Truckee has Clear Capital, a big real estate information company. You might want to look into them.