There's actually a good place to live in CA? Yes.

California. Now I know I give this state a hard time, but there are actually some great places to live in this state. You just have to know where to look. Of course, Los Angeles and San Francisco aren’t very desirable for many people - they’re crowded and expensive and dangerous and dirty.

In California, as in other states, it’s the smallish towns that are actually pretty great. Being such a large state, there's a big discrepancy in quality between the best and the worst places to live. Today, we’re going to talk about what makes these places great.

To do so, we measured quite a few metrics. And as it turns out, the places which ranked the highest all share the same sort of general measuring sticks. They’re safe, have great schools, and folks who live there have great jobs.

So break out your avocado toast, and wax your surfboard, as we talk about California’s best cities.

We begin in Danville, a cute little town of about 40,000 people located only about 20 minutes east of Oakland. Danville makes the cut by because its one of the safest places on this list, with the 5th lowest rate of violent crime and 8th rate of total crime in California.

Moving southwestish, our next stop brings us to Cupertino, a town just east of San Jose. Ever wonder why Cupertino is the default option for weather on the iPhone? That's because, in addition to being the 9th best place to live in California, Cupertino is also the home of Apple's Headquarters. Being the hub of a tech behemoth like Apple, it's no surprise that Cupertino's population of 60,614 is hyper-educated, with more than 40% of residents having a master's, Ph.D, or professional degree.

Belmont is a little place south of San Francisco which has strong numbers across the board in education, amenities, safety, and solid markets for both jobs and housing. The median age in Belmont is below 40, highlighting the youthfulness that makes California such an exciting place to live.

We’re going to remain in the Bay Area as we come to the town of Saratoga, population 31,000, which is located on the western side of the Santa Clara Valley. Of all the San Jose suburbs, Saratoga is the closest to Big Basin Redwoods State Park, California's oldest state park and home to the largest stand of redwoods south of San Francisco. That oughta satisfy even the most voracious nature-lover.

We're finally leaving the Bay Area for a bit, as we head down to Orange County. This is Aliso Viejo, the 6th best place to live in California. Aliso Viejo is a vibrant, youthful city where the median age is only 36. It's also the most densely populated city you'll see on this list, so if you crave constant activity, Aliso Viejo is probably your jam.

Back to the Bay Area we go to the cute little town of Tiburon, located at the tip of the Tiburon Peninsula reaching into the San Francisco Bay. There’s quite a few reasons why Tiburon ranks as the 5th best place to live in California. The poverty level here is less than 3%, which is the 3rd lowest in the state, and the 2.8% unemployment rate is the 11th lowest. Which helps explain why 99.4% of Tiburon's residents have health insurance, the highest rate of coverage in California.

Atherton, Piedmont, Los Altos.
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This channel talks about America, different states, education, travel, geography and what it's like to live in different places in America.

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