11 Southern California Towns Perfect For A Fresh Start
In Needles, on the banks of the Colorado River, the typical home is worth about $157,000. That is roughly a fifth of the California median, which tops $730,000, according to the Census Bureau. The desert and farm valleys of Southern California hold plenty of towns like it. Homes here sell for less than half the state median, and hospitals and steady work are close by. Wide-open skies, hot springs, desert parks, and the Colorado River come with the deal.
Barstow
Barstow sits at the crossroads of the Mojave Desert, where Interstates 15 and 40 meet historic Route 66, and its median home value of about $245,000 is a third of the state figure. The town has a strong base of jobs. The BNSF railroad runs a major rail yard here, and the Army's Fort Irwin National Training Center and a Marine Corps logistics base are nearby. Barstow Community Hospital provides care, and Barstow Community College offers classes and training. The restored Harvey House depot holds the Route 66 Mother Road Museum, one of many Route 66 stops worth the detour, and Calico Ghost Town, a restored silver mining town, sits in the hills just outside the city.
Needles
Needles, on the Colorado River where California meets Arizona and Nevada, has the lowest median home value on this list, at about $157,000. Colorado River Medical Center provides hospital care in town. Needles grew as a railroad town, and its restored El Garces Harvey House is a reminder of those days. The river is the town's main draw, with boating, fishing, and swimming at Moabi Regional Park and the Havasu National Wildlife Refuge just downstream. Summers are extremely hot, but the mild winters draw visitors and new residents alike.
Blythe
Blythe is a farming town on the Colorado River in the Palo Verde Valley, and its median home value of about $225,000 is less than a third of the state median. Palo Verde Hospital provides care, and Palo Verde College offers degrees and job training. Agriculture and large solar energy projects provide work in the valley. Just north of town, the Blythe Intaglios are giant human and animal figures carved into the desert floor by Native Americans long ago, so large they are best seen from the air. The river offers fishing, boating, and quiet riverside camping.
Twentynine Palms
Twentynine Palms sits at the northern edge of Joshua Tree National Park, and its median home value of about $268,000 is just over a third of the state figure. The Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, the largest Marine Corps base in the country, is the area's biggest employer. Hi-Desert Medical Center, in nearby Joshua Tree, provides hospital care. The park's Oasis Visitor Center sits beside the Oasis of Mara, a natural palm oasis, and colorful murals around town tell the story of the area's history.
Yucca Valley
Yucca Valley, the largest town in the Morongo Basin, has a median home value of about $363,000, roughly half the state figure. Hi-Desert Medical Center is a short drive east, and Copper Mountain College offers degrees and job training. The Hi-Desert Nature Museum introduces the region's wildlife and geology, and the Old West movie-set town of Pioneertown, in the hills just north, now hosts live music and community events. Joshua Tree National Park's west entrance is about a 20-minute drive away.
Desert Hot Springs
Desert Hot Springs sits on top of an aquifer of naturally hot mineral water, and the town is dotted with small spa hotels that draw on it. Its median home value of about $355,000 is a fraction of prices in the rest of the Coachella Valley. Major hospitals and resort jobs are a short drive away in the valley below. Cabot's Pueblo Museum, a hand-built, four-story adobe home from the mid-1900s, is the town's landmark, and the wildflower-filled canyons of Big Morongo Canyon Preserve are nearby.
Banning
Banning sits in the San Gorgonio Pass between two of the tallest mountains in Southern California, San Gorgonio Mountain and San Jacinto Peak. Its median home value of about $352,000 is less than half the state median. San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital provides care in town, and the pass is a growing hub for warehouses, distribution centers, and other jobs. From Banning, the scenic Highway 243 climbs into the San Jacinto Mountains, a winding route to the mountain village of Idyllwild and its pine forests.
El Centro
El Centro, the seat of Imperial County, sits about 50 feet below sea level in the farm-rich Imperial Valley. Its median home value is about $323,000. El Centro Regional Medical Center provides hospital care, and Imperial Valley College, in nearby Imperial, offers degrees and job training. Agriculture is the backbone of the economy, and each winter, the Navy's Blue Angels flight team trains at Naval Air Facility El Centro. The vast Imperial Sand Dunes, to the east, draw hikers, photographers, and off-road riders.
Brawley
Brawley, in the northern Imperial Valley, has a median home value of about $291,000. Pioneers Memorial Hospital provides care, and farming and food processing provide much of the local work. Each November, the Brawley Cattle Call Rodeo brings the whole valley to town for a week of rodeo events and a parade. A short drive north, the Salton Sea and the Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge attract huge numbers of migrating birds, especially in winter.
Holtville
Holtville is a small farm town in the Imperial Valley that calls itself the Carrot Capital of the World, celebrating each winter with the Holtville Carrot Festival. The median home value is about $310,000. Life centers on a shaded town square with a gazebo, and El Centro's hospital and college are only about 10 miles away. East of town, the Imperial Sand Dunes rise above the desert, and the All-American Canal carries Colorado River water that makes farming here possible.
Calexico
Calexico sits directly on the US-Mexico border, sharing a busy crossing with its sister city of Mexicali, and its median home value is about $314,000. Cross-border trade, agriculture, and government services provide jobs, and El Centro Regional Medical Center is about a 15-minute drive north. The town's bilingual culture shows up in its restaurants and shops, and the Imperial Valley's farmland, sand dunes, and mountains offer plenty of space to explore.
Starting Over In Southern California
These 11 towns prove that a fresh start in Southern California does not have to mean a coastal-city budget. Each offers homes at roughly half the state median or less, along with healthcare, steady jobs, and big desert or river landscapes. Before you move, visit in the heat of summer as well as the mild winter, check internet options and job openings, and plan for the long distances that come with desert living.
