But, I've found an interesting option through a coworker at the office. I can move into a quaint "ranch-hand's quarters" on the owner's working ranch. He and his wife have a number of buildings on the property (main house, large workshop/garage, small workshop w/ mother-in-law suite, livestock barn, and the small building I will take over).
They also have a small vineyard, agave plants, a prize-winning goat herd, and dogs solely there to protect said goat herd, a breed known as Akbash (see image below). They can and will attack any predator that comes in to sniff around the goats. I'm told the owners have seen all manner of predators on their ranch, including coyotes, bobcats, and mountain lions. The Akbash will not bat an eye to protect the herd.
It's also on top of a local mountain, called Mt. Madonna. It's on the Pacific ocean side of this mountain, with access to the mountain's nature out my door (camping, hiking, etc.). Almost all of the trees on this mountain are redwoods as well.
Some of the vineyard:
The real reason for this move is the unbelievably high prices for real estate and homes in CA. It affects not only single family homes, but also the rental prices of everything in a ~100 mile range of San Francisco. In the small town my office is in, prices have gone up even within the year I moved here. My current apartment building proposed a 6% increase on my monthly rent, which I was simply not willing to accept. This change to a small studio will save me over half the amount of rent money I was spending on a one-bedroom. It makes much more financial sense, and could also open up many other possibilities on the west side of this small mountain range, all on the Pacific ocean side. It's a much shorter drive from "home" to Monterey, Moss Landing, and the small beach towns up Highway 1, like Soquel, Aptos, and Capitola.
Here goes nuttin'.
