Exploring the Golden Coast

The Golden Coast, also known as Coastal California and the California Coastline refers to the coastal regions of the State of California. The term does not signifies geographical primarily because it also describes an area distinguished by political, economical and cultural attributes.

The area includes North Coast, South Coast, Central Coast and San Francisco Bay Area including Silicon Valley. The counties commonly counted as constituting coastal California are:

Alameda County, California
Contra Costa County, California
Del Norte County, California
Humboldt County, California
Los Angeles County, California
Marin County, California
Mendocino County, California
Monterey County, California
Napa County, California
Orange County, California
San Benito County, California [dubious – discuss]
San Diego County, California
San Francisco County, California
San Luis Obispo County, California
San Mateo County, California
Santa Barbara County, California
Santa Clara County, California
Santa Cruz County, California
Sonoma County, California
Ventura County, California

Two counties sometimes included in coastal California are:

Lake County, California
Solano County, California

Coastal California is renowned for being home to various artisan communities like Laguna Beach and Carmel and also its natural beauty as found in the Redwood Forests of the North Coast. While the area is always been relatively expensive, when compared against the national average and the inland regions, the recent boom in the real estate sector has left it as the most expensive housing market in the country. A CNN Money Publication in October 2004 found that a 2200 sq. ft. house in a "middle management neighborhood" would cost at an average of $1.8 million.

Cheap flights to California - Coast can be found throughout the year and a number of airlines offer special deals and offers which might fetch you some of the best Cheap Airline Tickets to California – Coast.