[evanski]

I had a post typed out about why Tahoe is awesome, but I was basically just re-iterating stuff other people said. FWIW Im 21, Ive lived in the bay area my whole life, went to Stanford, and have made a bunch of trips to Tahoe. Its really a fun place, and should suit all of your requirements. Its also within driving distance of a lot of other desirable destinations (bay area, beaches, vegas, etc). One drawback is that your money wont go nearly as far in Tahoe as it will in the other places you listed. Real estate, particularly in the north, has appreciated substantially in the past decade. I almost bought a really nice place a few years back for a little over a million, but decided on cape cod instead. That same place would cost roughly 1.5 now.

-evan

You guys can PM me if you have any specific questions re: tahoe/bay area, but Im sure the forum can handle them just fine.