Seaside, CA

Seaside has two distinct personalities depending on where you look. Down closer to Highway 1 and Broadway Avenue, the older side of town features established residential streets alongside a lively collection of local businesses, grocery stores, and casual dining spots. Head slightly north and east into the hills, and you enter the newer neighborhoods built on the grounds of the former Fort Ord military base. Up here, you will find modern homes, two championship golf courses at Bayonet and Black Horse, and easy access to the Cal State Monterey Bay campus. For anyone moving here, it means you can choose between a classic neighborhood close to the bay or a more contemporary suburban setting with room to spread out.

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The city originally started in the late 1800s as a quiet coastal real estate project, but its modern character owes a lot to its military past. For most of the twentieth century, Fort Ord operated right next door, bringing generations of service members and their families into the community. That influx helped build Seaside into one of the most culturally diverse and down-to-earth towns on the Monterey Peninsula. When the base closed in the 1990s, the city gained room to grow, transforming old barracks and training grounds into new parks, schools, and shopping centers while keeping its friendly, unpretentious spirit intact.

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Laguna Grande Regional Park is one of the favorite local hangout spots in the lower part of town. Sitting right along the Monterey city border, the park features a peaceful lake surrounded by paved walking paths, open grassy fields, and picnic areas. It is an easy place to take your dog for a morning walk or let kids run around after school. Thursday evenings bring the popular local farmers market, where residents pick up fresh California produce and grab dinner from food trucks. In the summer, neighbors pack picnic blankets and folding chairs for the long-running Sunday afternoon blues concert series on the lawn.

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Higher up in the hills, Cal State Monterey Bay brings energy and cultural events to the community, making the area feel active and forward-looking. Outdoor lovers have immediate access to the Fort Ord National Monument, which features dozens of miles of trails winding through rolling grasslands and oak woodlands for hiking, trail running, and mountain biking. With slightly warmer, sunnier weather than coastal Monterey and some of the most accessible home prices on the peninsula, Seaside makes a practical, welcoming home base on the Central Coast.