Aussie thinking about buying real estate in USA

Paso Robles winters, let's see. Been very mild this year, but also very dry, scary dry. There are usually a few winter mornings well below freezing 15°F range, many mornings right at freezing or just above. Daytime temps in winter are generally pretty mild. The ocean north of Pt Concepcion in Santa Barbara County just to the south of Paso Robles never gets much over 60°. Lots of grape farmers in that area which has led to a scarcity of ground water for those on wells. I myself was raised in the Mojave Desert in southeast California. After moving to this area and spending time in the Atascadero and Paso Robles areas the weather pretty much parallels the deserts in southern California with a small amount more rain in the winters. That little bit of extra rain does keep those beautiful oak trees in the hills happy. Happy oak trees leads to tasty BBQs :D. I have only seen snow there once in the 40 years I've lived in Santa Barbara County.