Restful spots in CA or Mexico

Hi guys,

I have long time lurked on this board (and others similar), but haven’t felt the need to post anything for years. As a bit of background, I’m 27 and will shortly be setting off for Southern Mexico and CA for 4-8 months with my fiancé.

I have just finished three years of very hard work in a large accountancy firm in London, recently qualifying as an ACA (British equivalent of the CPA for the Americans here). To be blunt, I feel extremely washed out and jaded by the white collar world I have recently been inhabiting and am seeing my upcoming travels as a means of regenerating some of my old verve. I also aim to achieve the requisite distance (geographical/emotional/intellectual) from my current life and lifestyle that I feel will enable me to consider my future career/life options from a more objective standpoint.

Because of this, I am very interested in keeping my pace slow and restful. While I will also aim to get around CA and see some of the sights, we hope to spend much of our trip staying for a couple of weeks at a time in calm, quiet, scenic and affordable environments where we can get our heads straight. As such, any recommendations for suitable locations in southern Mexico or the rest of CA would be greatly appreciated. Neither of us have been to this part of the world, and as such don’t have much of an idea as to what to expect. For reference, I am thinking about places such as Kabak in Turkey (for those who know it) as being the sort of vibe we are going for. We don’t have any preference between beaches, mountains, small towns etc – variety would be nice. A bit of early research suggests somewhere like Zipolite in Mexico may be what I’m looking for?

Thanks and best wishes.