Best cost of living in Cali? (San Diego, Oakland: best town, real estate, condo)

[blakesq]

HI All,

I am an attorney licensed in California and in Connecticut, but currently living in Connecticut. Family and I have been thinking about moving somewhere with a lower cost of living. We have been thinking mostly of the Coastal South, like Wilmington, NC, Charleston, SC, Sarasota, FL.

However, just want to make sure I am not overlooking any hidden gems in California. Are there any areas in California, within 1/2 hour of the coast with a relatively low cost of living? We have a small 1300 sq ft house here in CT that we bought near the height of the market in 2006. Looks like we can get a house 10 years old or newer over 2000 sqft for around $250K in those southern cities I mentioned. Are there any places in California (within 1/2 hour from coast) with real estate prices around the same, or am I just dreaming? And, even if housing is more expensive, what are the best cost of living places in Cali within 1/2 hour of the coast?


Thanks!

Blakesq

[finewbie]

I really don't think so, maybe 60 minutes away?

[Malloric]

You're dreaming. You might find a tear down in East/West Oakland. Moving out to more than an hour you have American Canyon, Vallejo/Benicia, Martinez/Pittsburgh, and even they are going to be more than $250k. Santa Rosa if you increase the price by about $100k is an option as well. Around Santa Cruz (Boulder Creek, Scotts Valley, Watsonville) you can find comparative deals, but they'll be old and more like 1000 square feet for $250k. North Coast (Eureka, Crescent City, Fort Bragg,etc) are all possible, although new construction is very hard to find. They're also extremely remote so...

The only place you'll really find that is interior California like the Central Valley and Inland Empire.

[MtnSurfer]

Some places to check out which represent good bang for the buck within ~30 minutes to the coast are:

Temecula
Murrieta
Orcutt
Santa Maria
Poway

No place is perfect and they will each will have their pros/cons like anywhere. However the weather will be better than anywhere in the South. And you already have your license. So no bar exam needed. That's a big plus!

If your #1 goal is a big, fancy, newer house for a low price then the South will be hard to beat. I would say Temecula & Murrieta would be the closest to that and at least worth exploring. Prices have dropped quite a bit after the RE crash. See this for example: http://www.realtor.com/realestateand...rice-na-300000 I have a friend who moved to Murrieta with his family ~ 3 years ago and they really like. He is an attorney as well.

Derek

[blakesq]

derek,

great info! prices in Murrieta are in the ball park. also, 2 hours from LA and 1 hour from San Diego will keep me busy with patent and trademark clients (I hope).

[CarawayDJ]

Originally Posted by blakesq

derek,

great info! prices in Murrieta are in the ball park. also, 2 hours from LA and 1 hour from San Diego will keep me busy with patent and trademark clients (I hope).

I live in Temecula. It's a real nice town. IMHO, it represents the best bang for the buck in the inland areas of SoCal. Heck, we even have 34+ wineries now. Murrieta is nearly the same. You really don't know when you leave one and enter the other. It's a little more than 30 minutes to the ocean though. It usually takes us about 40 minutes. I don't think I'll be here much longer, but not because it's a bad area. I grew up in New England and just never got used to semi-desert landscapes.

[blakesq]

thanks. i saw on another thread someone complaining about the smog, but someone else said that in the Temecula and Murrieta area the winds off the ocean keep the are clean. who is right? also, i used to live in west LA, and it was always cooler their than say sherman oaks. should we expect the same summer heat as sherman oaks?

[MtnSurfer]

I'll let the locals speak to this more hopefully. But, yes, it is hotter than the coastal areas. A/C is a requirement during the warmest periods. If you check the next 10 days for example it will be in the upper 80s lower 90s compared to Oceanside which will be in the low 70s: Weather Headlines - weather.com

Our friends moved from the South Bay (Torrance) to Murrieta and are happy living there. However some prefer the coastal weather climate more. Everyone has their preferences. Once on the coast in SoCal the prices go way up unless you go further north above LA. For example my father-in-law and his wife just purchased a reasonably priced home in Santa Maria. The prices along this section of the Central Cal are some of the lowest because in part they also the furthest between LA and SF. If you can find work up there its really a beautiful part of the state.

If you need to be closer to the larger cities Murrieta/Temecula are hard to beat for the money.

A compromise for better coastal weather to consider would be Oxnard. You won't find the nice, newer, large homes for those low prices. But you will be right on the coast: http://www.realtor.com/realestateand...bile-home/pg-2

Other options in North SD County would be Oceanside:
http://www.realtor.com/realestateand...bile-home/pg-2

Escondido:
http://www.realtor.com/realestateand...bile-home/pg-1

Again you will sacrifice coastal proximity for size, price, etc... But there are homes in that general range.

Derek

[CarawayDJ]

Originally Posted by blakesq

thanks. i saw on another thread someone complaining about the smog, but someone else said that in the Temecula and Murrieta area the winds off the ocean keep the are clean. who is right? also, i used to live in west LA, and it was always cooler their than say sherman oaks. should we expect the same summer heat as sherman oaks?

There is no smog problem in Temecula. If you look at a map and zoom out to where you see both LA and Temecula, you will see that it would take an unusual wind pattern to blow the smog from LA down to Temecula. I generally need to drive up I-15 another 30-45 minutes before I enter the LA smog. And yes, up that far it is horrific. I couldn't imagine living in the smog zone.

Temecula is hot. It's not hot for too many months though. I once said we get about 21 days of 100+ temps. The weather data I was looking at though was for a place further north and further inland. Temecula probably sees about 14 days of 100+ temps. A lot of summer days will be in the 90s. The hot period lasts about 3 months +/- a couple weeks. It's all relative though. Compared to San Diego or the coastal towns, it's VERY hot. FWIW, I grew up in NH. A New England day that is 80 and humid feels worse than 95 and dry in Temecula.

I have no special attachment to Temecula. We chose this place as a temporary spot while I get my software business established. I needed to keep costs down. However, we've been VERY surprised with the place. If I had a ton of money I would have stayed in the Sunset Cliffs area of San Diego. I didn't though. Starting a business can be brutal on the bank account. Temecula is not the best town in SoCal. It probably is the best town for your buck though. It isn't easy to find a town in this price range this nice, and this safe, with good schools. Even though you aren't worried about schools, good schools speak as much about the parents as they do the teachers. There's just a lot of good people here. Again, if I had $900,000 to plop down on a house right now, I'd be closer to the coast. If I had $300,000, this is where I would be. That said, a fascinating aspect of Temecula is the large number of uber expensive ranches you see all over wine country. A friend of mine owns one. He could buy a house in any zip code in CA he wants. He chose a nice ranch in wine country.

[CheaperAc]

305 E Valencia Ave, Burbank, CA 91502 MLS# B12057899 - Zillow

Yup