Affordable Places to Raise a Family in California. Any left? (San Francisco: home, buy)

[etozion]

Those places at the market low point were considered expensive because their low price range was double of other good places (like Mission Viejo, TO, …). They can really go down only in a cataclysmic event like war, earthquake, etc. Even a Big Depression wont help because always someone is making big $$$ and need place to live.

[NorthernCalifornia]

Your best bet is to look where there are jobs in your industry. Some parts of California will be good for your salary and others won't be. The largest cities are very expensive to buy homes in but smaller cities and small towns/rural areas far less so. In terms of "nice places to raise a family" that varies greatly but there are many options.

Focus first on finding where you can earn a good living in your particular field. The best way to live in California is to make good money in a professional job in a smaller city where the money will go much farther.

[etozion]

The best way to live in California is to make good money in a professional job in a smaller city where the money will go much farther.

Please name the few.
Do you live in one of them?

[Charles]

Originally Posted by etozion

Please name the few.
Do you live in one of them?

How about being a physician in Needles, CA?

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by Charles

How about being a physician in Needles, CA?

LOL... Well, I think he mentioned somewhere that he did software like us. But Needles?

[melisssaa]

Murrieta and Temecula are nice safe cities.
i go there to shop, they have all kinds of stores.
and the houses are pretty cheap compared to most of southern cali.

[YankeeTom]

[IMG]http://www.realtor.com/search/listingdetail.aspx?cmid=1083454%2c1083469%2c108347 3%2c1083484%2c1083495%2c1083496%2c1083500%2c108350 6%2c1083525%2c1083531%2c1083536%2c1083539%2c108355 0%2c1083563%2c1083569%2c1083579%2c1100896%2c108358 6%2c1083587%2c1083610%2c1083674%2c1083675%2c108371 1%2c1083716%2c1083719%2c1083737&ml=3&mnp=29&mxp=29 &typ=1&sid=cc78e5c73ed94ad689e425be2f16595e&pg=13& lid=1089909752&lsn=128&srcnt=161#Detail

$489,900
4 Bed, 2.5 Bath
3.38 Acres
NJ commute to NYC



[/IMG]

Originally Posted by Charles

IF California AND jobs THEN expensive.

Ben Lomond:



$445,000
2 Bed, 1 Bath
1,004 Sq. Ft.
0.13 Acres

Why I like Colorado Springs. More good paying, high tech jobs per capita. This house is in zip code 80920, minutes from good jobs in the Springs and 50 minutes from good jobs in Denver. District 20 (Academy School District). If this house was in a nice part of Ventura County or Orange County it would be at least $1.4M.




$425,000
5 Bed, 4 Bath
3,878 Sq. Ft.
0.22 Acres

[MtnSurfer]

YankeeTom,

I don't think your post worked. But some of the detail showed a place in NJ? Kinda far from CA. and the original Q.

[GVGal]

I have been reading all the replies about the great Grass Valley, and want to give the outsiders a local's perspective. We moved to GV in 1985 to raise our kids and have a business, and back then it WAS a great place to raise a family. But with the closures of several large employers, many people with families have left our area, and the schools are actually experiencing a DECLINE in enrollment. Translation: fewer kids here. Who are moving here? Retirees. Translation: older community with lots of bucks from the cities. So, that means that what we have now, instead of before, is an increasingly older community with fewer jobs (just TRY to get one that pays well here!) and unaffordable housing prices for most families as the retirees drive up the prices. Also, there has always been a dearth of things to do for kids here, outside of organized sports and such, and that leads to problems (drugs ARE a problem here, believe it or not--just look up the stats). So, yes, it is a beautiful place, but my daughter and sons have moved away from GV to Rocklin and Roseville, where there are more kid-oriented activities and things for families to do, and more jobs.

[MtnSurfer]

Thats for sharing that GVGal. It is nice to get an insider's perspective.

What are your thoughts on some of the other options out around there such as any of the Sierra Foothill towns as well as the general areas around you. I am thinking about places such as Auburn, Placerville, Sutter Creek, Folsom, etc...? You also mentioned Rocklin & Roseville. What are thoughts about those areas?

I appreciate your feedback,

- Derek