Which City in CA? Young family, good budget, no commute. (Los Angeles: sales, apartments)

[Englishrose123]

Hi,

My husband is being transferred to California by his company. He works in Sales and will be covering the South West, initially spending a lot of time in SF and LA. We are British and will be moving from the Middle East where we've lived for 10 years.

So, where should we move?

He won't have a commute. Our budget is 4000-5000 USD for a 4 bed house. He will be flying a lot (around the South West) so need to be near a good airport. I will hopefully be a stay at home Mum (we plan to have kids v v soon).

We love the beach, we're used to a very urban lifestyle- we currently live in the centre of an energetic city. We know that we'll probably have to move towards the suburbs to get a house but would prefer that it's not too suburban. We'd like to move somwhere really friendly and more on the liberal side.

Other nice to haves- walkability, places to train for triathlons, access to direct flights to the UK, good weather.

We've visited California, but never for very long and we feel we have only skimmed the surface as tourists. I initially flagged San Diego or Carlsbad as the best place for us but would welcome other suggestions as we'll be coming for a recce soon.

Many thanks in advance for your time.

Rose

[SoCalHombre]

Originally Posted by Englishrose123

Hi,

My husband is being transferred to California by his company. He works in Sales and will be covering the South West, initially spending a lot of time in SF and LA. We are British and will be moving from the Middle East where we've lived for 10 years.

So, where should we move?

He won't have a commute. Our budget is 4000-5000 USD for a 4 bed house. He will be flying a lot (around the South West) so need to be near a good airport. I will hopefully be a stay at home Mum (we plan to have kids v v soon).

We love the beach, we're used to a very urban lifestyle- we currently live in the centre of an energetic city. We know that we'll probably have to move towards the suburbs to get a house but would prefer that it's not too suburban. We'd like to move somwhere really friendly and more on the liberal side.

Other nice to haves- walkability, places to train for triathlons, access to direct flights to the UK, good weather.

We've visited California, but never for very long and we feel we have only skimmed the surface as tourists. I initially flagged San Diego or Carlsbad as the best place for us but would welcome other suggestions as we'll be coming for a recce soon.

Many thanks in advance for your time.

Rose

Move to Manhattan Beach.

[DriveNotCommute]

A rule of thumb here is that the more urban a place is the worse the schools will probably be. It's a very general rule though so there are probably exceptions.

Maybe a list of the main airports will help. For southern California that's still within reasonable reach of the ocean:

Burbank (BUR), Bob Hope Airport - Small airport, domestic flights, fair traffic for LA. Somewhat inland. Decent neighborhoods, but suburban.

Los Angeles (LAX), Los Angeles International - Big, always crowded, nasty traffic. Needs no intro. Not so great neighborhoods nearby unless you go a little further south to Manhattan Beach (which has good schools) or maybe north to Culver City, both of which have urban (for California) areas to them.

Orange County (SNA), John Wayne Airport - Mid-sized airport, domestic flights plus Canada and Mexico. Moderate traffic. Good surrounding neighborhoods, great schools, especially Irvine but very suburban. Not adjacent to the beaches but reasonable driving distance.

Long Beach (LGB), Long Beach Airport - Small airport, usually light traffic and quite convenient for domestic flights. Probably don't want to live too close by but many decent neighborhoods within reasonable driving distance.

Carlsbad (CLD), Palomar Airport - You must've investigated this if you selected Carlsbad.

San Diego (SAN), San Diego International Airport - Big, getting more crowded each year. I'm not sure how family-friendly the immediate areas to it are now.

[Englishrose123]

DriveNotCommute- that is extremely helpful, thank you so much. I had not thought to organise my search this way. You haven't mentioned anywhere North of LA- any reason for that?

SoCalHombre- you're not the first to mention Manhattan Beach- will research it, thank you.

Not too worried about schools right now- we may not still be in California by the time our (as yet unborn!) kids are ready to go to school.

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by Englishrose123

DriveNotCommute- that is extremely helpful, thank you so much. I had not thought to organise my search this way. You haven't mentioned anywhere North of LA- any reason for that?

SoCalHombre- you're not the first to mention Manhattan Beach- will research it, thank you.

Not too worried about schools right now- we may not still be in California by the time our (as yet unborn!) kids are ready to go to school.

"We love the beach, we're used to a very urban lifestyle..."

Yes, based on what you are describing, the South Bay sounds like a really good place for you. That would include Manhattan, Hermosa, Redondo and Torrance beaches depending on your preferences. You would be close to LAX which is an International Airport with more direct flights than any other in the region. Most of the smaller airports require more hops to your final destination with fewer flights available. So its a definite trade off. I prefer smaller airports. But if I traveled more often I may want something larger for that reason with fewer missed flights and layovers.

You could also check out the West Side including Santa Monica.

If you want urban and coastal, its hard to beat LA. When you go north, you need to head all the way up to San Francisco to get urban as well. The coastal living is a whole different vibe up there. Some like it, some don't.

Derek

[DriveNotCommute]

Originally Posted by Englishrose123

DriveNotCommute- that is extremely helpful, thank you so much. I had not thought to organise my search this way. You haven't mentioned anywhere North of LA- any reason for that?

SoCalHombre- you're not the first to mention Manhattan Beach- will research it, thank you.

Not too worried about schools right now- we may not still be in California by the time our (as yet unborn!) kids are ready to go to school.

MtnSurfer largely explained it; the next urban-yet-coastal area will be San Francisco so you pretty much have an either-or scenario. I'm located in southern California and know this area better than the Bay Area, so preferred to limit my coverage to this region. There are many people who knows the Bay Area better who could help you out with suggestions there.

In addition, you mentioned a 4 bedroom house in preparation for children. I'm not an expert on SF but that probably prices you out of San Francisco. Now that you've mentioned that you're without children you could consider looking at San Francisco and downgrading your expected living space to maybe 2 bedrooms. In my opinion the beaches up there are not as nice as the ones in southern California but the other amenities may more than make up for it if they suit your tastes.

[Englishrose123]

Thank you so much for your thoughtful responses. They will make a great addition to the huge spreadsheet I'm compiling!!

Just out of interest- if we took wanting to be near the coast out of the equation where would you recommend? It's going to be a little tough persuading my husband to pay out more $$$ just to be nearer the beach

[Cardiff Kook]

Originally Posted by Englishrose123

It's going to be a little tough persuading my husband to pay out more $$$ just to be nearer the beach

Really? Isn't that a big reason for wanting to move to CA?

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by Englishrose123

Thank you so much for your thoughtful responses. They will make a great addition to the huge spreadsheet I'm compiling!!

Just out of interest- if we took wanting to be near the coast out of the equation where would you recommend? It's going to be a little tough persuading my husband to pay out more $$$ just to be nearer the beach

Well, I still think the Bay Area or LA are two of your best options for urban living in CA. You also mentioned he would be spending a lot of time in them initially. So, why not live closer to where he will be working? Keep in mind CA is huge state with a lot of very heavy/nasty traffic in the urban areas. That will play a significant role in his overall quality of life and work life balance, once here.

LA's West Side includes parts that are not right on the the beach like Brentwood, Westwood, Bel Air. Though they are *very* pricey neighborhoods and a bit snooty/pretentious, IMO. Beverly Hills anyone?

Parts of San Diego may be an interesting option as well. Though, the majority are not urban, especially places like Carlsbad which you mentioned. That really makes me question your urban requirement more than coastal proximity. Are you really that into urban living as a primary objective?

The only real things not being near the coast gets you are possibly closer to some urban centers, a bit different climate (hotter during Summer) and *maybe* a bit more affordability depending on the area. For example, you could look at places like Pasadena in LA County or East Bay towns like Walnut Creek. The nicest inland neighborhoods will not be that much different than the coast in terms of cost. The main benefit would be closer proximity to where he works = less driving through rush hour traffic! Please, do not underestimate LA or Bay Area traffic. It is really as bad as they say it is and that's no joke. While you may be thinking 'nice place to live,' he will have other concerns and potential major problems/headaches depending upon location selected.

If he won't be working regularly in LA or SF, you could live outside these urban centers in places like San Diego. It really depends on how much they want him in the office. He could always get a hotel nearby if only for shorter stays - weeks vs months.

Derek

[pacific2]

Have you checked South Orange County (About midway in-between LA and SD)? For example, you can find 4 bedroom homes for rent in Aliso Viejo (pop. about 50K) for between $3,250-$4,000.
Apartments for Rent in Aliso Viejo, Top 19 Apts and Homes in Aliso Viejo, CA - realtor.com®

AV is located right next to Laguna Beach (10-15 minutes drive to the beach) and about 15-20 minutes away from John Wayne Airport (You may have layovers to the UK).

Aliso is about evenly split between liberal and conservatives, friendly, hilly, with about 22 parks, small, and very well-maintained.

The city is not a traditional burb in that there are primarily apartments, townhouses and condos here, instead of mostly SFR's.

Aliso Viejo is also an active mini-tech and biomed center.

Additionally, and it has America's only Buddhist-inspired university, Soka.

Aliso Viejo has also been ranked as SoCal's most entrepreneurial city; one of CA's safest; and also OC's healthiest city. What's more, the school are good; and we always have a budget surplus.

Aliso started out as an affordable place for families, but is morphing into something else as city leaders try to accommodate single millennials who now constitute the largest group of new arrivals. They're probably coming in to assume positions in the tech industry.

AV's downside is that most of the restaurants are of the chain type; and homes are primarily cookie-cutter. Aliso has some nice restaurants, but People drive the short distance to either Laguna Beach, or Newport Beach (about 15 minutes away via the toll road) to go to other restaurants.

There are plans to make very major changes to the Aliso Viejo since city leaders want to keep entertainment dollars right here.