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Old 06-24-2016, 06:18 PM
 
9 posts, read 7,519 times
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Our family is considerng a move to California and we need some help in finding areas to that might be suitable for us. We are moving from Texas and are looking for milder weather, more accessible nature and ocean and if possible a bit less car dependent. And less fire ants.My husband is a pilot and is currently commuting to LAX once a week. Since he goes in to work once per week we can be a bit away from LA. Ideally driving distance so not totally airplane dependent.
-We are trying to avoid areas with the worst smog, heat, traffic and the most outragous housing cost.
-Ideally we find a smaller city easy to get around and possible biking, walking or transit availabe.
-Good schools and somewhat accesible to water.
-In addition we are trying to find places with little or no fire ants due to our daughters serious allery.

Places like Santa Barbara seems nice but out of reach on one income(?). San Diego seems nice too but I know nothing about areas to live. I Love north San Franscico area but commute might be tricky. Sacramento would be to far away and to tricky commute for sure. Maybe there are small lesser known hidden gems? Drove by outside San Louis Obispo once but did not pay attention more than it was beautiful. LA burbs and OC county scares me when I think of traffic and ceneral congestion. But I have not seem all of it. Have not heard top many good thing of LA valley but have not spend any time there.
We are so greatful for some suggestions. Thanks!
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Old 06-25-2016, 09:24 AM
 
8,375 posts, read 7,589,022 times
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What is your approximate housing budget? Do you want a single family home or would a condo/townhome/apartment be acceptable?

Knowing your approximate budget and type of housing desired will help people here give you more realistic suggestions. No sense people recommending areas that are outside of your budget.

Last edited by RosieSD; 06-25-2016 at 09:41 AM..
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Old 06-27-2016, 09:39 PM
 
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Thank you, yes good point! We are looking at buying a house in the range of 480.000- $580,000 will rent initially for the first year. Would like access to some type of outdoor space for the kids. Do most homes/townhomes come with HOA and pool amenities like here in Texas?
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Old 06-27-2016, 10:31 PM
 
8,375 posts, read 7,589,022 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MarinaKristin View Post
Thank you, yes good point! We are looking at buying a house in the range of 480.000- $580,000 will rent initially for the first year. Would like access to some type of outdoor space for the kids. Do most homes/townhomes come with HOA and pool amenities like here in Texas?
Answer to the last question: it will depend on the area and your budget. There are plenty of communities with HOAs, but also plenty of communities that do not have them.

Given your price range and the fact that your husband needs to get to LAX on regular basis, I'd probably start your search in Los Angeles County, southern Ventura County, Northern Orange County, and perhaps Riverside County. You'll find options in your price range in these counties, but I'm not an expert on each of these counties and it is a big area, so can't give you specific suggestions for cities/communities.

So, what I'd suggest is that you go to a site like Zillow.com or Realtor.com and do a search for current listings in those counties. Specify your price range in your search and eliminate auctions or foreclosures, which usually end up selling for more than listing price. You can also do a search for recent sales on Zillow.com (I think you can on Realtor.com too). I'd do that as well, as in some parts of Southern California, bidding wars are common, and thus listed prices won't give you the full story of what you might end up paying for a home in different areas.

Doing this search will give you a map with all listings in your price range, which will tell you what your budget will buy and where in these different counties. You can then use Google Maps to figure out driving times to LAX, keeping in mind that Google doesn't always factor in rush hour traffic drive times.

Then, go to the City Data sub-forum for each county above and ask about the cities and areas where you are finding homes in your price range. Locals will be able to give you general advice about how the schools are in those areas, but you'll want to follow up with your own research into schools (all parents are biased about the schools their own kids attend). Be sure to specify your price range when you ask your questions. And ask for any additional recommendations for areas to look in your price range in that county.

As for other areas, I live in San Diego County, and to be honest, I probably wouldn't look in San Diego County unless you have other reasons to live there. Although the extreme northern parts of the county may be OK if your husband doesn't mind a long commute, your budget probably isn't going to give you a lot of options for single family homes in the areas with better schools near the coast, and going inland would add to commute time.

So, I'd probably focus more on the counties and areas I mentioned above and see what is available first before worrying about looking in San Diego County.

San Luis Obispo to LAX would be at least a three hour drive to LAX (probably more when traffic is factored in) so I wouldn't bother looking that far north.

Scratch the Bay area off of your list. Home prices are more expensive there than any where else in California.

As for fire ants, they are now in most of Southern California, but not quite as big a problem here as they are in Texas, so I wouldn't factor that into the decision of where to live too much.

Good luck!

Last edited by RosieSD; 06-27-2016 at 11:11 PM..
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Old 06-28-2016, 12:25 PM
 
Location: TOVCCA
8,452 posts, read 14,987,192 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MarinaKristin View Post
-We are trying to avoid areas with the worst smog, heat, traffic and the most outragous housing cost.
-Ideally we find a smaller city easy to get around and possible biking, walking or transit availabe.
-Good schools and somewhat accesible to water.
-In addition we are trying to find places with little or no fire ants due to our daughters serious allergy.
Sorry,
Everywhere in SoCal has serious traffic issues
Unless you live near the coast, the rest of SoCal can get hot, 95+ degrees easily
Nowhere in SoCal in your price range is walkable. Public transit is slow and minimal most places
Good schools are dependent on the price of the area you live in
Proximitiy to the ocean in your price range would only be possible for a 1 or 2 bedroom condo or townhouse in areas far from LAX
I've yet to see a fire ant, but have seen quite a few black widow spiders, scorpions, rattlesnakes, coyotes and mountain lions

But, no humidity or mosquitos!
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Old 06-28-2016, 12:33 PM
 
8,375 posts, read 7,589,022 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nightlysparrow View Post
Sorry,
Everywhere in SoCal has serious traffic issues
Unless you live near the coast, the rest of SoCal can get hot, 95+ degrees easily
Nowhere in SoCal in your price range is walkable. Public transit is slow and minimal most places
Good schools are dependent on the price of the area you live in
Proximitiy to the ocean in your price range would only be possible for a 1 or 2 bedroom condo or townhouse in areas far from LAX
I've yet to see a fire ant, but have seen quite a few black widow spiders, scorpions, rattlesnakes, coyotes and mountain lions

But, no humidity or mosquitos!

Good truthful advice.

The thing with fire ants is that you won't notice them unless you happen to be allergic to them like the OP's daughter (and me!). Then, you notice them real quick.
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Old 06-28-2016, 01:48 PM
 
18,172 posts, read 16,304,803 times
Reputation: 9325
Quote:
Originally Posted by RosieSD View Post
Good truthful advice.

The thing with fire ants is that you won't notice them unless you happen to be allergic to them like the OP's daughter (and me!). Then, you notice them real quick.
When I first moved to TX I stepped in a fire ant mound. From that point on they were my mortal enemy and I killed every nest I found. Unfortunately they kept popping up.
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