Best place to live in Cali? (Fresno, Sacramento: rent, house, employment)

[designerjunkie]

Okay, my husband and I were dead set on moving to Georgia in a couple of years, but after all of the horror stories...we are weighing our options. It's alway been between Cali, Georgia, Hawaii (far fetched dream), or somewhere further out in Texas. We want to know where you would recommend to live in Cali.

Specs:
Large Family
Excellent school system
Nice Suburb that's not too far from the city
Great Shopping
Great Employment
Low violence
All for under 250k

I know that this sounds unattainable, but this is what we are looking for. We appreciate any answers. Thx.

[capoeira]

Originally Posted by designerjunkie

.

Specs:
Large Family
Excellent school system
Nice Suburb that's not too far from the city
Great Shopping
Great Employment
Low violence
All for under 250k

I know that this sounds unattainable, but this is what we are looking for. We appreciate any answers. Thx.

Go for Georgia. Better housing prices,lower taxes,lack of earthquakes and Hope Scholarships(free college tuition). Suwanee has all the specs you mentioned.

Take your pick:

House 1 Santa Ana, CA

House 2 Needles, CA

House 3 SUWANEE, GA

House 4 SUWANEE, GA

[EscapeCalifornia]

Anywhere in California that has anything close to what you're looking for is going to be hotter and flatter than Texas. Anywhere with great employment and shopping is going to be expensive. You might come closest somewhere near Sacramento or Fresno but its still going to be REAL hard to house a big family for under $250k unless its in the ghetto.

[humboldtrat]

It will be more like $500K to $750K for all the things you want.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by designerjunkie

Okay, my husband and I were dead set on moving to Georgia in a couple of years, but after all of the horror stories...we are weighing our options. It's alway been between Cali, Georgia, Hawaii (far fetched dream), or somewhere further out in Texas. We want to know where you would recommend to live in Cali.

Specs:
Large Family
Excellent school system
Nice Suburb that's not too far from the city
Great Shopping
Great Employment
Low violence
All for under 250k

I know that this sounds unattainable, but this is what we are looking for. We appreciate any answers. Thx.

Is it OK if it is on the beach?

[the city]

Nipomo, CA seems like it would fit your desire. It's not a suburban city, but nearby are 2 suburbs-Santa Maria and San Luis Obispo. It's usually expensive to live in the suburbs. Nearby Nipomo is Santa Maria that has a mall, and good big-box shopping. Also nearby is San Luis Obispo's downtown and the shopping in Pismo Beach. And they might be building a regional open-air mall in Pismo Beach with Nordstrom. So you will have pick of enclosed mall in santa maria and open-air mall in Pismo Beach. and then the outlet mall and downtown in san Luis obispo offers other choices of shopping

[18Montclair]

Everything is doable except for the under $250,000 part.

[krudmonk]

Originally Posted by 18Montclair

Everything is doable except for the under $250,000 part.

Yeah, that's pretty tough in this state, or at least the major metros.

[Lake Conroe resident]

You can probably find something that you could rent for a couple of years before eating up your 250K in a nice area... Try Carmel, Cambria, Santa Barbara you should be able to find some sort of 2 bedroom shack for around 4K per mo which would last you about 5 years before your 250 was gone...

[jd433]

You will probably wind up in Texas . Its got all of the above and for the best price. I recommend the Houston area Maybe Katy, TX. I meant to write TEXAS in the title.