Help with California, please (Los Angeles, San Diego: for sale, real estate, to rent)

[sandstring]

Hi everyone, Myself and my husband are about to start the visa application process to hopefully move from the uk to California. He is a prison officer, so will be applying to the penetentiaries and correctional centres, in California. But we need some help narrowing down the areas. We are both in our early 30s, with 2 children ages 5 and 18months and a dog. We are looking for the areas of California that have the best schools, low crime rate and not overly expensive and lots of opportunity to get the kids involved in outdoor sports. We will be looking to rent for the first year and dont really want to be paying more than $2500 for a 3 bedroom house and then would like to buy with a budget of $450,000 for again a 3 bed but 4 bed would be better. Any suggestions, would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by sandstring

Hi everyone, Myself and my husband are about to start the visa application process to hopefully move from the uk to California. He is a prison officer, so will be applying to the penetentiaries and correctional centres, in California. But we need some help narrowing down the areas. We are both in our early 30s, with 2 children ages 5 and 18months and a dog. We are looking for the areas of California that have the best schools, low crime rate and not overly expensive and lots of opportunity to get the kids involved in outdoor sports. We will be looking to rent for the first year and dont really want to be paying more than $2500 for a 3 bedroom house and then would like to buy with a budget of $450,000 for again a 3 bed but 4 bed would be better. Any suggestions, would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Do you have a list of all the prisons and correctional institutions in California?

Perhaps post those on the board or a narrowed down list and then people can fine tune their responses. Most City Data forum people probably don't know where these institutions are but once they do know then they can recommend localities nearby which can meet your requirements.

[sandstring]

Yes, here is the list:

San Quentin
Represa
Tehachapi
Chino
Soledad
Corona
Tracy
San Luis Obispo
Vacaville
Norco
Susanville
Jamestown
Avenal
Lone
San Diego
Stockton
Corcoran
Blythe
Crescent City
Chowchilla
Wasco
Calipatria
Lancaster
Delano
Imperial
Coalinga
Camarillo
Paso Robles
Norwalk

He is willing to drive up to 45mins to get to work. Thanks

[Charles]

That's a good list. Do you have the choice in which facility he will work? Or, is he assigned a location?

My choices:

San Luis Obispo
Camarillo
Paso Robles
Crescent City

but a lot of those places I don't know anything about. I think (from listening to rap songs) that some of those places are full of hard core criminals and others might be white collar places where they basically sit around all day and post on City Data.

[chuck22b]

Hi sandstring,
I'd say Chino for a correctional officer would be a pretty good location. We actually have three detention centers here for Men, Women, and Youth. In terms of proximity to things we're on the Western edge of the I.E. which gives you easy access to Los Angeles and Orange Counties. Furthermore, the house/rent prices you mentioned should easily give you a nice new home or place to rent. The City of Chino has been Named Top 100 Communities for Young People two out of three years and shares the same school district with Chino Hills which include California Blue Ribbon schools. Chino has an urban (northern Chino) /rural (southern Chino) / suburban (communities in the south and middle) life style... so it'll depend on what you like.

In my neighborhood there are a lot of law enforcement/correctional officers, as well as professionals/trades people that commute to Orange, Riverside, and LA counties. There are also a lot of ex-pats from other countries including Britain.

San Luis Obespo and Camarillo are nice areas fairly close to the ocean... but housing might be quite a bit more and they aren't close to major cities.

-chuck22b

[CA central coast]

First, I believe California correctional officers are the highest paid in the U.S., I know many officers and they are paid very well. Good Luck. The California Men's Colony (CMC), is located in San Luis Obispo, CA. Trust me, that's the prison you want to work at. San Luis Obispo County is a great place to live. All of your criteria is met. Real estate is expensive, but with the numbers you cited, I don't think you would have any problems here.

[sandstring]

Thanks, we actually had a quick stop and look around SLO on our honeymoon and really liked it. Can you tell me what the schools are like there? and which areas would be best to look at housing? thanks

[Capt. Dan]

Originally Posted by sandstring

Thanks, we actually had a quick stop and look around SLO on our honeymoon and really liked it. Can you tell me what the schools are like there? and which areas would be best to look at housing? thanks

Good morning young lady! I raised 3 daughters in the SLO school system. it was wonderful. you cant find a better place to raise a family and the budget you mentioned is doable in SLO if hubby chooses california Mens Colony. Good luck!

[Presley Pugston]

The public school system is well respected in this area, there are private schools also. But if education is stressed in your household, I think you'll receive a quality education on par with the private schools. The most respected public schools are in San Luis Obispo, Morro Bay, Los Osos, Templeton and I believe Cambria. But, all in all, SLO County schools are good. Also, the university and community college are excellent. Cal Poly is one the top universities in the U.S. For $2500 a month, you can rent a nice house anywhere in this county. $450,000 for a nice 3 or 4 bdrm. house, then your choices start to narrow a bit. San Luis Obispo is the most expensive and naturally areas next to the ocean. Los Osos is probably the most affordable coastal community. The nicest homes for what you are willing to spend are probably in Paso Robles, Atascadero or maybe Templeton. Try realtor.com to get an idea of housing prices. What I suggest is that if you do get offerd a position at CMC is to rent a house close to the prison (SLO, Los Osos or Morro Bay). Then scout around the county. From San Miguel to Nipomo. See what you like. Also take into account the weather in this area can vary. Many micro-climates here.

[truckzter]

I agree with the previous posts ... CMC is a great place to work. Paso doesn't have a prison [yet] (it used to be a "Youth Correctional Facility" --my dad worked there), but the State is transforming it into (either) a Fire Camp or a Minimum Security (?) prison. Right now the city is trying to fight the changes.

San Quentin and Corcoran are two of the toughest prisons in the system.

Avenal and Wasco are an hour drive north east of Paso (they are, literally, in the middle of nowhere). Many employees make the commute.

You really can't go wrong with San Luis. Family housing is EVERYWHERE .. I'm not sure about the housing prices .. they are still pretty steep.

But your husband could work at CMC, and you all could live in a sourrounding community.

Here are some housing links

San Luis Obispo Real Estate, Homes - Monica King, Agent, Broker (http://www.monicaking.com/template32/nextpage.asp?mnu=77097 - broken link)
San Luis Obispo Real Estate and Homes for Sale in San Luis Obispo County, California
San Luis Obispo CA Real Estate and MLS Search