NJ Equestrian and IT husband move to CA? (Los Angeles, San Diego: houses, job market)

[macfilly]

My husband and I are considering moving to CA from NJ - I'm big into the equestrian show-jumping scene, and he's an IT-computer guy (.net and software packaging). Does anyone know where we could find show-barns and horse shows for me, a good IT job for him (without a crazy commute) AND a nice suburban home for the both of us? From what I can tell there is a decent horse community outside of LA, but home prices seem a bit high (compared to NJ). We're not looking to spend more than $600K for a nice 3 BR suburban home with a yard. I also would like to be within an hour drive from the beach. We'd really appreciate any input you might have. THANKS!!

[missionhome]

I think you may like the city of San Juan Capistrano. It is about an hour south of Los Angeles in southern Orange County. It is anywhere from ten to twenty minutes from the beaches of beautiful San Clemente and Dana Point and SJC is great for horses. The city is historic and tries to keep that rural feel while still being amongst the suburbs of a 3 million person county and a massive metropolitan area. Horse trails are everywhere and there are several horse barns to keep them at. Most noticeable would be the Oaks/Blenheim Riding Park where world class horse shows are held located right in San Juan. Here is a link to a site for the showgrounds: Oaks Blenheim

There are plenty of homes in San Juan Capistrano for that price and adjacent areas like Ladera Ranch, Mission Viejo, San Clemente, or Laguna Niguel with 3 bedrooms for 600k. There are tons of IT jobs in Irvine which is where your husband would likely work. Tell him to look for jobs there. Irvine is anywhere from twnety minutes to 45 minutes to the farthest point in Irvine from San Juan in traffic.

This is the valley where San Juan lies:


Downtown SJC:


The Oaks Horse Grounds:


Don't hesitate to ask questions.

[bmwguydc]

Great areas in the post above. I'd also add into the mix Rancho Santa Margarita and Foothill Ranch in Lake Forest, since they are a little closer to Irvine and have proximity to the toll road corridor to Irvine, so you don't have to deal with the 5. And, you are a short commute (agaist traffic) from equestrian properties in nearby OC, and you're about an hour from Rancho Santa Fe in San Diego County that is also a center of equestrian life in SoCal.

Although, one of the best communities in the county is Mission Viejo as recommended by the post above. It can be done, but I'd agree that looking in and around Irvine would give the best opportunities for each of you.

[bhcompy]

Riverside and San Bernardino county also have options. You'll still see people riding their horses around Norco often, among other cities. My step mom did what you were talking about out there as well about 10 years back. I'm sure they still exist because of the horse culture. Those areas will put you about 45min to an hour from the beach and there is tech work in the major cities in that area. Norco, Menifee, Lake Matthews, Temecula, etc all have horse properties. Nice thing about the Norco area for recreational horseriding is you can ride down the Santa Ana River(very shallow) for a long ways and there are some nice trails and such along the riverbank and dry portions of the riverbed.

There is also a few suburban areas that may fit as well.

Rolling Hills has an active horse community but it is pricey.

Bellflower has a very small horse community and people ride on the streets in the neighborhood, but its less expensive than other areas because the city on the whole has some ghetto areas.

Lakewood has a nice stable with areas for jumping and such and people ride in the riverbed and through the parks there(Rynerson Park, Mae Boyer, Liberty Park, etc).

There are a few horse properties in northwestern Cypress as well, but some of them are fairly pricey. You occassionally see them riding their horses in the riverbed.

[macfilly]

Thanks for all the info, and the great photos!! Does anyone know who/where the top A-show trainers/barns are out there? And/or where a lot of the shows are? Thanks for the replies!

[streetscenes]

Don't know where all of the horse shows are. Maybe the Los Angeles Equestrian Center near the border of Glendale and Burbank off of the 134 Freeway. Other equestrian oriented communites are Bell Canyon on the Ventura/LA county line and Chatsworth in the San Fernando Valley. I think Norco in Riverside County still calls it self Horsetown USA, lots of equestrian activity in this part of the world. There is even an equestrian facility here in South Pasadena, the San Pascual Stables.

[ConsideringLA]

If you are looking for jobs, stay far, far away from San Bernardino/Riverside counties. Sure, Norco has lots of horse property but the commute is 1+ hours to anything half decent (from there, it would be Irvine which is a daily fight on the 91 fwy and/or an additional $10 per day (no exaggeration) on a toll road).

Burbank has a bevy of entertainment companies (Disney, Warner Bros, Yahoo, tons more "feeder" companies) that have heavy IT needs. The city has metro fiber infrastructure to support the media companies in the area. The current job market has been basically on the tarmack (esp with the uncertainty around the labor situation) but that is expected to pass in the next couple of months.

Burbank houses the LA Equestrian Center which is enourmous and first class. I believe it is the largest in So Cal, and it houses the Equidome -- the largest covered arena in the United States. There is a district in Burbank full of horse people called Rancho. Here's the skinny from wiki.

Good schools, a bit cooler than the rest of the valley (about 10 degrees from hades-like Woodland Hills), excellent public transportation options, and more job opportunities than most equine-oriented areas.

You can hit Santa Monica or Malibu in 45 minutes (or even Carpinteria or Ventura in about an hour). Check redfin for home pricing -- there are a number of 3/2 and even 4/3 homes at or under $600k in Magnolia Park, which centers around Magnolia Avenue. The yards are going to be on the small side, but these are tree-lined streets with lots of park access. Check Google Maps street view to get a virtual 'drive around.'



Good luck.

[18Montclair]

Bradbury is a nice equestrian place but Im not sure you'll find anything for $600K

[bhcompy]

Originally Posted by ConsideringLA

If you are looking for jobs, stay far, far away from San Bernardino/Riverside counties. Sure, Norco has lots of horse property but the commute is 1+ hours to anything half decent (from there, it would be Irvine which is a daily fight on the 91 fwy and/or an additional $10 per day (no exaggeration) on a toll road).

i dont really agree. there is plenty of work to be had in east LA/OC counties, San bernardino, and Riverside county for many sectors. california on the whole is suffering from unemployment, but riverside/san bernardino isnt the backwoods horse country it was 20 years ago. there is plenty of business in the area now

[ConsideringLA]

Originally Posted by bhcompy

i dont really agree. there is plenty of work to be had in east LA/OC counties, San bernardino, and Riverside county for many sectors. california on the whole is suffering from unemployment, but riverside/san bernardino isnt the backwoods horse country it was 20 years ago. there is plenty of business in the area now

bchompy: The OP was asking specifically about IT jobs. I grew up in the IE. Graduated from La Verne. Owned a home in Chino Hills as late as 2006. I have fought this very battle - there are scant IT jobs in the Inland Empire.

go to indeed.com or simplyhired.com and search for a job near Riverside, CA.

example: I just did a search for "SQL" within 25 miles of Riverside, CA. There are 162 postings. For "Active Directory", there are 35 job postings.

The same searches for Burbank yielded 3,320 and 526, respectively. THAT'S BETWEEN 15 and 20x THE NUMBER OF JOBS. And there are a mountain of people in the IE who would trade their commute in a heartbeat for one of those precious jobs...

The simple fact is that companies in large numbers are not headquartered in the Inland Empire -- you have government, academia, and some distribution facilities. When you're working in IT, it's all about the corporate office.