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Old 10-01-2008, 09:29 AM
 
Location: Oklahoma
4 posts, read 17,066 times
Reputation: 13

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Hello there,
My husband & I live in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but we are wanting to move to California in a few years. His mom lives in Orange County so he likes it there, but I heard it was pretty pricey. My husband & I have a house here in Oklahoma & the median price for houses here are about $135,000.00 & thoses are for NICE houses. Bascially, if you & your spouse are making $14 per/hr or more you will do fine in Tulsa.
We are just growing out&old of Tulsa & wanted to experience a new state & there is not much ethnicities here. When we do have kids, I would like them to be amoung more&other ethnicities.
Don't get me wrong, Tulsa is great, its less expensive, less traffic, everything is close, but we just want something new.

I was wanting to know what is a great starter area in Los Angeles County and/or surrounding areas? We would like to be at least an hour away from the beach.
If we do live in SoCal, we want to start w/a apartment so we can get a feel of everything & once we know the city & area more, then purchase a house.


So my question is...
What are great starter areas in SoCal?

What is the price median for apartments & houses?
and
What the average per/hr amount that I can do Okay in SoCal?

Thank You!

Last edited by Mrs.Denise; 10-01-2008 at 09:46 AM.. Reason: more editing
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Old 10-01-2008, 10:13 AM
 
1 posts, read 2,827 times
Reputation: 13
Default RE California living

Depends on what you are looking for. First off the "living wage" in either the metro socal region or the bay area in northern CA is ~70k or higher. Of course the average pay is higher for basically every job - but it boils down to a quality of life issue. I've lived all over CA as well as other states and as an example the average person living in Tucson, AZ had a higher quality of life than the average person living in SF. in my opinion. (Quality of life meaning primarily disposable income, free time etc). If you consider cultural diversity, broad access to the arts, centers or science excellence and so on as a foctor of quality of life than the metro areas in CA may be for you. Currently I work in the bay area and there is so much to do you should never be bored. On the flipside a craphole condo is ~360k in the city and you won't be looking for a decent house in a good area for anything below 1/2 mil. Socal is a bit different - there are pockets in LAC and OC that provide good value for the buck. Good luck!
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Old 10-01-2008, 10:20 AM
 
Location: San Diego
50,116 posts, read 46,724,808 times
Reputation: 33953
If you can stand the heat I would recommend Ramona. It wouldn't be near the culture shock of a lot of the bigger City areas.
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Old 10-01-2008, 11:42 AM
 
Location: Baywood Park
1,634 posts, read 6,703,028 times
Reputation: 714
Maybe Riverside and San Bernardino Counties? Bakersfield maybe farther than you'd like, but it was basically populated by people from Oklahoma and Mid-West. $14/hr. would be a little tough out here. Wages vs. cost of living can be a problem out here. Especially where I live, wages can be low, cost of living high. And I'm 4 hours away from a metro. It really depends on the area, and as you know this is a large state. L.A and OC will be unbelieveably expensive to you, especially coming from a place where 135k buys a nice home. I don't even know where you can buy a nice home for 135k in CA. Mojave Desert? maybe in the San Joaquin Valley?
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Old 10-01-2008, 01:39 PM
 
17 posts, read 49,936 times
Reputation: 14
Default Hmmmm,

Well, there are several new home builders who are really trying to unload their model homes in outta town pockets around Palmdale, Lancaster, Santa Clarita etc.
$135K would be a great down payment but as far as buying a home here for that much would involve either short sales/foreclosures...in the areas I just mentioned.
SoCal is beautiful but mainly around the beach areas such as Santa Monica, Malibu, Santa Barbara and now Venice which are hideously expensive.
We're near the Mar Vista area about 2 miles from the beach, if you're looking for ethnic diversity, it's a really great place for that {south of Venice Blvd}.
If you want to locate primarily for the schools then greatschools.com is an excellent reference.

Jim
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Old 10-01-2008, 10:06 PM
 
Location: southwest michigan
1,061 posts, read 3,573,979 times
Reputation: 503
As a previous poster mentioned, Riverside County might be a good starting place for you- close enough to OC that hubby's mom can see the kids, not so close that she'll be over every day . Specifically, I'd naturally recommend Temecula. It really has lovely topography, and for getting only 11" of rain a year, it is surprisingly lush. The school system is very highly rated (TVUSD), and there are a lot of family oriented activiites. Last I checked, the avg. $/sq ft in Temecula was $144....I know, sticker shock!!! But compared to other "nice" areas, it's technically affordable. Not actually affordablye, just comparatively . $135K won't buy anything nice here, but you can get a condo for $150K (foreclosure) and a few smaller single family homes for $190K or so.

Before you set your mind on making the move though, consider that your commute times will probably be waaaaaay longer than you've experienced in Tulsa, the cost of living is higher, and even though we have a good district, the schools are the first place the state likes to take money from, so without parent volunteers, there is no music, art, P.E., computer class, or spanish taught in elementary schools (all of which you can find in many districts in Texas, for example). Fortunately, Temecula is chock full of stay at home moms who are willing and able to volunteer several times a week, but it is something you need to think about when considering raising a family somewhere. Let me know if you have any questions, and good luck!
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Old 10-01-2008, 10:22 PM
 
Location: Oklahoma
4 posts, read 17,066 times
Reputation: 13
Smile Thank You for all the great replies

Thank you everyone,
I have never heard of the metioned cities lol, but I am happy & glad to know so I Now know where to look at. I will do further research on those cities.

Thank you all for the great replies!
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