Relocationg to Southern California (Los Angeles, Riverside: condo, hotels, travel)

[SWSBWL]

I work for a hotel company and am relocating to Southern California. I will be mostly working in the LA area. Any advice on where to move? We are in our early 30s, married and looking for a nice, moderately priced (low 200k range) home to start a family in. What cities would be best? San Bernardino? Riverside?

[EscapeCalifornia]

There hasn't been a 200k house in SoCal in years, even in a gang infested neighborhood. I believe the median is around 500k and the median doesn't buy that nice of a house.

[logybogy]

low $200k buys you maybe a 700 sq. foot 1 bedroom condo.

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by logybogy

low $200k buys you maybe a 700 sq. foot 1 bedroom condo.

In Compton or San Bernardino.

[Mel2882]

First of all, if you didn't figure it out, the person who posted "Compton and San Bernadino" was joking. Also Riverside is okay, but not that wonderful of an area...in my opinion, it's just boring. 15 years ago you might have found a decent house for the low 200,000's...but I'm not sure where you'll find that now unless you're in the middle of nowhere. Where are you coming from?

[whowants2know]

Originally Posted by SWSBWL

I work for a hotel company and am relocating to Southern California. I will be mostly working in the LA area. Any advice on where to move? We are in our early 30s, married and looking for a nice, moderately priced (low 200k range) home to start a family in. What cities would be best? San Bernardino? Riverside?

I'm sorry to rain on your parade (sorry, no rain in So Cal..lol); but you might want to look into housing in Needles. Guess that wasn't funny was it?

Do some reseach on the Web and you'll find out very quickly that the money you want to pay for a home in So Cal would require you to time travel back about 15 years. Maybe if the housing market finally crashes and the majority of "new" home buyers file bankruptcy (which may very well happen), you might have a chance of purchasing a mobile home somewhere.

[RobE]

I have to pile on here and echo the other posters. 200k won't even get you a decent house in the suburbs of Seattle anymore, let alone SoCal. You have to look at $500k minimum for a small older home. So you might want to rethink your plans.

All the hotels in SoCal hire illegal aliens anyway for just about all the jobs.

[Norma Gan]

There are homes in California in the 200k range, but they are not in the city of Los Angeles. There are a few homes in Lancaster and several in the Riverside County. If you are planning to buy outside of LA and commute a 1 1/2 to 2 hr. drive you will most likely go through a new vehicle every 2 years. If you can afford $2,000 a month for a home you will be able to find something closer to Los Angeles. Goodluck!

[btrainbolt]

STOP!!!!
DON'T DO IT!!!!!
I am not a hater of SoCal....in fact, I was born and raised there. I will always love it for what is was. But it is a fact that over the last 10 to 15 years the Bad and the Ugly we all know and hear about L.A. has rapidly spread it way through the San Bernardino and Riverside (Inland Empire) Counties.
Everything you have read thus far is true (even the sarcastic). You will not find a decent home for what you want or can afford to pay. You might want to live there for a "trial" period before making the final move. I don't know where you are coming from but life will definately change for you. SoCal is pretty much "In your face" in all aspects. If you do find it totally necessary to move there, the desert (Hesperia) is probably going to offer a more affordable home (mid to high 300k). By the way..........I believe someone said that SoCal temp in the winter goes below freezing.........you'll find this to be true in the san bernardino mountains and high desert areas. Usually winter temps in the valley tend to be in the mid 50 and 60's.