Simi Valley - what is it like? (Los Angeles, San Diego: real estate, rent)

[CalTam]

We are in the process of returning to San Diego (after a 3 year absence). However, in recent weeks there is a company in Simi Valley that is very interested in my husband.

Question: we are both 43, no kids and will have combined annual income in the $160K+ range.

We both like good restaurants (preferable non-chain places), enjoy cultural activities (but are not necessarily 'culture vultures') and are hoping to buy a house.

Would we be bored in Simi? If so, what would be an alternative? We were hoping to buy a house in the $600K range. Although with the way the market is shaking out we may rent for a year or so....

Thoughts?

[jessemh431]

You will be bored and EXTREMELY HOT!!!! This week it will be over 100 many days. I would go for Ventura city, not county, or Santa Barbara city.

If you do want to stick with San Diego, try getting a place Chula Vista. 600k for a home is i think the normal, but i don't know much about SD county. 160k anywhere in SoCal would put you probably in the middle part of the middle class. Don't expect a big flashy house and Bimmers, but in no way will you feel uncomfortable with your lifestyle.

[UB50]

I think you'll be really bored too. I would look at Thousand Oaks, Porter Ranch (or Northridge), Calabasas, Agoura, or some of the other small towns closer to Thousand Oaks. Porter Ranch is an upscale relatively newish area in Northridge -- but Northridge offers a lot of variety! Lots of non-chain restaurants and stores!

Simi Valley is VERY hot in the summer. If you are driving through it in the summer coming from Ventura or Oxnard (on the back roads), it's like you hit a wall of hot air when you get to Simi Valley. The temperature just shoots up!

Also, I've always considered Simi Valley to be the epitome of suburbsville: Wal-Mart, strip shopping centers, chain restaurants, etc. Lots of police live there so it is pretty safe but I think it's really boring. It almost reminds me of the "planned communities" I grew up around in Florida.

I would wait to buy a house. With the subprime mortgage meltdown, house prices around here are not going to stay in the stratosphere. Plus, by then, you'll probably know where you really want to buy.

[Sorcerer68]

I echo hot and boring. It's out in the middle of nowhere.

[UB50]

Just one more thing... If you are coming from Fairfax Virginia, you really won't like Simi Valley. You'll end up feeling trapped there.

It's a great place to live if you have a lot of kids and you want to keep them in public school or you want to homeschool them and you want to live in a safe area and you don't want to pay LA prices for a house. But for two 40-something childless people? EEEEK!!

[jessemh431]

yea. when they say Simi VALLEY, they mean it. its hot there like any valley. and its a small valley in the middle of nowhere. is so small that only simi valley city fits in simi valley, unlike the San Fernando Valley and San Gabriels Valley of Los Angeles, which are surrounded by the rest of LA and are quite large. they also don't get as hot. they still get hot though. sorry for anybody that lives there. but i would have to say it's one of the worst places to live in SoCal besides the IE. Sorry for everyone that lives in the IE also. i just hate hot weather and being so far from a beach.

[JustPassinThru]

Originally Posted by jessemh431

yea. when they say Simi VALLEY, they mean it. its hot there like any valley. and its a small valley in the middle of nowhere. is so small that only simi valley city fits in simi valley, unlike the San Fernando Valley and San Gabriels Valley of Los Angeles, which are surrounded by the rest of LA and are quite large. they also don't get as hot. they still get hot though. sorry for anybody that lives there. but i would have to say it's one of the worst places to live in SoCal besides the IE. Sorry for everyone that lives in the IE also. i just hate hot weather and being so far from a beach.

Temperatures at 2:00 PM MST 8/14/07

San Dimas (SGV) 101
Duarte (SGV) 101
Arcadia (SGV) 97
Covina (SGV) 97
Woodland Hills (SFV) 96
Calabasas (SFV) 96
Northridge (SFV) 96

SIMI VALLEY 96

[nickie74]

I live in on the west side of Simi Valley, an area called Woodranch......I personally find the Woodranch area the best residential area of Simi to live because of it's greenery but it is one of those large master planned communities. The great thing I like about Woodranch, is the fact that it has a very safe and friendly feel to it, plenty of places to go jogging, walk the dogs and hiking in the hills, the downside is that it's very quiet compared to other older residential areas of Simi, where you will see more kids/teens hanging out at the local parks etc...
Simi valley is boring, with alot of chain restaurants, but one thing that really has perked up the area in the last few years has been the new 'Simi Valley Down Town', which is fantastic. (I personally prefer it to Santa Moinca). Somebody mentioned Thousand Oaks, which is slightly more expensive, but it takes me only 10 minutes in the car to get there and to be honest there's nothing really there to do either, they are both very quiet, but are very close to LA but don't have that LA feel if you know what I mean.
If your husband is going to work in Simi then don't even think of living in Santa Barbara, unless he wants to deal with an 1 1/2 -2 hr commute each day to work then back, also Santa Barbara can be very pricy when it comes to real estate.
My hubby earns $150k a year, and we have a townhouse worth $600k, plus hoa costs because it's gated, if you were going to consider Woodranch there are some detached homes that are just over 600k with a yard not gated, and as Woodranch has it's own Hoa ($100) the community does actually have a pool to use too also there are several tennis courts. I'm going to move out of my gated community because I didn't know the area had a pool at the time and I really need a yard, so I'm wasting $340 a month living somewhere enclosed which is silly when hardly any crime happens.
LA doesn't personally appeal to me to live because of the traffic, and it all seems a bit too concrete and ugly...we just make the 45 minute trip to the beach at the weekends, an hour to get into LA when we need a great day out. Nothing is too far for a day out around here.
There's also an English pub in Thousnd Oaks which is a great place to let your hair down and meet some locals, oh yeah and meet some Brits, like me

[Rik Sorenson]

Simi used to be a place where you bought your first home. Young married.
I lived there and liked it a lot. The drive to LA killed me so we moved.

They have interesting sign laws which make the place nice to look at.

[cricket_factor]

I suggest you look at Thousand Oaks. More diverse restaurants there than Simi Valley. You can go Ventura and Ojai in the north, and investigate Agoura, Calabasas, the San Fernando Valley and downtown Los Angeles in the south direction. Then you can visit Malibu towards the west.

I think Thousand Oaks has a lot more interesting shops and restaurants than Simi Valley. It seems that housing costs as much in either place, though.