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for someone who claims to have lived in santa clarita, you don't know much.
1. the prison is in castaic, not near copperhill and yes they sirens do go off occassionally, this is not a maximum prison.
2. santa clarita is one of the most sought after communities in so cal due to our small town atmosphere, award winning schools, and especially since we are not part of the city of los angeles
3. our community is business friendly and bio tech companies along with other manufacturing are bringing higher end jobs to this community.
4. our city budget is in the black! yes we have money for all the upkeep, no pot holes, no grafetti, our sheriff's department responds in record time to calls. the city is always repairing and replacing to keep this the beautiful place it is.
5. we have a real dog park, skate park, water park (not magic mountain) for the kids along with many, many other facilities.
i could go on and on about how wonderful this community is...small town living with commutes to the city
Chris-
1. I never said that the prison is in Valencia. I stated that the Copperhill area of Valencia is closest to the prison. You are right, the prison has a Castaic address. You are wrong about the prison not being a maximum prison. The newer part of the prison is called Supermax. I took a tour of it back in the day. I was formerly in law enforcement.
2. True, Santa Clarita is much sought after in the L.A. County area, but not like it was back when Santa Clarita WAS the safest city in the U.S. and yes, the schools are second to none.
3. Yes, the city is very business friendly (a great thing in today's economy)
4. The city is in the black. Santa Clarita has always dumped millions into beautifying the city. The Sheriff's department has always been great. Quick responses and very nice to deal with too (except for Deputy Banks-locals know who I'm talking about!)
5. The city is great for dog lovers and now has lots of things for kids to do (when I first moved there, not the case)
1. Concerts in the Park- Great bands and memories for sure (before and after they moved it to Central Park)
2. Lombardi Ranch- What a great place for Fall fun. (Even after the 2007 fire)
3. Halloween- Lots of kids= great times!
4. Saugus Speedway- For Saturday races and 4th of July.
5. Christmas- Many awesome neighborhoods with lots of decorations.
What I don't miss-
1. Smog since 1995.
2. Crime up since 2000.
3. Traffic congestion- It used to take me 10 minutes, in 1993, to go from CC to Stevenson Ranch and 15 years later, it took me 30 minutes.
4. The water there is the worst in California. Very hard and nasty to the taste.
5. The expense of electricity there- In July of 2007, my electric bill was $650 for a family of 4. Where I live now, the electricity is 1/3 the price of electricity of Santa Clarita.
I am a bit confused after reading some recent posts. Everything I have heard or read about Canyon Country and Saugus was bad, now there is info here that is contradicting that. I know there are good and bad parts of mostly every city, but are things looking up for those areas? We had settled on Castaic and Valencia because of the things I had heard about the other areas related to gangs, and bad schools. I actually had found a few homes in Saugus and Canyon Country that we were considering, but decided against it and are now struggling to find something affordable and big enough for our family of five in Castaic or Valencia. CC and Saugus are definitely more affordable, but I don't want my kids to be in a bad school or live where I feel unsafe to leave my home.
I am a bit confused after reading some recent posts. Everything I have heard or read about Canyon Country and Saugus was bad, now there is info here that is contradicting that. I know there are good and bad parts of mostly every city, but are things looking up for those areas? We had settled on Castaic and Valencia because of the things I had heard about the other areas related to gangs, and bad schools. I actually had found a few homes in Saugus and Canyon Country that we were considering, but decided against it and are now struggling to find something affordable and big enough for our family of five in Castaic or Valencia. CC and Saugus are definitely more affordable, but I don't want my kids to be in a bad school or live where I feel unsafe to leave my home.
Anyone?
Older areas of Newhall and CC are places to stay away from. Saugus is nice. I bought my first home there in 1993. Good schools in Saugus and the home prices are reasonable. I wouldn't buy in Castaic only because it is too far away from everything and I wouldn't buy in Stevenson Ranch or Valencia (west of the freeway) because those areas are way over rated and over priced.
Flamingomo, have you had a chance to look around in Santa Clarita or are you trying to figure things out from a distance? It would be really helpful if you could see the different parts of town to see what you're comfortable with; what someone calls "good" is so subjective.
I must respectfully disagree with Daddypants regarding his advice to avoid Newhall, and also with his analysis about S Ranch and Valencia being overrated and overpriced. In the older parts of Valencia there are many homes that have five bedrooms--good for a family of five--and pools either in the yard and/or community pools. There are also some lovely paseos for walking and biking. Home prices are down now, so these nice homes in family communities are not overpriced. It's true that Stevenson Ranch has higher home prices, and there are no paseos or community pools there. Still, home prices are down there as well, so it depends on your budget. Have you checked on realtor.com or similar? The areas in Valencia I'm specifically referring to are called Old Orchard I and Old Orchard II, and there is another part, called Tempo that might interest you. These are the names of the tracts, and these homes were built in the late 1960's and early 1970's. They have the paseos, community pools, parks, and lots of mature trees. There are hoa's so the neighborhoods are well kept. I understand that the hoa fees in these areas are not high.
As for Newhall, no paseos nor community pools because Newhall was not a master planned community as Valencia was/is. Yes, there are older parts of Newhall, and the not-great part is east of Newhall Ave. The rest is fine, and you would have no reason to feel unsafe inside or outside of your home. By "not-great" I mean smaller, older homes and apartments and probably more crime than in other parts of the city. I wouldn't go so far as to call it dangerous, even so. But it's mainly residential there, so you'd never have any reason to go over there. Yes, bad guys have cars, but that's certainly true everywhere; Newhall as a whole is not dangerous. And you may have read in the above posts that Newhall has quite a few extremely nice homes--much too expensive for the rank and file--as well as nice homes folks in the middle can afford. All true.
And really, don't worry about the schools. They are very strong here. Castaic has its own school district, and I don't know about it personally, but have not ever heard that it's inferior. The grade schools in part of Valencia and in Newhall and Stevenson Ranch all belong to the Newhall School District, and those in Saugus and the other part of Valencia are in the Saugus District. Both very good, strong districts. Grade schools in Canyon Country are in a different district which I believe is called Sulphur Springs. All of the jr. highs and high schools here--but not those in Castaic because it has its own district--are in the William S. Hart District. That means that all of the jr. highs and the high schools--whether in the more expensive areas or not--have the same standards, by which I mean are all good.
There is a Wikipedia article about Santa Clarita you might find helpful, and it's easy to find by Googling it.
Best wishes, Flamingomo, and good luck with your search.
Hi, again! I just thought of something: check out Moderator cut: Old Town Newhall's Website and you'll read about the new library in Newhall that is supposed to open in September, the weekly farmers market, the two theaters (plays), the historic Saugus train station, the William S. Hart house (a museum now) and the street festivals, all in Newhall. The parts of Valencia I mentioned in the above post, Old Orchard I and II, are adjacent to Newhall--essentially they are across the street--so if you choose a house there you'd still be very close to all of these goings-on.
Last edited by David Aguilar; 07-31-2012 at 07:21 AM..
Reason: new members cannot post links
Flamingomo, have you had a chance to look around in Santa Clarita or are you trying to figure things out from a distance? It would be really helpful if you could see the different parts of town to see what you're comfortable with; what someone calls "good" is so subjective.
I must respectfully disagree with Daddypants regarding his advice to avoid Newhall, and also with his analysis about S Ranch and Valencia being overrated and overpriced. In the older parts of Valencia there are many homes that have five bedrooms--good for a family of five--and pools either in the yard and/or community pools. There are also some lovely paseos for walking and biking. Home prices are down now, so these nice homes in family communities are not overpriced. It's true that Stevenson Ranch has higher home prices, and there are no paseos or community pools there. Still, home prices are down there as well, so it depends on your budget. Have you checked on realtor.com or similar? The areas in Valencia I'm specifically referring to are called Old Orchard I and Old Orchard II, and there is another part, called Tempo that might interest you. These are the names of the tracts, and these homes were built in the late 1960's and early 1970's. They have the paseos, community pools, parks, and lots of mature trees. There are hoa's so the neighborhoods are well kept. I understand that the hoa fees in these areas are not high.
As for Newhall, no paseos nor community pools because Newhall was not a master planned community as Valencia was/is. Yes, there are older parts of Newhall, and the not-great part is east of Newhall Ave. The rest is fine, and you would have no reason to feel unsafe inside or outside of your home. By "not-great" I mean smaller, older homes and apartments and probably more crime than in other parts of the city. I wouldn't go so far as to call it dangerous, even so. But it's mainly residential there, so you'd never have any reason to go over there. Yes, bad guys have cars, but that's certainly true everywhere; Newhall as a whole is not dangerous. And you may have read in the above posts that Newhall has quite a few extremely nice homes--much too expensive for the rank and file--as well as nice homes folks in the middle can afford. All true.
And really, don't worry about the schools. They are very strong here. Castaic has its own school district, and I don't know about it personally, but have not ever heard that it's inferior. The grade schools in part of Valencia and in Newhall and Stevenson Ranch all belong to the Newhall School District, and those in Saugus and the other part of Valencia are in the Saugus District. Both very good, strong districts. Grade schools in Canyon Country are in a different district which I believe is called Sulphur Springs. All of the jr. highs and high schools here--but not those in Castaic because it has its own district--are in the William S. Hart District. That means that all of the jr. highs and the high schools--whether in the more expensive areas or not--have the same standards, by which I mean are all good.
There is a Wikipedia article about Santa Clarita you might find helpful, and it's easy to find by Googling it.
Best wishes, Flamingomo, and good luck with your search.
Thank you so much for all of this info! Yes, we have been to Valencia as we have friends there and I have another friend who just moved his family to Castaic and they are very happy and feel quite safe. Newhall, again, was something I had heard to avoid, but now I will look into as well. We realize we will be getting less house for our money out west, but that is a sacrifice we are willing to make. How would I go about looking for Old Orchard homes in Valencia if I were just to do a quick MLS search or just online? Do they list them like that?
Hi Flamingomo. I just looked at a real estate sight--I don't think I'm allowed to post it because I'm a new member, but it is a big one and the first word is "realtor." I checked under "Old Orchard Valencia Ca" between 400K and 600K (random numbers) and two listings popped up. So it works for that tract it seems. There are other tracts adjacent to Old Orchard that have very similar homes and of course I'm drawing a blank on what they're called. I'm annoyed by this, so I think I'll go check and get back to you. My brain is not 20 years old anymore, dang it! If you check listings on a map, you want to look for Lyons Ave as being one the streets the area is bounded by, and another is Orchard Village Rd. Also Tournament Rd. and Mc Bean Pkwy. If a Valencia listing, whether or not it says Old Orchard, has one or more of these streets alongside or in the middle of where you're looking, you're in the right place. These are the homes I referred to above, built in the late 60's and early 70's, very good family neighborhoods with mature trees and paseos.
The neighborhoods that mrspabb is referring to are Valencia Hills, Vista Ridge, Old Orchard 1 & 2. Newhall is under a good revision with the information that was provided earlier, you can see that the city is very progressive and keeping the SCV a wonderful place to live. mrspabb has given you lots of good info.
Housing prices are on the rise again as we do not have enough homes for all of the buyers who wish to live here. Stevenson Ranch and Valencia are the two most requested areas for information and desirability to live in. And yes I am a realtor who works and lives in the SCV (over 20 years)...I know what I am talking about.
Every neighborhood in the SCV has a different feel and lifestyle. I don't know why daddypants is so negative about Stevenson Ranch and Valencia...Valencia is the first planned community in SCV beginning in 1968 with Old Orchard 1. Stevenson Ranch came much later in the early and mid 80's...yes it's very upscale with homes at the top of the hill going for $700-900k currently. Stevenson Ranch does not have any paseos or community pool and the area is maintained by the county of LA.
Valencia (east of the 5 fwy) is currently going from mid $400k's to over a million (Vista Ridge- custom homes overlooking the golf course) Westridge developement in Valencia is extreemly upscale with custom homes in the $1M plus mark overlooking the TCP Golf Course. Stevenson Ranch and Valencia are close to the 5 fwy and lots of great shopping.
The castaic community draws those who have the boats, and other water toys.,and is growing. I don't think a site has been settled on yet for the new Castaic HS.
Saugus is a lovely community but adds 20-30 minutes to commute to the freeways...gotta pass Saugus HS down bouquet cyn. Current prices mid $300k's upward
Canyon Country west of the 14 fwy is a bit more affordable. Older neighbors in the mid to high $200k's to the $500k's. the newer area east of the 14 is Fair Oaks Ranch community with new homes currently being build are newer and pricier.Starting in the mid $400k's and going up from there... Also a very nice shopping area at the top of the hill
Newhall is a more unique area with old homes from the 1930's to Mansions (Peachland Estates), Hill top homes with amazing views (Hidden Valley) and surprisingly ranches buried deep within the community. Prices are all over the board there. High $200ks to over $1M. (Newhall is not a planned development and neighborhoods vary widely).
With regard to electricity prices...I have a 5 bedroom 2500 sq.ft. home (2 story) and my electric bill is $265 for the summer months (so far in this unbearable heat wave of 2012) and $156 durning this past winter. (i have an older home 1969, we have replaced windows, added insulation, a whole house fan and 2 attic fans (one house and one in the garage).
Go on the city website...Santa-Clarita.com for lots of info about community events. I think you can also access a bike trail map and paseo map there. Also as mrspabb mentioned earlier, the city is great for getting rid of pot holes and removing any graffiti that shows up. there is even an app for your iphone to report it. Good luck in your endeavors...I am sure that you will love living here!
I moved to santa clarita in March from Calgary Canada, a city with 1.3million people. i had my thought in my head of what moving outside of L.A would be like, even tho i new it was a small city. so far this place has been great, i have no complaints at all. Of course commuting is bad, but thats part of my job anyways, i have to go south of the LAX daily, but im fine with it cause i get to pick my own times so i obviously dont go at rushhour. its very clean, people are friendly and theres everything you need, the water i thought was bad when i first arrived compared to glacier fresh canadian water,but im used to it now. i would reccomed this place, not the best for nightlife, but great for good clean family friendly neighborhoods and always something to do. not to mention the weather, this is paradise to any canadian haha, not to often does it get 85-90 back home.
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