trees and nature in CA? immigrating and a little lost! (Santa Clarita: houses, neighborhoods)

[marshmallows]

hi everyone!

im not sure if any of you can help but im completely overwhelmed with my google searches so i thought id give you guys a go.

i will be moving from australia to california very soon and my fiancé and i are currently looking at purchasing a home for our family.

i like trees and nature and he likes being able to order a pizza and feel like he lives in civilisation so we are trying to find an area that may be a cross between those lifestyles.

i like green valley and i almost had him roped in until we discovered theres no cell reception up there lol

so - heres what we are looking for:
an area with -

good elementary schools.
4+ bedroom houses for around the $500,000 mark for a standard sale.
trees and relatively spacious but not out in the wilderness.
within an hours drive of the sherman oaks area - ok if its a little more.

do any areas spring to mind or is this mix not really realistic?
any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

thankyou in advance

[smokingGun]

If you really truly love Nature and don't mind bears & cougars prowling around your neighborhood I suggest up in the hills of La Crescenta/Montrose. Running from man-eating predators is a great way to keep your kids in shape!

[Senno]

You might look into Canyon Country.

[genjy]

Originally Posted by smokingGun

If you really truly love Nature and don't mind bears & cougars prowling around your neighborhood I suggest up in the hills of La Crescenta/Montrose. Running from man-eating predators is a great way to keep your kids in shape!

I was going to say La Canada Flintridge. LC-Montrose is just next door anyway.

Don't forget coyotes. Lots of coyotes in the San Gabriel Mountains.

[BRinSM]

sounds like simi valley or moorpark might be good options for you, maybe even parts of chatsworth.

[nightlysparrow]

Check out a westerly direction on the 101 from Sherman Oaks. That is where the best public schools are:

At the tail end of L.A. County, Agoura Hills.

Also, look at the Ventura County threads here and search for Thousand Oaks, which comes the closest to your wishes.

[Joe Van Fossen]

4+ bedrooms at around your price range is going to be tough in those areas. Of the areas mentioned, there are probably more properties that fit your criteria in Simi Valley and Canyon Country. Simi Valley can be upwards of 30 miles away from Sherman Oaks, and with traffic that commute can be well over an hour. Canyon Country is closer to about 20 miles and could be within about an hour in traffic, depending on the day.

[Chicano3000X]

Downtown, there's a patch of grass on Broadway and wild crackheads..

[marshmallows]

OH MY!

i knew about mountain lions but bears and coyotes?! and people say OZ has dangerous animals around every corner LOL!

thanks the input though - i believe we were looking into canyon country or more, santa clarita for its good public schools but just wanted to see if there were any other areas of note...

thanks

[canyondanny]

Some parts of Santa Clarita are a nice compromise in this regard. Bear in mind that unless you are in the bottom of a canyon or up high enough in the mountains, trees don't grow here naturally. There are native live oak trees in the Santa Clarita area, but not typically where the neighborhoods are.

For your budget, you will be able to find a very nice house in Canyon Country, or an OK house in the more expensive parts of Santa Clarita (Valencia, Saugus, Stevenson Ranch). Valenica is nice, in a very artificial/master-planned sort of way. Canyon Country is a big area that's more hit and miss, some less desirable areas, but you won't end up in those on a $500k budget. Saugus is sort of a compromise, nice suburban area without much else. Living in Saugus will add 10 minutes to a commute because it's sort of equidistant from all of the main roads. We live in Canyon Country and love it, we are very outdoors-oriented people. We also don't mind living near blue-collar people, you get more of a mix out here than you do in, say, Stevenson Ranch ($$$$). There are mountains all around with good hiking access. Feel free to message me and I can try to give you more specific advice. Almost all of the schools in Santa Clarita are good, there are only a few exceptions. The Greatschools website can be a good guide for this.

Simi Valley is also a very nice area with good outdoor access. Feels a little more upscale/expensive in general than Santa Clarita to me. More Mercedes rolling around, etc...