Considering move to LA--need info on best suburbs (Los Angeles, Santa Clarita: condo, crime rate)

[3pups]

My husband and I are considering a move to LA...we are looking for a safe, family-oriented suburban area...a commute of up to an hour each way would be ideal (coming from ny and anything beats commuting into nyc in the snow)...thank you for your help...our budget would be b/w 500-599k for a home....

[Charles]

Why are you considering moving to LA?
What line of work are you in?
Where (location) are you going to work?
What are your home size (sqft, lot size) requirements?
Hypothetically, would you be comfortable if your kids went to a school that was up to 50% culturally, racially, and demographically different than you are?

[3pups]

we are in the beginning process of thinking about where our future will be...we are originally from ny and the diversity doesn't bother me at all, however, the crime rate does...my husband has a lot of family in california, both in the northern part and outside of LA...i have a friend who is living in burbank right now...i am a school teacher and my husband is in the IT field...we are hoping to raise a family in a nice suburb, but i am just beginning my research...in the end, it all depends on where his job will be...are there are decent suburbs outside of LA??

[TheRealAngelion]

Yes, there many nice suburbs outside of LA. Some of the best areas with good public schools are Calabasas, Agoura Hills, Westlake, Thousand Oaks, Oak Park, Newbury Park, Simi Valley, Santa Clarita, and Valencia just to name a few. There is also Orange County which is one big suburb with many nice, small cities.

Where you work will be a big factor in determining where you live though.

[Shikaka805]

I live in Thousand Oaks, CA. As a young professional this city is very boring for me, but to raise a family it is probably one of the best places in the country. One of the safest cities in the US (1 or 3 usually), some of the best public and private schools in the country, very clean, and outside of LA. There are also local shopping malls, a civic center that actually has good performers, and a small local "bar" scene in Agoura/Westlake. The only bad thing about Thousand Oaks is that there is no diversity, culture, and boring.

Your problem may be the pricing and commuting. For your range (500-599K) you will not be able to buy a decent house, but you will be able to buy a nice Townhome or Condo. If you plan to commute into Beverly Hills/Hollywood/Downtown good luck. During peak hours it will take you 1.5-3 hours to those areas. That is why I commute to Beverly Hills starting at 6am, which only takes about an hour. However, if you are commuting to the valley it is not as bad (.5-1hr). That would be ideal for you.

One of my goals in life is to be able to move back to Thousand Oaks to raise my family someday. That is how much I like it despite the lack of fun/diversity/culture for a young professional.

Check out these cities that are all very similar...(Ventura County)
Thousand Oaks, Newbury Park, Oak Park, Calabasas, Agoura, Westlake Village, Simi Valley, Moorpark.

Good luck and feel free to contact me with any questions about this area. I have lived here my whole life except when I went away for college.

[TheRealAngelion]

Originally Posted by Shikaka805

Check out these cities that are all very similar...(Ventura County)
Thousand Oaks, Newbury Park, Oak Park, Calabasas, Agoura, Westlake Village, Simi Valley, Moorpark.

Calabasas, Agoura, and Westlake Village are in LA County, not Ventura County, but I agree they are all nice areas for families.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by TheRealAngelion

Calabasas, Agoura, and Westlake Village are in LA County, not Ventura County, but I agree they are all nice areas for families.

While we're getting technical, Newbury Park is just a community of Thousand Oaks.

[jessemh431]

Originally Posted by TheRealAngelion

Calabasas, Agoura, and Westlake Village are in LA County, not Ventura County, but I agree they are all nice areas for families.

Calabasas is in LA, but part of WV is in Ventura county.

But, to answer the OP, I was go for Santa Clarita. It is an extremely family orientated area with good schools and good safety ratings. Most jobs would require you to commute to the San Fernando Valley though, but it's not too far. It wouldn't take more than an hour to go from SC to the south side of SFV. Especially with your budget of 600k maximum, SC would be your best bet as you would get the most home for your money.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by jessemh431

but part of WV is in Ventura county.
.

Just for clarification (and understandably this can be confusing), none of Westlake Village is in Ventura county. That part of the community that surrounds the Westlake Lake that is in Ventura County is Thousand Oaks. That part of the community that surrounds the Westlake Lake that is in Los Angeles County is the City of Westlake Village.

[TheRealAngelion]

Originally Posted by Charles

While we're getting technical, Newbury Park is just a community of Thousand Oaks.

We Angelenos sure are fussy about boundary lines. Thanks for the clarification about Newbury Park. I didn't know it was a part of TO. However, it does kind of have its own identity, and residents and businesses use Newbury Park and not TO as the city in their address.

Originally Posted by jessemh431

Calabasas is in LA, but part of WV is in Ventura county.

Nope. The entire city of Westlake Village resides in LA County. Read first sentence of the following link to the city's web site.

City of Westlake Village