East Coast Guy Curious About CA (San Diego, Ontario: lease, townhomes, neighborhood)

[CalWorth]

Originally Posted by njbiodude

If OP is willing to work on offshore oil rigs they might want to look into Huntington Beach and Santa Barbara.

Lovely areas but $$$.

[M3Guy]

Originally Posted by CalWorth

Too expensive, areas of Oxnard are not good, except for beach & that is $$$.

Just looked into it. Way too expensive.

[M3Guy]

Originally Posted by CalWorth

I spent most of my life in SoCal, it’s crazy-expensive now. Of your friends who live in “LA area”, Glendale is expensive, Compton is “gentrifying” but still not very safe & is over-priced, Temecula/Murrieta are nice & still possibly reasonable, & just north of that is Menifee, growing but still feasible. You realize that Temecula is far from LA, right? It’s in Riverside County. My friends live in Temecula & commute to San Diego for work, long, slow, gas-guzzling commute. But that area is what I would recommend.

Anything within 15 miles of the coast will be expensive. The further inland you go in Long Beach, the dicier the neighborhood. Someone suggested San Bernardino, NO to that, mostly due to crime & excessive heat. There are some communities in Riverside County that are good, but you have to be careful about which towns in San Bernardino County that you choose. Both of those counties are considered “close to LA”.

There are also Lancaster & Palmdale, they are in the far northern end of LA County, but actually in the Mojave Desert, but people do commute to LA from there, & I think you could find a condo or a house that “needs work” within your budget there. Good luck!

P.S. I know it sounds like ppl are gate-keeping, but they aren’t, it’s realism, unfortunately.

This is some of the best insight so far. I know Temecula is far from LA, but I meant since CA is so big, Temecula isn't THAT far away. Like say SF to LA.

San Bernardino may be a hard NO for me. I've done a little research on that area LOL. But, it could be one of those areas that turn around in the future. A very similar thing happened to a lot of neighborhoods in ATL.

I will definitely take a look at Lancaster and Palmdale!

[M3Guy]

How about Sun City? What's everyone's thoughts about there?

Again, I am just trying to put together a list of places to visit

[M3Guy]

Or the Rosamond area?

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by njbiodude

If OP is willing to work on offshore oil rigs they might want to look into Huntington Beach and Santa Barbara.

Santa Barbara has some of the most expensive home prices in southern California.

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by M3Guy

I will definitely take a look at Lancaster and Palmdale!

That area would definitely not fit your criteria of:

"Quirky art/music areas are a plus" or "I love the city. Not so much the suburbs."

[Thekdog]

Originally Posted by M3Guy

How about Sun City? What's everyone's thoughts about there?

Again, I am just trying to put together a list of places to visit

Sun valley? It's not very nice and it's expensive but it's close.

Since you're willing to look further, check out East but not as far as San Bernardino county

Check cities from Covina to Rancho Cucamonga. They will be cheaper and can be nice, but you might not get the "cool artsy" city life you're looking for.

They also have train into the city. I know someone who moved out near Claremont area and would take the train on days remote was not an option

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Originally Posted by M3Guy

This is some of the best insight so far. I know Temecula is far from LA, but I meant since CA is so big, Temecula isn't THAT far away. Like say SF to LA.

San Bernardino may be a hard NO for me. I've done a little research on that area LOL. But, it could be one of those areas that turn around in the future. A very similar thing happened to a lot of neighborhoods in ATL.

I will definitely take a look at Lancaster and Palmdale!

You'll be planning your entire day around traffic in Temecula.

[NW4me]

I grew up in the LA 'burbs... I've been away too long to have tips about neighborhoods or housing costs,
but here's a general observation: people can move eastward until the housing cost becomes do-able.
You'd lose urbanity by doing that but you wouldn't lose easy access to the great outdoors -- the most
impressive mountains in So Cal (Mts Baldy, San Gorgonio and San Jacinto) are way to the east of LA itself.
And I'm guessing you could find cycling clubs throughout So Cal.

Agreed about northeastern winters... three months a year with not much to do.
It's better to live 12 months a year.