Moving to TO (Los Angeles, Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley: low income, rent, condos)

[OH2CA]

Originally Posted by GlenB

Well...i'll tell you ....i just rented an apartment there today (i move in March 8th)...i'm moving from Ft. Lauderdale Florida.. I got a one bedroom for $1640/month...2 bedrooms in the nicer apartment complexes are 1800-2200...if you go to the Knolls and Westlake Canyon...they have alot of vacancies for 2 bedrooms and are giving some good specials...like a month free rent and 100 bucks off of the rental price. But seems very worth it...seems like a great place to live ...i can't wait to get there!!

Hi,

Is Westlake Canyon where Westlake Village is? Where are the Knolls? I guess I need to get a better map of the area :-)

How did you find your apartment? On-line? If so can you recommend some sites/links?

How long of a commute will you have to TO?

Congrats on having everything set up.

[GlenB]

Westlake Canyon and The Knolls are sister properties across the street from one another. They are several miles north from the center of town....you could either take the 23 which I understand is a heavy traffic or avenue de los robles which is a nice scenic way to town. Look at Apartments.com and rent.com or go to www.srgliving.com (site for knolls and westlake canyon)....good luck...for me its 20 days till the big drive west!!!!!! woooohoooo

[Roma]

Good for GlenB, There are lots of great places to eat in the area but you have to go to Jacks Deli in Westlake for lunch sometime. I miss the whole area. I lived in the area for 28years. My high school (T.O had a surfing class) only in California LOL. My husband worked for Amgen. He started there when they had less then 1,000 employees, now they have over 8,000. He retired from Amgen quite nicely at the ripe old age of 40. I'ts a great area with lots to offer.

[puffle]

Originally Posted by OH2CA

Hi,

Is Westlake Canyon where Westlake Village is? Where are the Knolls? I guess I need to get a better map of the area :-)

How did you find your apartment? On-line? If so can you recommend some sites/links?

How long of a commute will you have to TO?

Congrats on having everything set up.

The apartments in question are on Westlake Blvd. and Los Arboles Blvd.. It is on the border of Thousand Oaks. I don't know where your job is, but if you lived there you would just take Los Arboles to Moorpark Ave. which is the center of Thousand Oaks. There are more apartments in better locations that are less expensive in Thousand Oaks and Newbury Park. Go to craigslist.com for private rentals and The Acorn, which is a local papers that lists rentals on line. Where will you be working in T.O.?

[SoCalMomma]

Puffle is right, there are LOTS of apartment complexes in town, and many are less expensive than the Knolls & Westlake Canyon. I have know people who have lived at the Knolls and it is a nice complex. Amgen uses the Knolls as temporary residence for the employees it brings in from other areas. I think Westlake Canyon apts are very similar.

But if you are local, really should come look around. There are many complexes in Thousand Oaks/Newbury Par/Westlake Village, some higher priced, some lower. Some are much nicer than others, of course.

I have a friend who just moved into a brand new apt complex in Camarillo (10 min from TO). She got a 1 bedroom,with a good size living and a pretty big bedroom (for an apt) with walk in closet, for $1550 a month. She said her favorite thing is that you can have a stackable washer/dryer in your own unit. Her complex is very pretty and new. Its called Avalon, I think.

I believe Apartments.com has pictures and layouts and current pricing for the apartments in the area.

Good luck on your search.

[OH2CA]

Originally Posted by GlenB

Westlake Canyon and The Knolls are sister properties across the street from one another. They are several miles north from the center of town....you could either take the 23 which I understand is a heavy traffic or avenue de los robles which is a nice scenic way to town. Look at Apartments.com and rent.com or go to www.srgliving.com (site for knolls and westlake canyon)....good luck...for me its 20 days till the big drive west!!!!!! woooohoooo

:-)

Thanks for the additional info ... I'll be sure to check out the site (and I may be back with yet more questions for anyone willing to answer)

[OH2CA]

Originally Posted by puffle

The apartments in question are on Westlake Blvd. and Los Arboles Blvd.. It is on the border of Thousand Oaks. I don't know where your job is, but if you lived there you would just take Los Arboles to Moorpark Ave. which is the center of Thousand Oaks. There are more apartments in better locations that are less expensive in Thousand Oaks and Newbury Park. Go to craigslist.com for private rentals and The Acorn, which is a local papers that lists rentals on line. Where will you be working in T.O.?

Hi,

If things work out I might be working for Cal Lutheran. I'll know in about 2 weeks for sure.

Thanks for the additional info, people are very helpful.

I have a general question about TO and Southern California living. I grew up in Europe where there is a distinct concept of neighborhoods were you can go and do your shopping and sit outside in a cafe or get groceries etc. I have experienced a similar setup in cities in the US (eastcoast and midwest to some extend). Ie a distinct downtown for a hub of social and commercial activity.

This doesn't seem to apply in S. Cal or am I mistaken? It seems that almost everything involves driving, or is this a false impression? Anywhere near TO where I might find something similar to that or it's just not the way it is in that part of the US?

(This is not meant as criticism just curiosity. My preference would be the walk about downtown setup .. easier to mingle with folks :-) Not quite sure how you would meet people if you are always driving from one place to another in your car .. doesn't seem to offer a lot of chance for social interaction)

Oh, and while I have your expertise .. what sort of income would one have to have to even have a chance to buy a decent house at some point?

Sorry for all the questions ... don't feel like you have to answer them all, I'm just putting them out there for anyone who feels like jumping in.

Thanks!

[puffle]

Originally Posted by OH2CA

Hi,

If things work out I might be working for Cal Lutheran. I'll know in about 2 weeks for sure.

Thanks for the additional info, people are very helpful.

I have a general question about TO and Southern California living. I grew up in Europe where there is a distinct concept of neighborhoods were you can go and do your shopping and sit outside in a cafe or get groceries etc. I have experienced a similar setup in cities in the US (eastcoast and midwest to some extend). Ie a distinct downtown for a hub of social and commercial activity.

This doesn't seem to apply in S. Cal or am I mistaken? It seems that almost everything involves driving, or is this a false impression? Anywhere near TO where I might find something similar to that or it's just not the way it is in that part of the US?

(This is not meant as criticism just curiosity. My preference would be the walk about downtown setup .. easier to mingle with folks :-) Not quite sure how you would meet people if you are always driving from one place to another in your car .. doesn't seem to offer a lot of chance for social interaction)

Oh, and while I have your expertise .. what sort of income would one have to have to even have a chance to buy a decent house at some point?

Sorry for all the questions ... don't feel like you have to answer them all, I'm just putting them out there for anyone who feels like jumping in.

Thanks!

The only places that have the type of environment you are speaking of would be in Westlake Village off Agoura Rd. where there is a Von's market, Starbucks, Coffee and Tea, and several restaurants and retail stores that have outdoor dining,especially nice in the summer. Many restaurants here have jazz bands playing on Friday and Saturday nights. There are a few bar/clubs in the area that are upscale in decor and people. I walk from my condo to all of these places. It's great and the people are nice and not transient. You could do the same in T.O. off Moorpark Rd. where it is larger and busier. Westlake is a village, California standards. We have a lake where you can go fishing and people go boating and you can have a lovely dinner outside while looking at all the beautiful homes on the lake. It is by far the nicest part of the Conejo Valley, in my opinion. There is one apartment complex nearby called Oak View and next door are townhomes. I would say for a single person to be able to buy a home in T.O. or Westlake Village you should look at realtor.com to get an idea of what homes go for, what your mortgage would be and go from there. You can buy a two bedroom townhome in Westlake anywhere from $450,000 up. You can get a one bedroom condo in Westlake on the Los Angeles side for under $400,000. The median price homes here are probably around $800,000. Hope you were sitting just then!! Go on line to The Acorn and go to the classifieds for rentals and home prices for T.O. Westlake, Newbury Park and Oak Park. Good luck!!

[OH2CA]

Originally Posted by SoCalMomma

Puffle is right, there are LOTS of apartment complexes in town, and many are less expensive than the Knolls & Westlake Canyon. I have know people who have lived at the Knolls and it is a nice complex. Amgen uses the Knolls as temporary residence for the employees it brings in from other areas. I think Westlake Canyon apts are very similar.

I believe Apartments.com has pictures and layouts and current pricing for the apartments in the area.

Good luck on your search.

Hi

I live in Ohio, so not quite local :-) I did spend a day recently in TO but that was way too short and happened or real short notice. I wish I had found this board and the informative messages before then.

All I managed to do is get a feel for where some of the surrounding communites are by driving around and have a chance to talk to people about the cost of living .. ie mostly housing :-(

I'll have to definitely do more homework when/if the job in TO comes through, but I think it's not a bad idea to get some information now, so I appreciate all the information given here.

[OH2CA]

Originally Posted by puffle

The only places that have the type of environment you are speaking of would be in Westlake Village off Agoura Rd. ... You could do the same in T.O. off Moorpark Rd. where it is larger and busier.

Most excellent info, thanks!