Shall we move from Seattle to Orange County? We're torn! Any advice on ARTESIA or SIGNAL HILL? (San Francisco: homes, salary)

[boi2socal]

I'm not sure if price had been a factor...there are many other communities that are more in between than Artesia or Signal Hill and also safer. If you haven't already simply google map by putting in "Monrovia, CA to Irvine, CA." There are several nice Inland Communities along the way such as Brea (OC) and Diamond Bar (LA). Brea is slightly more "exclusive" thus having higher prices but is a very safe community in Orange County. I have found some excellent deals around Brea and I suggest you take a look if you haven't already. Brea is home to the Brea Mall and a small pedestrian friendly downtown with food, shops and two movie theaters. Fullerton adjacent is also very nice. Another short drive is Downtown Fullerton which has many restaurants. For the Monrovia worker, traffic wouldn't be too bad because they would be going opposite most traffic. The Irvine worker would experience some traffic due to Irvine being a business center.

[socal359]

I'll put my vote in for Lake Forest, I live here and like it better than my former city, Irvine. It is safe never had any major problems and if anything did come up the Sheriffs dept. is great it seems that there is one on every corner, or at least three at Baja Fresh at any given time if you need them. Irvine is bordered by LF and an easy commute by side streets.
http://www.ocsd.org/
You can go to the blotter under e services and check the realtime crime in LF and many other cities, thats what I do before I move. Good luck to you.

[Soccersupporter]

Originally Posted by egyptianheidi

Hi-

We've been following several of these threads for months, and have learned so much! We currently live in rainy Seattle. We have a lovely home, drive 10 minutes to work, and are close to family and friends. However, my husband recently received a job offer in Irvine that is nearly twice his current salary. I may also have a job lined up in Monrovia earning slightly more than I do now. We would make 3-4 times the California state average as far as salaries go.

HOWEVER, where could we live??? I've researched so many places between Monrovia and Irvine, and just when I think I've found something, I realize the murder rates are high, burglary is on the rise, etc. What would you recommend? Any advice on Artesia or Signal Hill? We've found reasonably priced homes in both of those areas that are larger than walk-in closets...We do not have children, so school districts are not a huge concern.

We've only been married a year and we're attracted to the idea of starting a new adventure somewhere together. We also love the sun and the beach. This job would also allow us to be a one income family should we decide to do that when starting a family.

But, we're happy here and we're not sure if the risks are worth it. Housing? Commuting? Crowds? Is it really as bad as everyone says or would we do ok on $175 - $200k a year?

Any advice would be appreciated!

THANKS!

-EH

We just moved from Irvine CA to Keller TX. You will do OKAY on $175,000 to $200,000 a year but you won't be putting money in the bank. There is a reason the salaries are so high, the cost of living is way off the charts in SoCal. Hold off on buying a house for now, the market is crashing. We sold our house only 2 months ago and it has already lost $75,000-$100,000 in value. The market will eventually come back but it will probably be several years from now.

Stay away from Artesia or Signal Hill neither is a place you would want. In fact the closer you get to LA the worse it gets with the exception of small communities spotted between OC and LA. Just remember you still have to drive through those areas.

If you are truly happy where you are please stay. The move to CA will put a huge stress on your marriage. My wife and I have been married for 28 years and moved to TX to get out of the circus called SoCal and start to enjoy life and each other again. Your marriage is too important to add the stress of CA living. Just be content with vacationing there once or twice a year, that is our plan.

[Soccersupporter]

Originally Posted by egyptianheidi

Wow! What a presumptious response. You'd laugh at your own comment if you knew more about us and what we do. Perhaps I'm worried more about moving there because of the chip so many people seem to have on their shoulder...

The fact that the household salary is $53k and the average home is like $530k is a huge schism. Nothing about "money trumping all" or Lexus's...

Don't bother replying further if all you can offer is sarcasm. But I guess that's California, eh?

I am not going to be negative about CA just realistic.

My wife and I made about $150,00 a year. Let me qualify that $150,000. We paid very little taxes as my wife worked out of our home and the write-offs were tremendous. That being said it probably was more like $175,000.

We raised/are raising 4 children. Two are through college with 2 more to go. This is partially why we left CA, we needed a less stressful life style and wanted a brighter future. You will never and I mean never get ahead in CA unless you strike it rich. The economy is just not set-up/positioned to allow that.

If you are going to have a family re-think your possible move. If you are going to live married without children, go for it but leave before you start a family.

[gellio_sf]

Originally Posted by slang75

I know you think LA and Seattle traffic are similar, but they are not. Check the latest traffic stats.

I can back you up. I spent 5 years in Seattle, where I think traffic is awful. I have also spent a lot of time in LA/OC for work and it is WAY worse there. It takes FOR EVER to get any where because the travel is horrendous all hours of the day. Still, the weather down there is beautiful and the ocean being so close is a huge plus.

I say - go for it. If, after a couple years, you don't like it, move again! Seriously, life is too short just to not take a chance sometimes. I made a really bad decision moving once, but I learned from it (A LOT) and wouldn't change it. Granted, one thing I learned in a big way was to listen to my gut. My gut was telling me not to move, and I did, and it was a mess. But, that's my situation....it would have been a lot better if I went with a partner.

[Soccersupporter]

Originally Posted by SoCal Person

Someone else said,

Personally a lovely home with a 10 minute commute and close to family and friends sounds really good to me.

That is such good advice. Of course your husband can make twice as much here. So do I in my job as do my professional counterparts in the midwest. My husband also makes twice what his counterparts do there, too. I grew up here and my whole family is here, that's why we're here.

On our dual income household with a very comfortable combined income we still would find it very hard to afford a house similar to my parents' home in Yorba Linda that they bought for 31,000 on one income, so long ago. The housing prices here are ridiculous.

If you plan on staying home some day to raise a family (as I did), then especially think about staying in your more affordable area.

Money isn't everything. It is rather gratifying in an egotistical way to know you make a great salary, but to me where you live now sounds fantastic.

I already responded on your commuter thread, by the way, so I won't go on about that here.

Interestingly enough, my husband my soon have the chance to work within two miles of our home, for the first time ever not driving at least 20-40 miles one way to work. If he takes the job, he'll earn between 10-27 percent LESS than he makes now. Nonetheless he just may do it to avoid the commute.

Listen to these folks on these boards, even the negative comments about this area. There's a reason for them.

One more observation, and I am not intending to offend anyone. My husband and I have driven to the midwest many times on family vacations. The further away from this state we get, the friendlier the people working in businesses have become. Once while shopping in a small town in the midwest I was simply floored by the friendly, helpful owner. You will not find that in California, ever. Well, I certainly haven't and I've lived here for 48 years. I bet you find that same sort of friendly spirit in Seattle.

Let us know what you decided to do!

You are so right about the friendly people. That is one reason why we moved to Keller, Texas. It is like another world compared to CA. The people are genuine. When asked how you are be prepared to have a response because they really want to know how you are doing.

That includes the weather too. If you can handle weather this is the place to be, but it is not for whimps. The storms are incredible and for some reason entertaining when you are setiing next to your fireplace watching TV on your 52 inch plasma. The falls beautiful, crisp air, blue skys, leaves of all colors. The spring even more beautiful, the summers, well we will avoid discussing that time of the year, that is what air-conditioners are for.

[RoboCop]

You may be referring to Poly's Pies...

[dee465]

After reading a few of the responses with comments about where I live, I feel I need to set the record straight.

Artesia is actually a nice little town that doesn't get the respect it deserves. I know this for a fact because I actually grew up in Cerritos, you know, the well-to-do upper middle class part of town. Yes, I used to be a bit of a Cerritos snob.

Artesia has a rich community, not only stemming from the dairy industry years back, where the population was primarily a mix of dutch and portuguese, but especially today. Though the younger dutch community has moved on from Artesia, there are still many that remain. I know this because of the Christian Reformed churches in the area, where they have been very welcoming to someone like me, of a different ethnicity. There still remains a large portuguese community, centered around Portuguese Hall. Just last week there was a festival and parade through the neighborhood. The asian community has grown tremendously the past several years, especially the indian community. Artesia is home to "Little India," where on any given day (except Mondays), you will find many people strolling up and down Pioneer Boulevard. I've often run into British folks visiting on holiday or people who come from the valley just to have lunch in an authentic indian restaurant. The indian culture is amazing, particularly demonstrated by the boutiques and the beautiful window displays. Other asian ethnicities are also in the community, including: korean, chinese, vietnames, cambodian, filipino, and more. If you head to the northern section of Artesia, there is a large hispanic community. I'd say the best place to get some real authentic mexican food would be here, especially restaurants that are easily unnoticed like Paco's Tacos on 166th and Pioneer.

Artesia has a great community recreation program centered at Artesia Park, including a wonderful community program for Independance Day and many other holidays. Check out City of Artesia, California for more information.

As for safety, I have to be honest with you, when I first purchased my home here and moved from Cerritos, I was a little apprehensive. I wasn't sure about the community I was living in because I was a bit of a snob. Happily, I found out that this community looks after it's own, with neighbors knocking on my door to remind me not to park on the street before the street sweeper comes so I won't get a ticket, to the kid down the street volunteering to take care of my lawn. I have often forgotten to lock my front door and have even left my back door open for the day (unintentionally) but have always found my house intact, without any worries.

As far as location, it would be a better commute to both Irvine (where I used to work) and to Monrovia. You have immediate access to the 605, 91 and 5 freeways, which makes this an ideal location for commutes. Artesia is only 12 minutes from Disneyland, 10 minutes from Knott's Berry Farm, and 20 - 25 minutes to Downtown LA. It took me 25 minutes to drive to Irvine (Alton Parkway) from my home in Artesia and I estimate it would take 30 minutes to Monrovia.

I hope this helps with perspective. Artesia is a great little community that not too many people appreciate, but definitely deserves...

By the way, did I mention a section of Artesia is home to a community of mansions, too?

[EvergreenElle]

My husband and I are opposite you - we live in OC and want to move up to Seattle. I am from there originally and my husband from AZ. We both work full time, have 2 young girls and make a decent living. It is a struggle to have what we think is a decent and safe place to live for our family. Yes, it feels like a rat race often. Not sure how Seattle would be any different though. My family and some friends are there, which is good, but I wouldn't be used to the weather anymore. We do a lot of outdoor activities here and we love our friends, our church, our child care, the huge variety of activities we can choose to do in the surrounding areas. Tough decision... good luck!

[kalina&jadesmomma]

stay in washington! I am from there, and while I did love ca. at first, I now miss washington more than ever. Trust me that you will be in total culture shock. The people are totally different, and so is the way of life. I am not trying to knock the way of life here, but I wish that I would have never come. I think about "home" constantly. I have never found anyone 1/2 as genuine as the folks where I grew up in Newport Wa. In ca. it is all about what you can give... and how much you have. I will end on this note... Ca. especially orange county is the land of the superficial... period.