Moving to CA. (Ontario, Orange, Compton: environment, real estate, job)

[jessemh431]

Well then you'll love Mission Viejo. The safety, schools, and families are the number one priority of Mission Viejo. I currently envy you. My dream home would be in Mission Viejo. Too bad I can't afford to live on the lake.

Don't mean to confuse you anymore, but Ventura County has Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley, and Westlake Village(part of WV is in LA County). Those three, along with Mission Viejo, consistantly make up the top safest cities in America.

This comes from Wikiepdia about Thousand Oaks.
Thousand Oaks is well known for being among the safest large cities in the nation. The city consistently ranks as the first or second safest large city (population between 100,000 and 499,999) in the United States in annual surveys (the main competition being nearby Simi Valley, as well as Mission Viejo in Orange County, California).[3]

[TheStarLiesWest]

Incredible. I was so afraid that we wouldn't find anywhere to go that's safe for us and our child. We're not rich by any means, yet. :P Nah I kid I kid. But their safety is important to me and I'll go broke for it. Mission Viejo sounds wonderful, as does OC in general. This may be a great home for us. 3000 miles from the monotonous crap we've dealt with for far too long.

This is a breath of fresh air that we've really needed. My wife studied into Ventura County a while back and saw nothing but good. I personally like the geographical location of OC better, but we could go either way. MV sounds BEAUTIFUL and I wanna go there!

[jessemh431]

Where are you from?

[TheStarLiesWest]

Virginia. It's not for lovers.

[jessemh431]

Oh ok.

Here are some in Thousand Oaks.
ventura craigslist > apts/housing for rent: search for "thousand oaks"

Simi Valley
ventura craigslist > apts/housing for rent: search for "simi valley"

That's just to give you an idea that places are out there in T.O. and so you can prove your wife wrong, as I'm sure you love doing just as much as me and my dad do towards my mom.

But ya, it sounds like you have your heart set on Mission Viejo, so I would stick with that. Plus, you have much better access to the beautiful beaches of SoCal.

Where were you thinking about in NorCal? If you really want to move to SoCal, which it sounds like you did, you should have come here first. LOL. We can always give you advice on anything here. Also, as in the case of this thread, we can even suggest to you areas several miles away (MV up to TO), so you will never be at a loss in SoCal.

[TheStarLiesWest]

Man those apartments are way nicer than what we see around here. I have my heart set on Orange County in general because it breaks the chain of what I thought would be a completely doomed California. I don't care that gas and taxes are higher, you deal with that when you love a place. I just want safety for my family, and MV seems pretty solid.

I looked at some apts in TO and that place really looks nice. Where do you live exactly right now?

[jessemh431]

I live in Los Angeles by LAX. OC schools are much better than LA schools in general. I actually am on permit at another school nearby in a city with its own school district. All of my friends that live in the same city as me do the same thing, just not all at the same school.

[TheStarLiesWest]

I've had a big interest in LA but no way am I going to live there. I just don't want to subject us to the insane prices and go there not knowing the bad areas and whatnot. I'm very attracted to MV and TO. I think we'll end up choosing one of those places.

[jessemh431]

I saw your post about LA in the SF forum. It's not as bad as you think. I could name of several nice areas right now, but in the good areas of OC, you still have less crime, better schools (sometimes), but definitely cheaper housing. If you had posted in the LA forum, we could have helped you. But yea, stick with MV since it's much better than almost anywhere in LA for families and it's cheaper. T.O. can get very hot in the summer, so I would go with MV since you'll be closer to the ocean and it won't get as hot.

You could also consider Santa Clarita in norhthern LA county, which is a city close to T.O. in safety ratings. The prices are even cheaper, but the area is fire prone and gets even hotter. They do have great schools and it is cheap there.

Check out this website and you'll see that not all of LA is how you see it, just most. LOL Well not really, but quite a bit.
LA Life - Find Your Place in Los Angeles

[TheStarLiesWest]

Ah, I didn't think you'd find that. Forgive me, please. It was mostly out of anger that I wasn't rich and living in Beverly Hills, ha. I love LA, I've always had a burning passion for it, but I'd rather live nearby and go to it all the time than live there and never have the money to do anything other than crap in a toilet and have lights.

SF is so overpriced and inflated, that bubble burst really fast. I love it but, sheesh. OC is just really attracting us. Affordable, cool for young families, and good enough jobs to help me out. Man, this risk is so worth it. You only live once..