Good towns for people 40's and up with NO kids? (Huntington Beach: low crime, home)

[TheLonelyGoatherd]

My husband and I don't have kids. We are in our 40s and planning on moving to California hopefully next year. Originally I was set on the Thousand Oaks area. Though I'm really loving the OC towns the more I read and the more time I spend on Google street view. But, I don't know much about the individual towns. Are there any towns that

are more geared toward people without kids

Not a lot of emphasis on schools, sports, and kids' activities

leans more toward older working people, even retired people (I'd love a town I can eventually retire in)

someplace that is not evangelical type religious (I've had enough of that in the south) but more Catholic

my husband is in IT but mostly works from home so thankfully commuting isn't a huge deal


Are there any towns in OC that I should be checking out when we come to visit this summer? We will be town hunting and really trying to narrow down where we want to live

thank you!

[pacific2]

Originally Posted by TheLonelyGoatherd

My husband and I don't have kids. We are in our 40s and planning on moving to California hopefully next year. Originally I was set on the Thousand Oaks area. Though I'm really loving the OC towns the more I read and the more time I spend on Google street view. But, I don't know much about the individual towns. Are there any towns that

are more geared toward people without kids

Not a lot of emphasis on schools, sports, and kids' activities

leans more toward older working people, even retired people (I'd love a town I can eventually retire in)

someplace that is not evangelical type religious (I've had enough of that in the south) but more Catholic

my husband is in IT but mostly works from home so thankfully commuting isn't a huge deal


Are there any towns in OC that I should be checking out when we come to visit this summer? We will be town hunting and really trying to narrow down where we want to live

thank you!

Hopefully, others who actually live there will chime in, but what immediately comes to mind is Laguna Niguel or Dana Point.

[TheLonelyGoatherd]

Thank you! Those are two places I wanted to check out anyway so that's good.

And I want to add of course all towns will have families and kids. But there are some places that are definitely geared toward the younger families. I'd rather find a place I can "grow into" so to speak.

[LuvSouthOC]

I'd add Rancho Santa Margarita, Rancho Mission Viejo (Gavilan if 55 plus), and Mission Viejo itself as options too.

My neighborhood in Laguna Niguel has many 40 somethings who bought with the absolute intention of retiring right here in this neighborhood... all childless I've noticed. I fit this precise demographic myself and suspect the area to be what youre looking for. We have Cinepolis as an example, few kids in that high end cinema. I cannot fully explain the fit where I live as it is not an area with mostly seniors by any means. The area is ultra health conscious and everyone is active...tons of healthy food options, low crime, and amazing weather. People travel. It's just a great place with a very high QOL. Most residents I see are 40s/50s. I suspect the reason is that young couples cannot afford to buy here.

I'm told that my neighborhood was bustling with young families and kids...20 or so years ago. Laguna Niguel touts itself as family friendly, not a bad thing as I see it, but I think that is a hold over from when young families could afford it.

[oc919]

Pac2 - I know you've always provided great info on AV, which is a town I am very interested in in my move in the near future. Curious that you didnt include it as well. Is it that much different from LN? (I happen to fall under the OP's criteria so I'm just as interested as well).

[HB2HSV]

Originally Posted by TheLonelyGoatherd

My husband and I don't have kids. We are in our 40s and planning on moving to California hopefully next year. Originally I was set on the Thousand Oaks area. Though I'm really loving the OC towns the more I read and the more time I spend on Google street view. But, I don't know much about the individual towns. Are there any towns that

are more geared toward people without kids

Not a lot of emphasis on schools, sports, and kids' activities

leans more toward older working people, even retired people (I'd love a town I can eventually retire in)

someplace that is not evangelical type religious (I've had enough of that in the south) but more Catholic

my husband is in IT but mostly works from home so thankfully commuting isn't a huge deal


Are there any towns in OC that I should be checking out when we come to visit this summer? We will be town hunting and really trying to narrow down where we want to live

thank you!

OP,

There're a lot of factors in deciding where to live but in your case since commuting to work is not a huge factor, the next question is do you prefer beach weather or the inland (valley) weather?

I have lived in Thousand Oaks as well as in Huntington Beach (Orange County) and most recently lived in NoVa. There are many scenic beach town options but don't overlook some of the valley options as well. Perhap it would help to know what do you & hubby like to do? Do you like the small town feel, rustic nature? modern ammenities?

Here are a few suggestions off the top of my head:

1. Seal Beach - a lovely "sleepy" town but it is really close to many conveniences within a short drive if you choose to. It is tranquil but has a main street with good restaurants.

2. Sunset Beach & Huntington Harbor - continue south the Sunset Beach you'd think you're in any small beach town anywhere in continental U.S., if it weren't for some distinct california beach culture. But it's a lovely town. Huntington Harbor is my ultimate wish list to be, if I could only afford to buy there (sobbing). Imagine having a boat dock right in your backyard and you can kayak around the harbor that is shield from the ocean.

3. Balboa Island, Newport Beach - What can I say. Google & woogle all you want. Life is good if you have money.

Others have covered South OC so I'll leave it at that. Lots of choices to a good life

[TheLonelyGoatherd]

Thank you all! I'm so excited about our move. Some more info about us....

We are in our 40s and I'd say pretty health conscious and enjoy being active. This is what I do NOT like about the east coast. I've lived up and down in the east coast as far south as Florida and as far north as Connecticut and no matter how you slice it you are dealing with either bad winters or hot muggy summers. I love the idea of being able to hike a good portion of the year.

I can tell you the one thing I don't want is anything wet, foggy or cloudy for a long period of time. From what I've read there are places along the coast that are that way. Some foggy days are fine. Some cloudy days too. But I want someplace that gets good sunshine and gets warm in the summer. 70 degrees in April is nice. I would not enjoy 70 degrees as the high in the middle of summer though. I don't need 100 but I enjoy a good 80-85 degree day in the summer.

We love going to the gym. I take yoga and swim and he works out. But we also love hiking so some parks or places for day hiking would be nice.

And I'll admit I do like shopping. We have a couple of open air malls here in Virginia that I love so I'd love to find something that is like the Grove if it exists in OC!

We aren't into bars and clubs so I don't need nightlife but I want a place that still feels vibrant and growing. Not dying.

Having been the victim of crime, a safe area is very important.

We are Catholic and pretty liberal. Though this is liberal by east coast southern standards. In the northeast or the west coast we'd be middle of the road I think. I'd love to find a good Catholic or Episcopalian church to attend.
I was so set on Ventura county and the Thousand Oaks area, but honestly the more I look into Orange County the more I'm getting sold on it!

[TheLonelyGoatherd]

HB2HSV- by beach weather, do you mean cooler temperatures? And is valley weather hotter and sunnier? That's what I'm getting from reading.

Being an east coaster all my life beach weather I think of being just hot with salty air. Though having lived in New England, the beach even the summer could still feel cold. I didn't care for that.

I love the beach but I can't say that I'd want to live on the beach full time. Which is good because I'm sure we couldn't afford it anyway.

So I'm guessing more of an inland, valley town for us. But by inland I mean Laguna Niguel looks like a wonderful area. I cannot wait to check it out this spring when we come. I wouldn't want inland empire.

I like sunny and warm. And dry. Not desert dry but not humid. I loathe humid air be it 50 degrees or 90 degrees. I'm over it.

[owl6969]

Originally Posted by TheLonelyGoatherd

My husband and I don't have kids. We are in our 40s and planning on moving to California hopefully next year. Originally I was set on the Thousand Oaks area. Though I'm really loving the OC towns the more I read and the more time I spend on Google street view. But, I don't know much about the individual towns. Are there any towns that

are more geared toward people without kids

Not a lot of emphasis on schools, sports, and kids' activities

leans more toward older working people, even retired people (I'd love a town I can eventually retire in)

someplace that is not evangelical type religious (I've had enough of that in the south) but more Catholic

my husband is in IT but mostly works from home so thankfully commuting isn't a huge deal


Are there any towns in OC that I should be checking out when we come to visit this summer? We will be town hunting and really trying to narrow down where we want to live

thank you!

Based on some of the things in the post, L.A. county would fit and seem to be ideal if you dont care about having the same level of peace, quietness, kids or a relaxing place etc.. As there are so many people like yourself in that age range there. Might be better off somewhere more urban.

[TheLonelyGoatherd]

I honestly don't know much about LA county. Can you suggest some towns? I'd want someplace safe and honestly not too urban. I actually do like the suburbs and smaller town feel. When I think of urban my mind goes to Manhattan and places that crowded where you don't have cars and take public transit everywhere. That doesn't appeal to us much.

I can think of lots of towns that I liked living in Connecticut that were smaller yet still close to everything urban. They were quiet, full of empty nesters and people with no kids. Not very school driven towns and yet educated, professional people. It was the horrid winters and crazy property taxes that drove us out of there.

If anyone can "speak" Connecticut I could name some towns and you could name the SoCal equivalent!