Is there anywhere in OC within a 'commutable' distance to LA? (San Diego: neighborhoods, college)

[Coloradomom22]

Originally Posted by Jdawg8181

Wow thank you. I am really quite surprised how expensive it is. I live on LOng Island now so I am no stranger to high price living. The difference here is you can get good homes in good areas for around $500k's or $600k's .. the big thing being how expensive taxes are also.

Maybe we can look @ some areas in LA also. My husband just thinks LA is trashy and mentioned orange.

Before WFH, I commuted an hour both ways via train so I don't mind it.

Go on Redfin or Realtor and do a map search from where your job will be. That will give you a good idea of affordability.

Unless you are ok with a condo I just don't see the houses others say are available in your budget. Every house I see is close to a million or more.

[lvmensch]

Originally Posted by Coloradomom22

Go on Redfin or Realtor and do a map search from where your job will be. That will give you a good idea of affordability.

Unless you are ok with a condo I just don't see the houses others say are available in your budget. Every house I see is close to a million or more.

Have in-laws in Santa Monica - A 2000SF Craftsmen built 60 years ago. Large lot with alley access in the back. Zillow suggests 3 million for it. The real value is the lot could easily take a 4000SF home...and there are a number of them on the block. Will not happen to this one. They have already modified it so the parents have their own little abode and the kid and grand kids live in the old man home. Very deep Santa Monica roots so I do not see it ever coming out of the family. Our old home in Los Alamitos now shows almost a 1.5 million value. We sold it 26 years ago for $450K.

Also check out Rossmoor just over the border in OC. Kind of ancient but really nice. I do not know where the price has gotten but it would be a good bit less than our old place. Grassy, treed and laid back.

[TimTheEnchanter]

This is all well and good, but we need to hear back from the OP if she is working in WESTWOOD or Playa Vista. That changes a lot.

[lvmensch]

Originally Posted by TimTheEnchanter

This is all well and good, but we need to hear back from the OP if she is working in WESTWOOD or Playa Vista. That changes a lot.

Makes little difference coming from the west. The damage is done by the time you pass the airport.

Sorry - it should have been coming from the east.

[TimTheEnchanter]

Originally Posted by lvmensch

Makes little difference coming from the west. The damage is done by the time you pass the airport.

It makes a big difference. You would not use the 105 or 91 to get to Westwood. You'd transition to the 10 (post DTLA) as soon as practical.

[lvmensch]

Originally Posted by TimTheEnchanter

It makes a big difference. You would not use the 105 or 91 to get to Westwood. You'd transition to the 10 (post DTLA) as soon as practical.

Sorry got turned round - should have been from the East.

[TacoSoup]

Originally Posted by Jdawg8181

We live in an expensive & dense area as it is, not too concerned about costs really ... but we don't want to be a desert area. Do you know El Cajon? (I know that is SD, not OC, but that is an area I know). We don't want anything like that. Def want grass and backyard, flowers, all of that.

Where are the 'green' areas? lol

I think at the most budget-wise maybe like $700k, $800k. What does that get us?

El Cajon is oddly specific? I’m guessing that’s where your husband grew up? We live next to it and it’s been looking Hawai’i the last few months as all the hills, fields, neglected yards, etc are bright green. It’s certainly brown in the late spring to late fall, but you can still have any yard you want. Ours is a tropical oasis, and we grow tons of fruits/vegetables year round. Saying El Cajon is brown is like saying NY is after going there in the late fall to early spring.

Good news for you is your housing budget will go further than what you think. With the difference in property taxes out here that $700K house back in NY will cost the same monthly as $825K place here. Maybe more because home insurance is cheaper here as well.

Hopefully for you if you move here your office does goes remote. Commuting from anywhere in OC to around LAX is gonna blow. Like others have said rent for 1 year (6 months if possible) and get a feel for the different communities and commutes.

[DKM]

Originally Posted by BRinSM

When I worked on the westside, many of the people with families I worked with lived in the Thousand Oaks area. It's not close and certainly can be a very difficult commute, but it's nicer and newer and you get more bang for your buck relative to areas closer to the city. There's a lot of similarities between TO and parts of Orange County, including the schools that are very highly rated in both. If you did absolutely need a cleaner, safer suburban neighborhood closer than Irvine, this may be an option for you. The commute will still be over an hour each way with traffic, but if you stay further west (eg Agoura Hills), this may limit the pain to some degree.

Very hard to find a sfh in her budget here or Agoura without buying a old fixer in a semi bad location. Like maybe a 1500 sf ft 1970 rambler in need of updating close to a busy street. That's not "nicer/newer" to many people.

[Jdawg8181]

Originally Posted by TacoSoup

El Cajon is oddly specific? I’m guessing that’s where your husband grew up? We live next to it and it’s been looking Hawai’i the last few months as all the hills, fields, neglected yards, etc are bright green. It’s certainly brown in the late spring to late fall, but you can still have any yard you want. Ours is a tropical oasis, and we grow tons of fruits/vegetables year round. Saying El Cajon is brown is like saying NY is after going there in the late fall to early spring.

Good news for you is your housing budget will go further than what you think. With the difference in property taxes out here that $700K house back in NY will cost the same monthly as $825K place here. Maybe more because home insurance is cheaper here as well.

Hopefully for you if you move here your office does goes remote. Commuting from anywhere in OC to around LAX is gonna blow. Like others have said rent for 1 year (6 months if possible) and get a feel for the different communities and commutes.

Yes family is from El Cajon. I know a few areas in San Diego just b/c there are some family there. I am unfamiliar with OC. I was in SD in July. It was looking quite brown. Haven't been to CA in any other time of year but where I live, it's always green ... lawns anyway, not so much trees. A lot of CA properties that I see don't have grass? Is that a thing? Fall here is the best with leaves changing color. That is a big draw for me. I know you guys have Julian. I don't want to have to drive to the changing colors, lol. I want them to come to me. I love walking out my door and the trees across the street are changing, but yeah.

I'm a huge 4 seasons nerd. I have to mentally prepare myself if we do this move. It doesn't seem like you guys have such distinct seasons as here.

[saibot]

Originally Posted by Jdawg8181

I'm a huge 4 seasons nerd. I have to mentally prepare myself if we do this move. It doesn't seem like you guys have such distinct seasons as here.

We don't, and to be honest, if you feel so strongly about it, this may not be the place for you.

After living in California my whole life, cold snowy winters and hot, muggy summers would be a dealbreaker for me, so I get it.