PALM DESERT, CA - info on area wanted (San Diego, Indio: for sale, real estate)

[doghandler]

Hi All,

There is a possibility of my husband becoming employed in Palm Desert. His place of employment, should he get the job, will be in Palm Desert itself. If we are moving there here are a few things I'd like information on from those who know....we have never been to the area at all.

1) Is it realistic to think we could find a single-family home which is NOT in a gaited community, not a condo or town house....on a half acre or more, within a 30 minute drive to Palm Desert proper? We want a little space for our large dogs and toddler daughter. Hopefully within a price range of about $140 - 250k.

2) We have a two year old daughter and we will be interested in decent schools as well as a safe area to live. I have heard to stay away from Desert Hot Springs and Cathedral City. Why? Are there other questionable areas we should avoid?

3) What are opinions of raising a child in the area?

4) How often are rattle snakes and other venomous creatures sighted?

5) Are there flea problems for pets there?

6) Are there any weird dog laws there? Breed bans or manditory spay laws?

7) Are there ever earthquakes there?

8) What are the nearest natural areas such as state parks, national parks, how far to the nearest beach....I know it isn't on the ocean, by the way!

9) Can you all give me any real life experience of living there?

THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Twinkle Toes]

Hi, I live in La Quinta, next to Palm Desert but had lived in Palm Desert for 9 years. You may want to do a google search of Palm Desert or Coachella Valley to get a feel for what our area islike. If you have never been here, you owe it to yourself to come and check it out before actually moving here. Don't get me wrong, our area is gorgeous! BUT, summers in the Coachella Valley are brutal. We get temps up to 125 during summer.

1) You will not find what you are looking for in the price range you provided us. Not even close.

2) Cat City and DHS are high crime areas, which is why you've heard bad things about those areas. You should start reading our local paper every day to get a feel for what goes on in each city. MyDesert.com | The Desert Sun | Palm Springs news, community, entertainment, yellow pages and classifieds. Serving Palm Springs, California You should stick to Palm Desert, Rancho Mirage, La Quinta, Indian Wells, parts of Palm Springs, and the newer part of Indio called Shadow Hills. The Desert Sands School District is excellent. My kids have only gone to Palm Desert schools (Carter Elem., PDMS, PDHS) and we have been very happy with the schools here. One son is now an adult and graduated Valedictorian of his class, and the other is at PDHS now.

3) This is an excellent area to raise children. I've raised mine here and have absolutely no regrets. My older son had the option of leaving this area but chose to stay and make this area his home. He felt no pressing need to get out of this area.

4) You aren't likely to see rattlesnakes unless you go way out into the desert for a hike - and then, if you do encounter a rattler, you back away from them and leave them alone. They will not attack you unless you're poking a stick at them or some crazy thing like that. This is basically an urban area, like any other city with houses and businesses, so there aren't rattlesnakes coming out of the woodwork. You will see roadrunners in your yard though. They are harmless, unless you have parrots and keep them outside uncaged.

5) I don't have dogs or cats (I have parrots) so I am not aware of any flea problems. I have friends with dogs and cats and I've nevr heard them say anything about it, so I don't think that's a big problem here.

6) I am not aware of any weird dog laws, but a responsible pet owner knows to keep their pets safe on their own property and don't allow your pets to breed unwanted puppies or kittens that won't be taken care of.

7) It's California, of course we have earthquakes. Most of the time you don't even feel them because they are so small. Millions of us live in this state and have not been swallowed up into the earth by an earthquake yet. If you live here, you just go on about your business as there's nothing you can do about it. The ground may shake for a few seconds, but that's it. I'll take an earthquake any day over a hurricane, flood, or tornado. There are actually earthquakes all over the world - even in places where you wouldn't think they have things like that. You can't live your life in fear of an earthquake.

8) Ocean is about 2 hours away - San Diego, LA, and OC beaches. We are about an hour and a half away from mountains. We have so many state parks around us. You have beach parks, mountain parks, desert parks. A short drive in any direction can put you in a state or national park.

9) Overall, my life experience here has been wonderful. I would not want to live anywhere else. We have gorgeous weather during winter, spring and fall. Sure, summer is a little like living on the face of the sun, but it's a sacrifice for the other months we get to live in paradise. A lot of residents of our valley leave during summer. We try to get away from here as much as possible during summer, but we still have to work, so we can't just take off for 3 months and come back when it cools down. You get used to the summers though over a period of years. Your body adjusts to the heat. But remember, during summer, most of us are in an air conditioned home or office, then an air conditioned car to get places. At night we swim in our pool.

[VegasVixen]

Originally Posted by Twinkle Toes

Hi, I live in La Quinta, next to Palm Desert but had lived in Palm Desert for 9 years. You may want to do a google search of Palm Desert or Coachella Valley to get a feel for what our area islike. If you have never been here, you owe it to yourself to come and check it out before actually moving here. Don't get me wrong, our area is gorgeous! BUT, summers in the Coachella Valley are brutal. We get temps up to 125 during summer.

1) You will not find what you are looking for in the price range you provided us. Not even close.

2) Cat City and DHS are high crime areas, which is why you've heard bad things about those areas. You should start reading our local paper every day to get a feel for what goes on in each city. MyDesert.com | The Desert Sun | Palm Springs news, community, entertainment, yellow pages and classifieds. Serving Palm Springs, California You should stick to Palm Desert, Rancho Mirage, La Quinta, Indian Wells, parts of Palm Springs, and the newer part of Indio called Shadow Hills. The Desert Sands School District is excellent. My kids have only gone to Palm Desert schools (Carter Elem., PDMS, PDHS) and we have been very happy with the schools here. One son is now an adult and graduated Valedictorian of his class, and the other is at PDHS now.

3) This is an excellent area to raise children. I've raised mine here and have absolutely no regrets. My older son had the option of leaving this area but chose to stay and make this area his home. He felt no pressing need to get out of this area.

4) You aren't likely to see rattlesnakes unless you go way out into the desert for a hike - and then, if you do encounter a rattler, you back away from them and leave them alone. They will not attack you unless you're poking a stick at them or some crazy thing like that. This is basically an urban area, like any other city with houses and businesses, so there aren't rattlesnakes coming out of the woodwork. You will see roadrunners in your yard though. They are harmless, unless you have parrots and keep them outside uncaged.

5) I don't have dogs or cats (I have parrots) so I am not aware of any flea problems. I have friends with dogs and cats and I've nevr heard them say anything about it, so I don't think that's a big problem here.

6) I am not aware of any weird dog laws, but a responsible pet owner knows to keep their pets safe on their own property and don't allow your pets to breed unwanted puppies or kittens that won't be taken care of.

7) It's California, of course we have earthquakes. Most of the time you don't even feel them because they are so small. Millions of us live in this state and have not been swallowed up into the earth by an earthquake yet. If you live here, you just go on about your business as there's nothing you can do about it. The ground may shake for a few seconds, but that's it. I'll take an earthquake any day over a hurricane, flood, or tornado. There are actually earthquakes all over the world - even in places where you wouldn't think they have things like that. You can't live your life in fear of an earthquake.

8) Ocean is about 2 hours away - San Diego, LA, and OC beaches. We are about an hour and a half away from mountains. We have so many state parks around us. You have beach parks, mountain parks, desert parks. A short drive in any direction can put you in a state or national park.

9) Overall, my life experience here has been wonderful. I would not want to live anywhere else. We have gorgeous weather during winter, spring and fall. Sure, summer is a little like living on the face of the sun, but it's a sacrifice for the other months we get to live in paradise. A lot of residents of our valley leave during summer. We try to get away from here as much as possible during summer, but we still have to work, so we can't just take off for 3 months and come back when it cools down. You get used to the summers though over a period of years. Your body adjusts to the heat. But remember, during summer, most of us are in an air conditioned home or office, then an air conditioned car to get places. At night we swim in our pool.

Hello! I will be relocating to either La Quinta or Palm Desert from Las Vegas, NV. Your information your reply is very helpful as I have not visited either city yet -- plan to come out over the next few weeks. Do you know the price range for 2-3br home in La Quinta? I plan to rent a home until I decide exactly where to buy. Parks and shopping are important to me as I don't have school age children - . Thank you for any info you can share.

[IloveOC]

Twinkle Toes: I just saw your post about the road runners and parrots. I am just curious - will road runners go after parrots? I have parrots too, so was interested, even tho I don't live out there. And my birds would never be outside unsupervised anyway. We have too many hawks here that are always looking for lunch.

[Twinkle Toes]

Originally Posted by VegasVixen

Hello! I will be relocating to either La Quinta or Palm Desert from Las Vegas, NV. Your information your reply is very helpful as I have not visited either city yet -- plan to come out over the next few weeks. Do you know the price range for 2-3br home in La Quinta? I plan to rent a home until I decide exactly where to buy. Parks and shopping are important to me as I don't have school age children - . Thank you for any info you can share.

They vary in price. You might want to check the real estate section of the Desert Sun. I believe they have an MLS on there that is accessible to the public.

[Twinkle Toes]

Originally Posted by IloveOC

Twinkle Toes: I just saw your post about the road runners and parrots. I am just curious - will road runners go after parrots? I have parrots too, so was interested, even tho I don't live out there. And my birds would never be outside unsupervised anyway. We have too many hawks here that are always looking for lunch.

Yes, a roadrunner will go after a parrot. A roadrunner is somewhat like a bird of prey and will become aggressive around your parrots. I keep my birds supervised as well. I have cages in both my front and back yards so when I want to be outside with my birds, I put them in a cage so they are not exposed to predators, or fly away should they become frightened.

[Axxlrod]

Originally Posted by doghandler

Hi All,

There is a possibility of my husband becoming employed in Palm Desert. His place of employment, should he get the job, will be in Palm Desert itself. If we are moving there here are a few things I'd like information on from those who know....we have never been to the area at all.

1) Is it realistic to think we could find a single-family home which is NOT in a gaited community, not a condo or town house....on a half acre or more, within a 30 minute drive to Palm Desert proper? We want a little space for our large dogs and toddler daughter. Hopefully within a price range of about $140 - 250k.

2) We have a two year old daughter and we will be interested in decent schools as well as a safe area to live. I have heard to stay away from Desert Hot Springs and Cathedral City. Why? Are there other questionable areas we should avoid?

3) What are opinions of raising a child in the area?

4) How often are rattle snakes and other venomous creatures sighted?

5) Are there flea problems for pets there?

6) Are there any weird dog laws there? Breed bans or manditory spay laws?

7) Are there ever earthquakes there?

8) What are the nearest natural areas such as state parks, national parks, how far to the nearest beach....I know it isn't on the ocean, by the way!

9) Can you all give me any real life experience of living there?

THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't mean to laugh, but posts from people out of state are so funny. They always ask about earthquakes like they happen all the time. I have lived in CA my whole life (35 years) and have felt 3 earthquakes. The worst property damage I ever had from one is a broken vase and a few bottles of wine. Rattlesnakes and fleas? Snakes are in the wild like every other state. Do know anything about fleas.

Your biggest issue is going to be affordability. I don't know of anywhere in CA that has houses for sale for $150K... maybe crack houses or houses that don't have a roof or some other major problem.

Good luck.

[VegasVixen]

Thanks Twinkle Toes....

[VLWH]

Originally Posted by Twinkle Toes

Millions of us live in this state and have not been swallowed up into the earth by an earthquake yet.

[Twinkle Toes]

I know a lot of people ask me about Desert Hot Springs and question why I would avoid the place at all costs. This is in our local paper this morning and it pretty much gives a synopsis of the area - not only what's unfolding in DHS right now, as we speak, but what it's always been like. Enjoy ...

Police action unfolding in Desert Hot Springs | MyDesert.com | The Desert Sun