Arrowhead Lake (Lake Arrowhead: smog, hotel, work)

[puglover]

We are thinking about moving to Arrowhead Lake. What are the living conditions like? How is the crime?

[shannon94]

Originally Posted by puglover

We are thinking about moving to Arrowhead Lake. What are the living conditions like? How is the crime?

Wow!! That's an interesting question. I've been to Lake Arrowhead many times....never thought there would be much crime up in the mountains. Have you been there?

[ferretkona]

I like Arrowhead, 7 years ago you or I could have bought a nice spread for $30k. Now days the prices have went way up, but the work is way down hill (or down the hill).
I expect to see Arrowhead look like Big bear soon, one large Starbucks surrounding the lake.

[puglover]

Thank you so much.........that helps us!!

[skypros]

The Crime is low..... Most people commute down the hill for work (about 1/2 hr to the base of the mtn). 90% of the homes are built on slopes... So be prepared for stairs.... and Parking can be a bear also. I lived in the arrowhead area for 10 years... It can get boring. Also Arrowhead Lake is a PRIVATE lake and "I think" you have to belong to the association and have property in arrowhead to use the lake.

[shannon94]

Originally Posted by skypros

The Crime is low..... Most people commute down the hill for work (about 1/2 hr to the base of the mtn). 90% of the homes are built on slopes... So be prepared for stairs.... and Parking can be a bear also. I lived in the arrowhead area for 10 years... It can get boring. Also Arrowhead Lake is a PRIVATE lake and "I think" you have to belong to the association and have property in arrowhead to use the lake.

I'm not sure that's true about not being able to use the lake unless your a property owner. I went up there several times with a band that I managed... (they were hired to play there)we went paddle boating on the lake ( I know ...funny) and we certainly didn't own property there. It's been about 13 years since I was there last...maybe things have changed.

[chinocal]

We just got back from visiting Lake Arrowhead and would like some honest opinions on living there as a commuter. We've been searching for homes on the east coast and the west (where we currently reside) and need the best information possible. How are the schools? The sense of community? What is the good, the bad and the ugly?

[stuff and things]

I have lived in Lake Arrowhead for 12 years, so I think I can answer your questions. I love living here and there are few places I'd rather be. It has a small town atmosphere, You'll often run into people you know at the grocery store or the post office. It's not so small that you constantly have to stop to talk to ten people every time you go out. I went through the school system here and it was great. I had excellent teachers, good supplies and there was very low violence, even at the high school.

I love the winters. We get snow in big chunks. Sometimes in excess of three feet from one storm, but storms pass through infrequently. We get probably 325 days of sunshine a year. The sun even will often come out within minutes of a storm passing through, making for some gorgeous scenery and awesome sledding. It remains cold enough to keep our pond frozen for the majority of the winter. The summers are great. It rarely gets above 90 and the Lake is refreshing to swim in.

There is no mail delivery, so you have to pick up your mail at the post office. The commute can be tiresome and hard on your car if you work down the hill. The fog on highway 18 (the rim) can at times get so thick, you can barely see the hood of your car. It gets extremely crowded with tourists during the summer, and especially on holiday weekends.

In summary:
The Good: No smog, excellent air quality, great weather, four seasons, excellent schools, good sense of community, good tap water quality, spectacular scenery, The Lake.

The Bad: Poor snowplows, occasional power outages during storms, occasional dense fog, lack of mail delivery.

The Ugly: Extreme overcrowding of stores and restaurants during holidays, Extreme fire danger.


Moderator note: merged post

In terms of the Lake, it is technically private, but in practice, it's public. You are allowed to put a boat on the lake, own a dock, and go swimming in the lake only if you own property within the lake rights area. The thing is, even if you don't have lake rights, you will undoubtedly know dozens of people with boats, docks and lake rights, so it is a total non-issue. The lake is basically a public lake for all residents of the greater Lake Arrowhead Area. Even so, the lake turns into a circus on the Fourth of July.

[Ulysses61]

I live in Arrowhead too. I love it, I would never live anywhere else in Southern California. I disagree totally with this comment:

"I expect to see Arrowhead look like Big bear soon, one large Starbucks surrounding the lake."

Absurd. There is very little growth in Arrowhead, we're surrounded by a national forest. There are no stop lights here and I doubt there ever will be one.

The only bad thing is commuting in dense, horrible fog and the extreme fire danger. Otherwise, Arrowhead is a paradise.

[stuff and things]

Yeah, I agree. There is very little growth here. Besides the housing development over by the Golf Course, which is coming along very slowly, I don't see new houses being built. Of course there is going to be a lot of construction over the next few years to replace the houses that burned, but we are certainly not expanding very fast.

The village is starting to become a little too touristy for my taste, but we're nowhere near Big Bear's level. I don't think we ever will be either. Our Lake is Private, we have no ski resorts, our snowplows suck, we have very limited hotel space, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

And yes, Arrowhead is truly a paradise. Surrounded by Desert, Urban sprawl, traffic, and smog, we are on an island of sorts. I wouldn't live anywhere else in Southern California.