Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > California
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 03-18-2014, 01:14 AM
 
Location: Singapore
15 posts, read 19,143 times
Reputation: 25

Advertisements

Hey, I'd like to thank people who respond in advance to my question. (:

I'm Asian, and am currently residing in Singapore. I will be looking to move to California within the next 1-2 years. The thing is, I can't decide between somewhere in Norcal or Orange County.

I do plan to have a family and eventually have children, so good schools and a safe neighbourhood is a must.

Which safe cities would you recommend in Norcal if I were to be looking at somewhere I can get a townhome with at least 2bedrooms, and 1bathroom?

thanks in advance!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 03-18-2014, 04:46 AM
 
Location: SGV, CA
810 posts, read 1,872,547 times
Reputation: 1276
There are safe cities with good schools everywhere. The question is whether you can afford it or not. Tell us how much you can afford on rent and we can give some suggestions.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-18-2014, 09:05 AM
 
Location: Dana Point
1,224 posts, read 1,817,748 times
Reputation: 683
Yeah, budget is very important. This forum gets a lot of post asking for good schools, safety, and 3/2 homes, but on a budget of $250,000.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-18-2014, 09:12 AM
 
Location: Under the Redwoods
3,751 posts, read 7,646,630 times
Reputation: 6115
It's almost easier to make a list of where NOT to live.
Personally, I would avoid, for various reasons, but mostly 'safety': Stockton, Long Beach, Huntington Park, Compton, Los Angeles, parts of Oakland, Alameda, Richmond, Eureka, Crecent City...I know there are others, just not coming to me at the moment.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-18-2014, 09:20 AM
 
2,145 posts, read 5,057,710 times
Reputation: 1666
Offhand, I would say that if you want an asian community with good schools, you'll have more options in OC, for your future planning. ie, more top school districts to choose from, within a wider range of pricing for both real estate and rentals. In Nor CA, you'll be looking at the few top districts in an area that is currently red hot in terms of economy, competition for housing, etc. It is a bit exclusive in some ways at the moment.

There is a reason why OC and SD regions of so cal are regularly touted as 'best place to raise a family'. It's a very family friendly area and decidedly set up for families; the bay area is not as family friendly overall. In fact, there are posters on the bay area city date forums who are regularly telling people that it's hard with kids or b/c they have two kids and need good schools it will be much harder to find an option for them in the bay area [cost, commute time, etc are all higher there]. However, if the geography and atmosphere of the bay area really attract you, you can probably find something. And, if money is no object, then look into the top districts on the Peninsula and in the south bay of nor CA. [Woodside, Cupertino, Millbrae, etc] Also, east bay is good too: Walnut Creek, Orinda, Moraga, Lafayette. If you want to be more urban walkable with amenities and that type of vibrancy, instead of suburban, check out Piedmont, Rockridge, Berkeley. You can probably find chamber of commerce website and google images on each of these areas. (: Also check craigs list dot org and padmapper, to get an idea of rental costs for all the suggestion locations, to help narrow down your choices. [or real estate listings through local realtor websites].

Currently so cal is cheaper than nor cal [assuming you mean the bay area]; there are definitely more family friendly suburbs than northern CA. So, based on your goals, I would say OC. Irvine, Aliso Viejo, Laguna Niguel, some areas of Fullerton. For a slightly less expensive option, look at Chino Hills [technically part of San Bernadino county, but bordering OC].

Also, if a large asian community is not as important to you, then you could go further out in the bay area. You could also look at Sacramento, possibly, as well. There's a large asian community there, too, though it's a smaller city. It's much cheaper than the bay area and gets pretty warm in the summer, weather wise. [Relative to the coastal areas of CA. It's nothing compared to most places in the summertime.]

Just to throw this into the ring (b/c I currently live there and thus have first hand information): San Diego is quite a popular spot for families, including asian. [Not sure where are from- you mentioned currently residing in Singapore-but all groups are strongly represented here: Chinese, Korean, Japanese, India, etc]. If you are interested, then take a look at the following areas with top school districts that also rank very high nationally (if that is important for you): Carmel Valley, Poway, Carlsbad. San Marcos and Rancho Penasquitos are also good options. SD's claims to fame, besides the nice weather and beaches, is that is ranked as a very safe large city and family friendly/best place to raise a family.

Good luck.

Last edited by lrmsd; 03-18-2014 at 09:31 AM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-18-2014, 10:19 AM
 
643 posts, read 914,678 times
Reputation: 600
Northern California! Southern California is the worst (San Diego excluded). Do not move to Orange County unless you want to be bored all the time.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-18-2014, 10:29 AM
 
Location: State of Transition
102,096 posts, read 107,233,376 times
Reputation: 115906
Quote:
Originally Posted by missyFIONA View Post
I do plan to have a family and eventually have children, so good schools and a safe neighbourhood is a must.

Which safe cities would you recommend in Norcal if I were to be looking at somewhere I can get a townhome with at least 2bedrooms, and 1bathroom?

thanks in advance!
What do you plan to do for employment? How much you earn will determine your options. However, a townhouse is a relatively modest goal. There are condos in Fremont/Union City, which is a good neighborhood with good schools, and somewhat more affordable than other parts of the Bay Area. Asians have already discovered that it's more affordable, and have settled there en masse. You might like Walnut Creek, too. Great schools! El Cerrito, just north of Berkeley, is also good. I don't know how many townhomes or condos are there, though.

Your choices will depend in part on where you find a job, and how close you want to be to that job. It's hard to help you until we have more information.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-18-2014, 06:13 PM
 
3,229 posts, read 6,268,860 times
Reputation: 4883
Quote:
Originally Posted by California831 View Post
Northern California! Southern California is the worst (San Diego excluded). Do not move to Orange County unless you want to be bored all the time.
Orange County is one of my favorite places in California! Way better than anywhere in the overpriced & overcrowded Bay area.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-18-2014, 06:14 PM
 
Location: East Bay, San Francisco Bay Area
23,362 posts, read 23,774,103 times
Reputation: 23777
Alameda, not to live? You must be kidding.

Quote:
Originally Posted by OwlKaMyst View Post
It's almost easier to make a list of where NOT to live.
Personally, I would avoid, for various reasons, but mostly 'safety': Stockton, Long Beach, Huntington Park, Compton, Los Angeles, parts of Oakland, Alameda, Richmond, Eureka, Crecent City...I know there are others, just not coming to me at the moment.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-19-2014, 10:25 AM
 
Location: Pleasanton, CA
2,406 posts, read 6,018,866 times
Reputation: 4246
Quote:
Originally Posted by ccm123 View Post
Alameda, not to live? You must be kidding.
No kidding! Alameda is a very desirable place to live. Even some of the other cities on the list have plenty of nice areas. Some people post some ridiculously ignorant stuff on this board at times.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > California
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top