Cities to consider in CA for young family (San Diego, San Jose: to rent, health insurance)

[NoVaFirstTimer]

Hi everyone,

I realize this is a very broad question so please bear with me here.

First some background:
We are a young family in our late 30s with a 2-month old baby. I lived in SoCal & occasionally visited North CA from 2000-2007. So I know more about SoCal than North CA, however I prefer North CA for its weather.

My job is evolving and in mid-2018, I expect to start working remotely. Since I will no longer be tied to one place, we are considering moving back to CA. We are currently in Greenbelt MD and are sick of the cold, humidity, allergies, and lack of beaches here. We expect to sell our house here and rent in CA for a year or two before buying there.

Our needs are:
- 3 BR House/Townhouse built after 1970s with a small yard and under $400k.
- Medium to large cities
- Safe and good schools (at least 6 in Greatschools rating to start)
- Less than 40 miles from beach. We do not have to swim - we do want the ability to walk on the sand & smell the ocean air
- Diversity meaning more resources devoted to content & STEM subjects (rather than English as a Second language), magnet schools, and less gangs to worry about.
- Parks and other free stuff to do


We do not care much about:
- Restaurants since we eat mostly at home and like to get fresh groceries/meat
- Cultural stuff such as opera etc


We narrowed down to a few cities that matched our needs:
Oxnard
Ventura
Torrance - Out of our price range at this time
Diamond Bar, Brea, Fullerton - mostly out of our price range at this time

Temecula
San Diego - North County suburbs (Carlsbad area, Escondido,
Orange County - Aliso Viejo, Lake Forest and other areas

Brentwood (Nor Cal)
Gilroy (Nor Cal) - out of our price range at this time


Eliminated:
- Riverside or Fresno - I used to work part-time as a medical technician and found a lot of asthma related cases in those areas due to the geographic nature & farm environment.
- Sacramento - Never visited but is too far from water for us
- San Fernando Valley (Van Nuys, Northridge etc) - we do not like the area, weather, schools, and general environment there
- Long Beach & Lakewood - we do not like it due to the port traffic & school demographics

Can you please give some ideas about other cities we should be considering? We are aiming to rent in the same city to learn about the area before buying.


Thank you!

F

[NoVaFirstTimer]

Forgot to include, I will have an income of approx 90k and my wife will be a Stay at home Mom. We will continue to receive all the health insurance benefits through my employer.

[saibot]

Since you state that Diamond Bar, Brea, and Fullerton are out of your price range, I would also cross off the south OC cities (Lake Forest, Aliso Viejo, etc.) and anywhere in San Diego county that is close to the beach (Carlsbad). None of these areas have 3-bedroom single-family homes or townhouses anywhere near $400k. Unfortunately with your budget you are going to have to look farther inland, or plan to rent indefinitely.

[Adriatica]

Lompoc or Santa Maria? Might be too expensive, though.

Your budget and your desire to be near the ocean do not mix well.

When you describe Sacramento as being "too far from water" I assume you mean the ocean. There is a lot of water in and around Sacramento (rivers, lakes).

[nightlysparrow]

Originally Posted by NoVaFirstTimer

We narrowed down to a few cities that matched our needs:
Oxnard, Ventura

Re: Ventura County: Your budget would be okay in Oxnard (better if 50k higher), and for a few neighborhoods (some not so great) in Ventura. However, the schools may not be as highly rated as you are requesting, and the crime may not be as low. For improvement, you'd need to go south to Camarillo and the Conejo Valley or Simi Valley. For your price point Simi is best.

[Hawk J]

I recommend "The Monterey Bay" area. There are many beautiful spots along the coast, to explore & play, & photograph. Live a distance inland where rent is more reasonable...

[pacific2]

The market is tight in South Orange County. According to Redfin, there are only two 3-bedroom townhouses listed in Aliso Viejo. One is on the market for $519,995 and the other owner is asking for $620,000.

https://www.redfin.com/city/224/CA/A...use,min-beds=3

[NoVaFirstTimer]

Originally Posted by Adriatica

Lompoc or Santa Maria? Might be too expensive, though.

Your budget and your desire to be near the ocean do not mix well.

When you describe Sacramento as being "too far from water" I assume you mean the ocean. There is a lot of water in and around Sacramento (rivers, lakes).

Yes, I meant the ocean. 40-50 miles from ocean is still considered premium property? Will research more on Sacramento & Also found that Folsom is highly rated. Thanks.

Originally Posted by nightlysparrow

Re: Ventura County: Your budget would be okay in Oxnard (better if 50k higher), and for a few neighborhoods (some not so great) in Ventura. However, the schools may not be as highly rated as you are requesting, and the crime may not be as low. For improvement, you'd need to go south to Camarillo and the Conejo Valley or Simi Valley. For your price point Simi is best.

Are they considered in San Fernando valley or do they have a different microclimate- as in cooler climate? I remember San Fernando valley being really hot. Thanks.

Originally Posted by Hawk J

I recommend "The Monterey Bay" area. There are many beautiful spots along the coast, to explore & play, & photograph. Live a distance inland where rent is more reasonable...

Can you list some city names please? Thanks.

[NoVaFirstTimer]

Originally Posted by saibot

Since you state that Diamond Bar, Brea, and Fullerton are out of your price range, I would also cross off the south OC cities (Lake Forest, Aliso Viejo, etc.) and anywhere in San Diego county that is close to the beach (Carlsbad). None of these areas have 3-bedroom single-family homes or townhouses anywhere near $400k. Unfortunately with your budget you are going to have to look farther inland, or plan to rent indefinitely.

That's why I listed Temecula only. Hoping to find more such cities in the general area. Thanks.

[Flovis]

If you're looking at folsom then take a look at Merced. Air quality is good in merced(similar to folsom, i bet) and is just two hours to the beach and two hours to Yosemite valley!
Folsom is three hours to the beach, but it is closer to lake Tahoe.

Uc Merced is nearby and the state is building a high speed rail line in Merced. Merced to sf in 1 hr and to San Jose in 45 minutes!

Schools shouldn't be an issue with your salary.

Edit- a nice house in merced would likely cost 300k
425k or more in Folsom for a similar house

Tomorrows forecast for air quality(WeatherBug.com)

53 for Folsom
27 for merced