Relocating from Australia - Where best to live?? (San Diego, Anaheim: real estate, rental)

[oz2socal]

Hello All!

We are a family from Australia relocating (due to my husbands work) to Southern California...We have two young boys....8 and 3....where would you suggest we move to??? We have looked at the Inland Empire...are any of the beach suburbs family friendly??? I would really appreciate any advice!!

Thanks!

[NewToCA]

As ussual, price is a major factor, either puchase price or what you are willing to spend per month for rent. Also SoCal is huge, it helps if you specify where you would like to be near.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by oz2socal

Hello All!

We are a family from Australia relocating (due to my husbands work) to Southern California...We have two young boys....8 and 3....where would you suggest we move to??? We have looked at the Inland Empire...are any of the beach suburbs family friendly??? I would really appreciate any advice!!

Thanks!

Where will you be working?

[oz2socal]

My husband will be working from home....so we are really flexible with where to settle. We will be renting as we will be keeping our property in Australia...and not sure if we could get finance with our visa?? will look into that when we are in the country!! Pricewise..rental at maybe $2000 - $2500 per month?? Would be great to have somewhere seperate for my husband to work - so maybe 4 beds?? or 3 with an office?

thanks again!

[NewToCA]

A monthly rental payment of $2,500 might get you into quite a few areas such as Pasadena, Sherman Oaks, Anaheim or Fullerton.

Pasadena, California (CA) Detailed Profile - relocation, real estate, travel, jobs, hospitals, schools, crime, news, sex offenders

Anaheim, California (CA) Detailed Profile - relocation, real estate, travel, jobs, hospitals, schools, crime, news, sex offenders

Fullerton, California (CA) Detailed Profile - relocation, real estate, travel, jobs, hospitals, schools, crime, news, sex offenders

[sav858]

I would look into Coastal Northern San Diego County suburbs like Carlsbad, Encinitas, and Solana Beach. They are cheaper than both LA and Orange County and you can get a much better deal than the coastal areas up there. Nice, family oriented beach suburbs in LA and OC are VERY expensive . Also the Inland Empire is not very nice overall and has a pretty bad reputation in Southern CA. There are nice parts but plenty of bad parts. And the traffic and SMOG are very bad there, I really would think twice about that place or just make sure you find a good area. Lots of gangs and crime in the rough parts.

There are some very laid back and family oriented suburbs along the North County coast and they're not too far from Downtown San Diego, Orange County, or LA. There seems to be plenty of nice 4 bedroom homes available for $2500: classifieds - craigslist
San Diego is a great place for families b/c of all of the family oriented things activities to do such as Legoland, SeaWorld, San Diego Zoo, San Diego Wild Animal Park, Belmont Park, and of course the BEACH! Also living in Northern SD county you're only an hour to 90 minutes away from Disneyland.

[bhcompy]

My favorite beach city is Seal Beach. Relaxed and laid back. You should be able to find a rental for that amount and at your size in Seal Beach. The elementary school in the area is McGaugh Elementary School and is a great school. Seal Beach and neighboring Los Alamitos share a lot of things, including schools, youth sports programs, etc. Los Alamitos(and the neighborhood of Rossmoor which is unincorporated county land) is another place you can look in that price range. Very family friendly, very safe, very affordable at your rates. Both of these cities have great schools and lots of youth activities and sports.

Cypress is next to Los Alamitos and has a different set of schools, but is a lovely family community that will be affordable and has plenty of activities for young boys. About 20min gets you to the beach.

Costa Mesa is another area you may want to look, but some areas of the city are not as good as others.

Belmont Shore was mentioned above. It is respectable with respectable schools, but it is too urban for my liking. Not the best place for kids though.

Either way, the cities I mentioned above are all close proximity beach cities and should have good schools and activities for young kids(except Belmont Shore.. not the best family area, better for singles and young adults).

All of these communities are along the 405 fwy corridor in Orange County and should make for easy transitions. Good people, relaxing atmosphere, family oriented activities in the cities or nearby(never more than 30min from amusement parks like Disneyland or Knotts Berry Farm), etc.

Good luck on your move and if you want anymore information on these areas feel free to ask

[missionhome]

San Diego would probably be a great spot for a family and since you are from Australia, I would say that SD is probably most in common with Brisbane. Same sort of waterfront type of city with great beaches. I think the North Beach city of Encinitas could be a good match and here is a 4 bedroom home in your price range as an example: Beautiful Encinitas House (http://sandiego.craigslist.org/nsd/apa/652839510.html - broken link)

It is a nice area that I think you would like.

In Orange County, Mission Viejo, Lake Forest, Laguna Hills, and Rancho Santa Margarita are very family friendly communities with great schools and a good quality of life. They are going to range from 20-30 minutes from the good beaches in San Clemente. All of these cities have a home available for rent in the 2000-2500 range. I think you would like this area a lot and it has the benefits of suburban life while still being in the middle of one of the biggest metropolises in the world. Laguna Niguel (more coastal portion), Dana Point, and San Clemente are pretty good coastal cities, not sure if they would have a house you could afford, but if they do, they are great also.

Also, I hear nothing but good things about the Los Alamitos area and it has a very good reputation for schools so I would second bhcompy on that area.

[lynguy1]

Help we are looking to relocate from Scotland and are looking to open a Day Spa in California which is currently being put together. We also need a family friendly area as we have a 5 year old boy, so it has to be safe and very family orientated. We had thought Clabasas but house prices seem high.

Can anyone help.

Thanks