Nice affordable place to live in so cal

[ferretkona]

I always wonder and giggle. These threads always start with safe and cheap. The really sad point is even the dangerous communities are very expensive.

If you are wanting reasonably safe and reasonably affordable I would look at Clear Lake, Lake Isabella, Lake Elsinore, Hemet.
What makes them reasonable is that there is no work available.

[RhythmKyle]

Originally Posted by Brenda-by-the-sea

So...think about this, Kyle. We live in a country of over 300 million people. Everyone is searching for a really nice place so the demand for really nice places way exceeds the supply. If there is a place in this overpopulated country with a great climate, low crime, fun things to do and a decent job market, why wouldn't it be overrun with millions of people? You can have either affordability or superior livability. Pick one.

I have a marketing degree so i have a lot of options in jobs and im willing to spend up to around 600 grand on a house. So depending oh how much that 600 grand can get me you choose, affordability or superior livability. What can i get for a round that price and in what area. I don't need something super big but i don't want a piece of junk in a bad area.

[Ceece]

Tell me, why So Cal? You like the tv shows or something?

[MtnSurfer]

You have many, many nice options in SoCal from 400-600K.

I prefer closer to the coast which tends to be pricey. It has the best weather and least amount of smog. After the CA RE bubble burst there are some opportunities which didn't exist a couple of years ago.

LA County: Torrance (West of Western Ave.)

Orange County: Fountain Valley, Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita

SD County: North County: Carlsbad, Cardiff

Take a look at this site for an idea of CA median price changes by County.

And there are a lot of options in between. It really depends where you can find work. I would avoid the downtown jobs, especially in LA. There are many better places to work closer to nice neighborhoods. The key to living in such a populous region is to live as cloast to work as possible and avoid driving the freeway to work. It really is that bad! And if you are smart about it you can avoid it all together.

Derek

[lrmsd]

Originally Posted by RhythmKyle

I have a marketing degree so i have a lot of options in jobs and im willing to spend up to around 600 grand on a house. So depending oh how much that 600 grand can get me you choose, affordability or superior livability. What can i get for a round that price and in what area. I don't need something super big but i don't want a piece of junk in a bad area.

I second SD county. Check out temecula,san marcos,poway [maybe],parts of escondido,and maybe murrietta which is riverside, temecula is just over the SD county line.

also,check carlsbad,PARTS of oceanside,and carmel vally areas of SD. Suburban for the msot part,will get you a larger home for the money. Hemet and lake elsinore are further out,though people do commute,if you do have a commute.

Keep in mind: Downtown SD is not where most people 'work',contrary to esp. many east coast cities. SD is very spread out,and there are several regions where alot of jobs are based,including sorrento valley,kearny mesa,mira mesa,163 corridor,UTC. These are more central to north inland,and therefore you do not need to live 'near downtown'.

Just mentioning this b/c many posters say they want a place near downtown for commuting. dont know what your job situation will be,but just in case,this is not relevant,in most cases.
good luck.

[lrmsd]

Originally Posted by MtnSurfer

You have many, many nice options in SoCal from 400-600K.

I prefer closer to the coast which tends to be pricey. It has the best weather and least amount of smog. After the CA RE bubble burst there are some opportunities which didn't exist a couple of years ago.

LA County: Torrance (West of Western Ave.)

Orange County: Fountain Valley, Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita

SD County: North County: Carlsbad, Cardiff

Take a look at this site for an idea of CA median price changes by County.

And there are a lot of options in between. It really depends where you can find work. I would avoid the downtown jobs, especially in LA. There are many better places to work closer to nice neighborhoods. The key to living in such a populous region is to live as cloast to work as possible and avoid driving the freeway to work. It really is that bad! And if you are smart about it you can avoid it all together.

Derek

For SD,cardiff you woul dnot find in that price range,that size of a house.
For SD:
-Escondido [parts are fantastic,parts are awful,do the research]
For north county,inland:
-Poway
-carmel valley [though only 3 miles fromt he ocean]
-carmel mountain ranch
-rancho bernardo
-rancho penasquitos
-UTC
-Clairemont area of SD [central to all,mostly cul de sac and 3-4 bedroom homes from the 50's]
-san marcos
-temecula
-murrietta [both of these last two are riverside just over the line,and they are a little further from sd city,but worth looking so you have an idea of cost comparisons/bang for the buck.
-East county [only a couple of exits from central SD] you can look at La Mesa village-has plenty of amenities and is much smaller,a little bit more laid back. I would avoid other east county areas like lemon grove,spring valley,and lakeside,however.
-carlsbad and oceanside for north county coastal [parts of oceanside are awful,but some areas are certainly worth considering,again,do the research.]

Also,if you want to look at the south bay,parts of bonita an d chula vista are very nice;this is closer to the mexican border,and demographics are primarily fillipino and hispanic/mexican. Avoid south bay coastal,ie- imperial beach and national city,like the plague.

if you have children,poway,carmel valley and del mare are considered the more desireable districts of the ones mentioned above. del mar proper is not in your price range,however.

also,for san diego,you don't need to consider smog inland vs. t he coast like you do in LA.
All the areas I mentioned for Sd,are fine for air quality. [though Sd has grown so much,and that is changing,but for now,it's good-we also have alot of valleys that neigbhorhoods are built in,so the micro climates are greater than in LA. We also have less sprawl in absolute numbers. 9 million LA,1.5 million in SD city,4 million in SD county.

[Fallbrook]

Check out the Gird Valley area of Fallbrook. Great weather and people and you'll get something very nice for $600k.

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

For that money you could find a nice place in Camarillo. It is a safe bedroom community in the Ventura County area. Camarillo is about 18 miles inland from the coast, is family oriented, has some good schools and homes in your range.

You have options for jobs? Does that mean more than one company is looking at you now? Do you have offers now, or are you hoping to find something when you get here? That maybe something you want to take care of before you move out this way. Plenty of people with degrees here and many of them are out of work.