Moving from VA to LA..is it a good idea? (Santa Clarita: rentals, skatepark) - Los Angeles - California (CA) - City-Data Forum

brightblueeyzz · 11-22-2009, 03:46 PM

I live in a small town in VA. We are considering moving to Santa Clarita/Canyon Country area.

I have children ranging from elementary to senior high. I have always wanted to move to another state but due to being a single mom, lack of support system for the little ones if I moved and so forth I never did. Now that my children are older we would love to make a move to a new place together. One of my children is an avid skateboarder and says that having the Santa Clarita Skatepark as his local park would be like a dream come true.

I have checked out a few things about the area and so far heard that the school systems are among the top 10% in the state, most affordable suburb, voted to be a great place to raise a family, as well as one of the safest also, and a low unemployment rate. All of this in one place....

wow, sounds too good to be true. The area seems to be centrally located between alot of great places to visit but not right in the middle of the chaois. It's looks like such a georgous place to live. I hear comments alot that say LA is like no other place to live so I'd love to have some input on it. Also for an asthmatic how would the environmental change be? The all time question about earthquakes? I have checked on several rentals and find that there is some availability in SC/CC but Lancaster and Palmdale have alot available. How is the area there? Thanks in advance for your help.

osuzana · 11-22-2009, 05:24 PM

NO, NO NO!!!What you read is bs. It is not among the top 10% in the state and compared to VA, it is not affordable. Asthma will worsen in L.A. and don't even think about Palmdale or Lancaster. Horrible place to live...lots of gangs, horrible weather. I am familiar with Virginia and the unemployment rate cannot compare to L.A. Last I heard, Va. was around 5.5% unemployment where L.A. is over 12%. Single mom trying to survive even in Santa Clarita without family too.....I advise against it. Now all the L.A. lovers will try and convince you how great it is here but please....do your homework. I don't know what part of Va. you are in but Fairfax County has some of the top schools in the Country!!! Santa Clarita is not centrally located or the most affordable area either and I don't think a skatepark is a good enough reason to move. Sorry but it sounds like you were reading a brochure by the city of Santa Clarita, not an independent study.

EscapeCalifornia · 11-22-2009, 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by osuzana

Sorry but it sounds like you were reading a brochure by the city of Santa Clarita, not an independent study.

Which must have been written in 2004 if they say unemployment is low. Of course affordability would have been even worse then.

Charles · 11-22-2009, 05:51 PM

Santa Clarita has a lot of nice places to live and a lot of nice schools. It's a big, spread out place. It's a huge suburb and there are a lot of people driving south to jobs in the LA area. It's hot and dry in summer but there are plenty of amenities.

I didn't read anything about where you will be working or what your budget for housing is. Those things are going to ultimately determine whether Santa Clarita is a good place for you.

ArizonaBear · 11-22-2009, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by osuzana

NO, NO NO!!!What you read is bs. It is not among the top 10% in the state and compared to VA, it is not affordable. Asthma will worsen in L.A. and don't even think about Palmdale or Lancaster. Horrible place to live...lots of gangs, horrible weather. I am familiar with Virginia and the unemployment rate cannot compare to L.A. Last I heard, Va. was around 5.5% unemployment where L.A. is over 12%. Single mom trying to survive even in Santa Clarita without family too.....I advise against it. Now all the L.A. lovers will try and convince you how great it is here but please....do your homework. I don't know what part of Va. you are in but Fairfax County has some of the top schools in the Country!!! Santa Clarita is not centrally located or the most affordable area either and I don't think a skatepark is a good enough reason to move. Sorry but it sounds like you were reading a brochure by the city of Santa Clarita, not an independent study.

I am a Wash DC native; born/raised in the metro area. Frankly; it has all of SoCal's drawbacks plus nasty weather both summer and winter. To the OP: make sure you do have a job lined up first in all fairness.

Side note here: the TV show NCIS depicts Arlington County, Va. (just across from DC) but is filmed in Santa Clarita

uptown_urbanist · 11-22-2009, 06:18 PM

Yes, it is too good to be true. I don't think there is low unemployment anywhere in the state right now; California is one of the toughest places to find a job right now. And "affordable" is all relative; housing isn't that much worse than in the DC area, but if your small town is anything like the small VA town we lived in, you'll be shocked at the cost of living. And Santa Clarita isn't particularly centrally located.

I would not move right now, or if you just want a change of pace, move somewhere with a better job market (the DC area is supposed to be one of the best in the country right now, isn't it? And metro DC feels like a world away from small town Virginia); even if you were to line up a job right now as the last to be hired you'd probably be the first to be cut if the company ran into problems, and while that's a risk that single or childless people or people with massive amounts of savings can do, it's a lot to take on as a single parent with several kids.

I completely understand the urge to move, but if you want out of Virginia just move somewhere like Maryland or Delaware or Northern VA or somewhere, or wait it out a few years until the economy improves. I absolutely love LA, but can't really see why anyone would move from across the country with kids to live in Santa Clarita or Lancaster right now. Save the money that you would have spent on the move and put it towards a vacation to see if you like the area or not. And I'm not a public school basher -- California has some excellent public schools (and some really struggling ones). But the California budget is a nightmare right now, and it's impacting all sorts of quality of life issues, including the schools.

Sorry to be so negative, because I really do love LA (and have lived in small town Virginia, too, then moved to LA after some time in DC), but given your description of what you want and are envisioning I think you should either stay where you are or look somewhere else unless you're independently wealthy and don't need to worry about making a living. If you get a really good job offer (BEFORE you move) and are really secure that the job is firm then, and only then, make the move. But even in that case you should really visit first, as it sounds like you don't know the area well. Otherwise you could be making a really big and expensive mistake, especially since there are kids involved. Presumably you only want to move once, both to save costs as well as to avoid unncessary disruptions in schools, etc.

brightblueeyzz · 11-22-2009, 07:25 PM

So do I understand you to say that its not a bad move just have everything lined up?

brightblueeyzz · 11-22-2009, 07:54 PM

Honestly, I've been here in VA constantly trying for years to better myself, become more financially stable and entertain my kids in a positive manner. We have to drive an hour for anything fun so it becomes expensive. I have worked several jobs at once to make ends meet in the past. I can do anything from waitressing, constuction project management to office management. To make ends meet you sometimes have to be multi-talented (in the honest employment world that is). I have been blessed to be in a position that my rent will be based on my income if or when we moved. My budget is around $2000.00 and with all the trying I've done here in VA and not been able to progress I figure a change may be what my family needs. There are more opportunities to suceed in different ways than here. I have spoken with a couple of reputable places for employment already. The skatepark isn't the primary reason, but with children today if there is something positive in thier life that keeps them busy and off the streets from getting into trouble I'm all for it. SCV isn't centrally located I know. What I meant by that was that it appears to be about an 1/2 to 1 hr from some neat places to see but not right in the middle of the city of LA.

EscapeCalifornia · 11-22-2009, 08:19 PM

California isn't the place to head if you're barely making ends meet already. You complain about having to drive an hour to do anything fun in Virginia but people in LA make the same complaint. The difference is here, they're only going 20 miles.

BRinSM · 11-22-2009, 08:20 PM

maybe you are a very skilled person and would have no problems finding a job, but i know people with multiple college degrees (including master's degrees) who are having trouble finding decent jobs right now. just an fyi.