Help this NY Family find a home in Southern Ca! (Los Angeles: for sale, real estate)

[joanieb]

Please-can you help me out. Currently in NYC area-relocating to California...

a) beautifully scenic area (Great beaches, clean, upscale feeling etc.)
WARM WEATHER, my husband is loving Berkeley, but Im concerned about the weather-I sort of feel if I am moving all the way from NYC to a new life in CA-I want that great CA sunny weather....which makes me think maybe Southern CA is the best bet...?? that being said-the type of people we are would love a place like berkeley but me wanting the "sun" where would you point us then for Southern CA???

b) Great Public schools (very important as we have 4 children!)

c) Walkable downtown area w/ unique one of a kind boutiques, restaurants, nightlife (we dont get out that much these days but still :>)

d) Cultural opportunities nearby (Important-we have always loved 'college towns' b/c of the offerings etc...Im not necessarily crunchy granola girl-Im pretty laid back but do like to get dressed up every now & then....

e) Down to earth, laid back vibe (ie-NOT materialistic, showy, money focused etc.) Perhaps a place w/ more diversity economically or socially or that is super wealthy-but the people don't really even care much about $ so there isnt a focus...???? open to suggestions w/ this issue...? this is important to me.

g) other young families ?

h) Love old architecture (from the 20's etc.)

thats about it....i know its a lot of requirements-but if there is anyway you can help me out that would be great!

So as not to offend anyone-If we chose a place like berkeley-I think id love the people so much (usually no one snotty, stuck up etc...) and Id prob. be on the 'cooler' side of folks :> that being said I can easily be in a more burb-mainstream place but typically find that the people are more small minded-and not as individualistic & more conformist a bit more homogenous...I love the arts, the main thing is we are very down to earth folks....

I love Laguna Beach but worried about the public schools? no way we can do private....People say San Diego is "conservative" but perhaps Mission Hills or LaJolla/Del Mar...I really don't know which way we should go here. From the looks of it-Santa Barbara sounds GREAT!--we want to be able to get on a plane back to NY easily & it looks like SB has to go via LA or somewhere else....? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated as Im trying to do as much research before we go out to visit & narrow in..

Thanks!!!

[Charles]

What line of work are you in?
Where will you be working?
Renting or buying? Budget?

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by joanieb

I love Laguna Beach but worried about the public schools?

There's nothing wrong with the schools in Laguna from an academic standpoint. Have you also considered places in LA County like Santa Monica? Lots of more liberal ex-New Yorkers there. Don't know about the schools though.

[DinsdalePirahna]

Laguna Beach Schools are fine.
It gets kind of cold in the Bay area.

There are plenty of coastal towns from Santa BArbara down to San Diego that would fill your bill.


My suggestions would be
Laguna Beach
Dana Point
Leucadia
LaJolla
San Diego (Big City)

[joanieb]

hi there, this is the original poster...we both work at home-so no commute necessary which is nice. We would optimally like to buy but thinking we may rent for a year to get our bearings--say $800k budget or so...i know thats not alot but we are more interested in being in a great community we love & have a smaller home than a bigger home w/ bigger granite countertops but in a place we're not as enthused about if that makes sense..... thanks for everyone's help this site is so very helpful!

[CAVA1990]

When you're ready to buy though you're going to have a tough time finding a house big enough for 4 kids for $800K in a liberal beach town in Southern California. You should probably assess that before you make the move otherwise you could be setting yourselves up for disappointment later on. Most of Southern Calfornia is fairly conservative with the more liberal areas being more expensive. Here's a place you might want to check out:

http://www.realtor.com/realestateand...-700000-800000

[joanieb]

If price were no issue at all-what would be our best bets to fit our criteria...? thanks so much..

[CAVA1990]

Probably Santa Barbara. Just to give you the perspective I'm coming at this from: I grew up in a coastal neighborhood just over the line from South Laguna, graduated from Cal Berkeley, and I have a sister who's lived a very long time in a beach community of Santa Barbara. I have no experience living in San Diego or Los Angeles Counties.

[Coldjensens]

Laguna Beach.

a) beautifully scenic area (Great beaches, clean, upscale feeling etc.)
WARM WEATHER,

Pretty much limits you to Laguna beach, Santa Monica, maybe Long Beach (depend on your concept of great scenery) or a few places in san Diego if you want ot meet your other criteria.

b) Great Public schools (very important as we have 4 children!)

Laguna has good schools academically. Irvine has good schools but it is bland, conservative has no downtwon and no scenery. San Diego and Santa Monica not so much. Long Beach schools are mostly awful with a few excpetions. What about private school?

c) Walkable downtown area w/ unique one of a kind boutiques, restaurants, nightlife (we dont get out that much these days but still :>)

This really limits you. Not much of this in warm places in CA. Laguna Beach, La Jolla (maybe) San Diego, possibly Long Beach or Santa Monica
.
d) Cultural opportunities nearby (Important-we have always loved 'college towns' b/c of the offerings etc...Im not necessarily crunchy granola girl-Im pretty laid back but do like to get dressed up every now & then....

Define cultural opportunities. How often and how many do you want. Laguna has the pagent of the masters and the sawdust festival, lots of little art galleries. Long beach has a bit more and is close to LA. Santa Monica is bascially LA.

e) Down to earth, laid back vibe (ie-NOT materialistic, showy, money focused etc.) Perhaps a place w/ more diversity economically or socially or that is super wealthy-but the people don't really even care much about $ so there isnt a focus...???? open to suggestions w/ this issue...? this is important to me.

Oh- Oops, you just eliminated Southern and Northern California. Try some mid - inland areas North of Sacramento there are some nice towns at the base of the mountains or in the foothills. However you will find some down to earth people everywhere. But the prevailing atmosphere in both Southern and Northen costal CA is materialism, self-orientation, brand names and hedonism. This is more prevalent and strogner in the south, up north you have materialism etc as well, but often a lot of people more focused on trying to out liberal each other and/or out green each other. It is the same thing but with a different focus.

g) other young families ?

That is pretty much everywhere. San Fransisco has a young family shortage in the downtown and had to close some schools. Families are generally not that attracted to Cities.

h) Love old architecture (from the 20's etc.)

Now you are eliminating even more. So. Cal. Attitude is mostly anything old is bad, new is better, tear it all down and build new. Laguna has some older architecture. Pasadena and South Pasadena have quite a bit. Santa Ana and Orange have a lot, but do not meet your other crietia. Parts of San Diego meet this.

Another possible option is Santa Barbara. That may meet most of your criteria, but you better bring a lot of money with you. At least $1 million for a house, more if you want a view. I do nto know about their schools, but I assume that they are good. As far as materialism, most people there are so rich, that they do not even bother shwoing it off. However if you are not impeccibly dressed, you may be mistaken for the help and asked to bring a drink.

[robbybee]

I bought a house in TUSTIN 12 years ago. It's a great little town within minutes of the Newport coast. Schools are great, real estate prices are fair and the weather is fantastic!

City of Tustin, CA :: Homepage

BTW, my 2100 square foot house is for sale... 4br, 3ba, pool, hot tub, fireplace