What's the ideal area that best meets this criteria?

[ecsdude]

Thanks for your reply! It was very informative and gives me more of an idea which areas I may like more.
I've thought about first making some extended stays down there to get a feel for things so I can make a more informed decision about whether the move would be a good one for me in the long run. I haven't spent more than a few days at a time in SoCal over the years so it's not really enough to get me a true sense of day to day life there.

I may consider renting as an option. Just figured that if I could buy at a good price, the monthly costs may possibly be less than renting and I'd possibly get some appreciation in value over time as well, not to mention the mortgage interest tax deduction. Renting would give me greater mobility.

The main obstacle for me is finding a job just as good pay and benefits. I currently work for the state in IT and it's mostly a 40hr/week job with relatively little stress. Finding something comparable in SoCal may require me to try for a federal job as there aren't many state jobs down there.

Originally Posted by kauaidooley

If you are at the beach cities, smog should not be much of a problem. However, all along the coast
at times, we will have the marine layer until about 10 or 11 a.m. Or it could be sunny and beautiful
all day and night long.

As to LAX.....Unfortuantely, we just do not care for the LAX FOLLIES, or the terminal . Does not feel good.
We would rather fly out of Orange County John Wayne, or Long Beach, but that is not always possible.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Owning property inland a bit, is going to be less expensive than at the beach. Beach property is very
expensive.

The RE market right now, is slowing down, and so that is something to take into consideration as well.
We are not in the market , but have talked with friends in Real Estate, and Mortgage Business. and that
is where I am getting the info on home purchasing.

Have you thought about renting or leasing a nice place, a bit inland, with an easy drive or walk to the beach,
and maybe getting a lay of the land, and be able to make a more informed decision before buyng a home ?.

You have picked some pretty great places to live, I am only knowledgeable about Orange County, and have lived
at or near the beach for most of my life.

You also might check out home prices in Huntington Beach, in the area of Bolsa Chica Beach / Huntington Bach .

Also, inland a bit from Seal Beach . Old town Seal Beach, is very nice, easy going, non pretentious, friendly, nice
beach, quaint three block main street, and easy access to the freeway if you have to commute to get to work.

Newport Beach, is going to very expensive. Currently, we live in Dana Point, and love living in South County.

Laguna Beach Town is super crowded, hard to find a parking space , and major flat lander, tourist area in the summer,
and we border Laguna Beach, but only pass thru on PCH when absolutely necessary . For us, big difference between Laguna and easy going Dana Point. We really enjoy life here in Dana Point, and South County, and have easy access to our sister towns of San Juan Capistrano, and San Clemente . there are other inland communities that are very,
Very, nice as well.

Seal Beach , Old Town Area, is also feel good special to us. Erica lived there for 12 years before we moved to kauai
island for 10 years. But, now from Dana Point, when I go up to the VA Health Center for appointments, after what ever, Erica and I always stop in Seal , walk main street, go out on the pier, and have lunch and libations at one of
the neat restaurants on main street. Seal beach feels good to us. Great small beach town feeling.

Huntington Beach, at the same time Erica was in Old Town, Seal Beach, I was living in Huntington Harbor ( Huntington Beach ). Also a very nice area that is next to Bolsa Chica Beach, and Huntington Harbor and Marinas were right there. Also had the wetlands trail to hike, and Huntington Main Beach, and a short 10 minute drive to Seal Beach. Just beyond Seal ( Old Town ) is Long Beach.

There are plenty of restaurants, shopping, movies, markets, most anything that you would need, in
the South County area, Huntington Beach, Seal Beach, Dana Point, etc. And the surrounding areas .

We gravitate toward the Beach Cities, since we like the casual lifestyle and friendly attitudes, and the ocean,
beaches and marinas.

Our thoughts only, we all have different priorities , and likes .

The above are some of our choices.

Also, we rent and are a five minute walk to the beach, and I do not own a suit, tie, dress shoes, or dress shirt,
and enjoy casual beach style living. But, we are retired and that can make a difference in wardrobe.

Hospitals, we seem to have plenty of medical centers, specialists, primary care, and large hospitals.

South Laguna Hospital is about a 10 minute drive , Erica uses Kaiser, probably 30 minute drive, and I
use the Local VA Clinic in Laguna Hills, and sometimes local civilian medical offices, and also the VA up in Long Beach.

Those are some of our thoughts to some of your questions , hope it helps a little.

We do love south orange county.

[ecsdude]

Originally Posted by joepierson

I always recommend leasing an apartment for a year for you to get the "feel" of each town before committing to a condo.

It's very hard to convey what it's like in each town, what you may feel is crowded, I may not, what you may feel is unsafe, I may not, or vice versa.

An apartment will get you within walking distance to the beach, for about $2500 to $3000/month. $600K condo will be inland quite a bit.

For least amount of traffic you probably looking at Dana Point. Manhattan Beach is out of your price range as things get a little sketchy pretty quickly inland. Whereas Dana Point is pretty good inland, as is Laguna Niguel. Again everyone will disagree so you need to get out here and scope it out for a year or two.

Those are good points and good advice. I would probably have to plan to make some extended trips down there at different times of the year and get a good feel for what it'd be like.

I have a condo in a good part of Sacramento right now that I got for $245K and has appreciated nearly $100K in 3 years. Monthly, including home insurance, property taxes and HOA is just under $1500/mo.
Comparable apartments are going for $1800-2200+ in the area, so I have a pretty good situation right now.
$2500-3000/mo would be a lot, so I'd be planning to make a big down payment if I were to buy a condo down there and then plan to aggressively pay off the remainder of the mortgage by the time I plan to retire.

[ecsdude]

Originally Posted by czarinalex

There are plenty of options in Dana Point and San Clemente.

This one, across the street from the ocean:

https://www.redfin.com/CA/Dana-Point...5/home/5708620

Walk down to the beach from this one in a gated community:
https://www.redfin.com/CA/Dana-Point...G/home/5706924

Another gated community:
https://www.redfin.com/CA/Dana-Point...2/home/5411510

In San Clemente with an ocean view:
https://www.redfin.com/CA/San-Clemen...3/home/5724561

All are in safe neighborhoods, near to shopping, restaurants, beach trails, etc. As stated above, marine layer is present when close to the ocean(mostly May/June), but not really smog.
Traffic.... sigh, it's Orange Co

Thanks for the links, I will check them out!

[ecsdude]

Originally Posted by DinsdalePirahna

there are condos available for sale in the Bolsa Chica Area.

here are two in our complex:
https://www.redfin.com/CA/Huntington...1/home/5716652
https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...9_M14120-79461

The units are a bit small, but perfect for couple/singles without kids.
Meets all your criteria. 1 mile to the beach. 1/2 mile to the harbor. We have a lot of very good restaurants within walking distance, downtown Huntington Beach is 5 miles away, downtown seal beach is also about 4 miles away. Belmont Shore in Long Beach is about 7 miles.

We see the ocean everyday when we walk our dogs (plus there is an awesome 10 mile+ bike trail where you can ride into Newport Beach.

Thanks for the links, those look like pretty nice units and under the max price I'm looking for.

Thanks to everyone else also for your responses!

[pacific2]

If you are open to an IT job in the private sector, then try the job market in Irvine, and with a smaller pool, Aliso Viejo.