Moving from LA to Lake Arrowhead - what do we need to know? (Brentwood: condo)

[team_arts]

I've read a few older threads that mention fog, limited jobs, and fire zone. As well as "the hill" trek. I have a few more specific questions, and would be most appreciative if anyone could answer? (below background)

Background: My husband and I are in our early 30's and have each lived in west LA about 12 yrs. We are artsy types with entertainment industry-related jobs always feel more energized and inspired when we get away to nature. We've visited Lake Arrowhead on family vacation for the past several years and enjoy it more each time. We travel a good bit to woodsy areas (Big Sur/Carmel, Colorado...I lived in Idyllwild for a yr for boarding school) and enjoy hiking, boating, skiing, horseback riding, and all types of film, music, and artsy events. Currently are working on shifting more of our work to computer-based stuff in order to allow us to move out of LA because we would like to start a family within the next 2 yrs, and while we enjoy the endless opportunities in LA for adults, we feel that the quality of life is low and dangerous for children - we both grew up in places you could play outdoors. We're currently living in a small upscale condo built in early 2000's, and to be frank, we're attracted to the yuppie things in life. Dream LA neighborhood would be Brentwood for it's pretty homes, boutique shops & healthy restaurants, and "safer" feeling countryclub-ness, while still being relatively young-to-mid aged families with children...but you need 2-3mil for that hood. Realistically if we stay in LA, it's probably going to be Sherman Oaks "the valley", which is all of the above but less curb appeal, less hip, plus a headache of a commute on the 405 & 101 to many places, and generally a more mainstream suburbaness for ONLY 800k-2mil :-( We kind of feel like if we're going to have to pay a million dollars and then still be expected to drive 45min+ in traffic everywhere anyway, maybe we should just blow this joint now while the rates are low, save some money, and go far enough away we wouldn't be expected to commute daily, but we'd still be close enough to be there for like occasional LA events or important in-person work. After our last visit to Lake Arrowhead we were surprised to find out how affordable it is, and what beautiful homes you can have there for less than the cost of a tear-down in LA, not to mention the great school and low crime! Every local we spoke to told us they loved living there for all except their teenage years when they were bored -haha. We're going to come stay for a month and do a trial live/work early next year to test out the winter and our ability to work remotely.


Questions:
1) Exactly when does this fog happen? What season/months, what times of day?
2) Which side of the lake or which neighborhoods would you recommend socially for a arty/yuppie-ish young family living there full time? (We saw homes we liked all over, but wondering what the vibe is like near the country club vs blue jay vs cedar ridge or other gated communities, vs the north side of the lake..?)
3) Are the full time residents clique-ish? Will we be the only married couple under 50 without kids yet just sitting alone at home watching Game of Thrones? How do you make friends?
4) For full-time residents, I know it's a small town, but are there areas/neighborhoods that are recommended for convenience (to the grocery or to the fwy, etc) Or is that never really much of a factor? Some of the houses we looked at seemed much harder to get to than others...
5) What do you do when you have to go to the airport? LAX? Long-term parking? We have family on the east coast that we visit 1-2x a year...
6) Where are the district lines for Lake Arrowhead Elementary (vs. Grand View, or others)? Is this a big deal? The school ratings are quite different...
7) Fill in the blank..."Make sure your home has _______________"

PS. Please accept my apologies if any of these questions are ignorant/stupid :-) Just trying to be thorough and find out if there's anything we'd be lucky to be aware of that only locals would know...in LA there are a bazillion micro-cultures that took me at least 5 yrs to start to grasp...

[kck33]

Did you end up moving there? We are in a similar position...

[Ulysses61]

I have posted the answer to the OP's question countless times in the past. Just search the archives.

Oh-- and Grandview elementary closed earlier this year. My husband and I are both DINK's and we have never been able to make friends with the locals. My neighbors are all quite nasty and envious we don't have kids and can do what we want.