Relo to SoCal/Ventura County (Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley: rental, day care, houses)

[jimbond]

Hi. We are a family of 3, currently living in the Midwest. I telecommute and need to fly 2-4 times/month but can really live anywhere. My wife is a RN with pediatric, urgent care, ER experience. Our daughter is 1.5 years old. Prior to having a family I lived all over the country, including northern CA. We now have an itch to live in SoCal for the weather, culture, healthy lifestyle, etc.

I'm thinking Ventura County would be good for us. We live pretty simply and enjoy hiking, exploring, and eating. Our budget is around $300-$350k or around $2,000/mo rent. I need a home office so 3bd+/2ba would be nice. Other qualities we are looking for:
- Milder climate and clean air. Minimal 90+ hot days in the summer and infrequent smog.
- Good access to day care and childrens activities.
- Friendly, laid back community to make friends and bonds with locals
- Quality schools if we end up buying in the next few years

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!!

[nightlysparrow]

You can get an apt rental at Archstone.com for that budget in Agoura Hills or in Thousand Oaks. They are nice and clean, but only 2 bedroom. If you want a rental house for that price, you'd need to try Simi Valley, look at zillow.com to get an idea.

There are still houses to buy at that price in the west county.

[Perry Mason]

Thousand Oaks has top rated schools and lots of space for hiking and exploring, but is a fairly pricey area and 3bd can be hard to find at a reasonable rate (that can be true many places). Simi Valley and Camarillo are a little more reasonable, but you've still really got to search good for housing that meets your needs. The climate is fairly warm in East County, since it's further from the coast.