Possible Relocation to Thousand Oaks - are the cost of living comparison guides on the web accurate?

[Charles]

Originally Posted by runnergrl

the schools in Moorpark arent that good.

Moorpark High School Academic Decathlon National Champions

[Charles]

Originally Posted by xmxpro

How is TO to raise kids?

This is the only question in your post.

The answer is outstanding.

Are you going to buy a home? What price range?

[xmxpro]

Charles,
My post was a into to who I am vs slamming 15,000 questions at people here. Thanks for the answer regarding schools.
As far as buying a home the answer is no, for at least 1-2 years. Once I see the market drop and feel comfortable on the exact location. Price range would be in the range of 1-2mil.

[runnergrl]

Originally Posted by Charles

Moorpark High School Academic Decathlon National Champions

That is quite impressive, however, my research was regarding the elementary schools. Sorry I didnt specify that.

Although I didnt specifically research the middle and high schools, I have heard from people who used to live there that they werent as good as Oak park.
Besides the poster I was responding to has young kids that would most likely be elementary aged by the time he moved.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by runnergrl

That is quite impressive, however, my research was regarding the elementary schools. Sorry I didnt specify that.

Although I didnt specifically research the middle and high schools, I have heard from people who used to live there that they werent as good as Oak park.
Besides the poster I was responding to has young kids that would most likely be elementary aged by the time he moved.

You're probably correct. I lived in Moorpark from 1988 to 1997 and in Thousand Oaks from 1997 to 2006. Moorpark elementary and middle schools have come a long way, but maybe not quite as far as Oak Park and Conejo Valley. Oak Park schools have been good for a long time, like since the 1970s, pretty much the same for Conejo Valley. These days I'd bet there are plenty of good elementary schools and middle schools there. It really has changed. Moorpark used to be not much more than a farm town and truck stop on the 118.

In 1976 I played football against Moorpark High School (the old high school up Grimes Canyon). For some reason the one thing I vividly remember was the Moorpark players had really long hair, hanging onto their shoulder pads; Our coaches made us get super short hair cuts - which was uncool back in 1976.

Moorpark was a lot different then.

[motoman]

Originally Posted by xmxpro

Charles,
My post was a into to who I am vs slamming 15,000 questions at people here. Thanks for the answer regarding schools.
As far as buying a home the answer is no, for at least 1-2 years. Once I see the market drop and feel comfortable on the exact location. Price range would be in the range of 1-2mil.

Good call on waiting. Don't be in an hurry to buy.

Have you checked out what you can get for $1-$2 million? Just be prepared for a shocker.

Our CFO moved here from Philadelphia. He was telling us about his son looking at houses in Beverly Hills. He said, "Hey dad, here's one for $1 million, with a washer and dryer outside." Haha!

It's better up in TO, but generally speaking, at the present housing is 3-4 times higher in Cali than elsewhere in the country. Higher price, smaller, not as nice place.

[anagrig]

Hi Runnergrl,

I came across your post and thought that you might be able to help me with advice considering similarities in our situations . We will be moving this summer from MA , where we enjoyed your typical New England lifestyle. My husband just got licensed to practice dentistry in CA, which is the only state that recognizes his foreign diploma. i have looked for locations everywhere 1 from Encinitas down San Diego, to Santa Monica and then Thousand Oaks area. our foremost concern is finding a safe, family-oriented neighborhood with great schools. I have a 3rd grader and a 7th grader, who are both very academically advanced (My middle-schooler is attending a specialized charter school called AMSA that provides world-class education for free!) .
Considering that you have already been in the area for a while, and did your research on good schools,could you give me your advice whether i could trust public school system there for providing a solid educational base? Basically, those high-scoring public schools you find on greatschools.net, are they really good enough? i would hate to see my kids bored and frustrated in school on top of all other challenges of moving out-of state and leaving all your friends behind.



Also, an unrelated question to anyone who reads this, if we settled in Thousand Oaks, how long does it take on an average day (say after school) to drive to a beach, and which one would be the most clean?

thanks so much in advance!

[Charles]

Originally Posted by anagrig

Considering that you have already been in the area for a while, and did your research on good schools,could you give me your advice whether i could trust public school system there for providing a solid educational base? Basically, those high-scoring public schools you find on greatschools.net, are they really good enough?

Also, an unrelated question to anyone who reads this, if we settled in Thousand Oaks, how long does it take on an average day (say after school) to drive to a beach, and which one would be the most clean?

Your questions on school are relative. What does "good enough" mean? What is a "solid educational base"? Conejo Unified School district has an outstanding reputation when compared to other school districts in the region. There is a high percentage of high school students from CUSD that go on to four year college.

Conejo Valley Unified School District schools - district elementary, middle, and high school information

From Thousand Oaks to Zuma Beach (a great, clean, family oriented beach) would be about 30-40 easy scenic (through Kanan Road or even Decker Canyon) minutes.





http://www.bluejake.com/images06/misc/2006_11_zumapch.jpg (broken link)

[SoCalMomma]

Originally Posted by anagrig

Hi Runnergrl,

I came across your post and thought that you might be able to help me with advice considering similarities in our situations . We will be moving this summer from MA , where we enjoyed your typical New England lifestyle. My husband just got licensed to practice dentistry in CA, which is the only state that recognizes his foreign diploma. i have looked for locations everywhere 1 from Encinitas down San Diego, to Santa Monica and then Thousand Oaks area. our foremost concern is finding a safe, family-oriented neighborhood with great schools. I have a 3rd grader and a 7th grader, who are both very academically advanced (My middle-schooler is attending a specialized charter school called AMSA that provides world-class education for free!) .
Considering that you have already been in the area for a while, and did your research on good schools,could you give me your advice whether i could trust public school system there for providing a solid educational base? Basically, those high-scoring public schools you find on greatschools.net, are they really good enough? i would hate to see my kids bored and frustrated in school on top of all other challenges of moving out-of state and leaving all your friends behind.



Also, an unrelated question to anyone who reads this, if we settled in Thousand Oaks, how long does it take on an average day (say after school) to drive to a beach, and which one would be the most clean?

thanks so much in advance!

CVUSD is a great school district, as a whole. My kids attend Newbury Park High School and they have the IB program there, which truly is a world-wide, high level curriculum. Read about it: International Baccalaureate My son is currently in the IB classes and they are plenty rigorous and challenging. NPHS is the only high school in this area that offers the program. That is not to say that the other high schools are not as challenging, because that is not the case. I just wanted to give you an example of the level of our schools. Elementary and middle schools are all pretty good. Some better than others, of course. CVUSD is currently going through the process of possibly closing a couple elementary schools (so watch the district website for info on that: Conejo Valley Unified School District ) Middle school is where the kids can take the Honors classes, and that helps the brighter kids stay challenged. I must admit, that my son was very bored in elementary school and I had to supplement with more 'challenging' things for him. He is a bright kid, and I didn't feel that he was getting enough. He turned out just fine, though

As far as driving to the beach. We live near the 101 and Lynn Rd and we get can get to Zuma in 20-30 min. Its a very pretty, nice drive. You can take other routes, to other beaches, too. There is a back way down through NP, CSUCI and dumps you out near Pt Mugu, and Hwy 1. Take it south and you are on PCH - miles and miles of beaches to choose from. We can get to the coast in about 15 -20 minutes.

The nice thing is that going to the beach doesn't have to be a whole day ordeal. Sometimes we head out to see the sunset, or just for an hour to play, something like that. There are MANY days in the winter, even, when its nice enough to go to the beach. Today would have been gorgeous there! We love our winter beach days - no crowds! We love to drive down on a nice spring afternoon to see if we can watch the migrating whales. Its not too far, so its doable on pretty short notice.