Where to live - relocating to Southern California
#1
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 3
Where to live - relocating to Southern California
I am transferring with my job from UK to Southern California and have some flexibility on location.
We don’t know the region at all and are looking for some advice on the best areas to locate – some factors being:
1-We are a professional couple and looking for nice neighborhood with properties up to $800k for a 2-3 bedroom house
2-We have a daughter aged 8 and we are keen to find a good school district
3-We are a British/Ecuador couple – we speak English & Spanish and would like to find an area popular with the professional Hispanic community
We’d truly appreciate any advice, do’s or don’ts etc … even links to other forums which may help
We don’t know the region at all and are looking for some advice on the best areas to locate – some factors being:
1-We are a professional couple and looking for nice neighborhood with properties up to $800k for a 2-3 bedroom house
2-We have a daughter aged 8 and we are keen to find a good school district
3-We are a British/Ecuador couple – we speak English & Spanish and would like to find an area popular with the professional Hispanic community
We’d truly appreciate any advice, do’s or don’ts etc … even links to other forums which may help
#2
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Feb 2004
Location: Midlands - MA - CO-CA
Posts: 2,760
Re: Where to live - relocating to Southern California
It all depends where in So Cal you will be working and how much of a commute you are willing to put up with. Most freeways are really, really busy during the morning and evening commute. Also, look at citi-data for places you are considering.
#3
Re: Where to live - relocating to Southern California
Where is the office located in So Cal? Then we can spiral out from there.
Rene
#4
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 3
Re: Where to live - relocating to Southern California
Hi Rene - I'll be home based rather than office and mainly travelling to customer sites which will be in San Diego or LA. I will also need access to an airport with decent connections. Therefore I was anticipating residing in one of these two metro areas. Andrew
#5
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 3
Re: Where to live - relocating to Southern California
Thanks Joto - appreciate the tip on citi-data. I'll be home based so I am hoping will avoid at least having a daily commute, but I will need to be in one of the large metros - San Diego or LA - for customer meetings. Realistically I think it will have to be one of these.
#6
Re: Where to live - relocating to Southern California
The following is the California School Performance map so that may give you a quick overview of how schools are ranked in the San Diego area and allow you to only look in areas that would be suitable (US schools are assigned based on address of the home). Most of the schools north of San Diego (Del Mar, Rancho Penasquitos, etc.) seem to be ranked 10 out of 10.
http://schoolperformancemaps.com/ca/...46623%2C12%2C1
The Latino communities are not high on the income scale in California and many have gang related issues and low school rankings so I doubt you'd want to live there. However, many California cities have safe areas of bars, restaurants, and nightclubs frequented by Latinos with police having zero tolerance towards crime. Gang members may be there but they act like good citizens. Although I don't know San Diego that well, I live in downtown San Jose and 10s of thousands of Latinos (including gang members) come to downtown on the weekends and the crime rate in downtown is low. So on weekends, downtown is primarily a mixture of Latinos, Asians, Caucasians, and Blacks and some nightclubs cater primarily to Latinos or Asians. So downtown feels safe on weekends even though you can see gang tattoos often. When I originally moved to downtown, the police presence was obvious to make sure there wasn't violence but three years ago, they pulled back and are seldom seen and crime has remained low but when a fight breaks out or a bounce calls, the police are there in a NY minute.
My maid (originally from El Salvador) frequents one of the downtown nightclubs that primarily caters to Latinos and she says "those Mexicans are crazy". Her husband is Indian and he also goes with her.
Last edited by Michael; Jul 28th 2013 at 8:53 pm.
#7
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: May 2010
Location: San Diego, California
Posts: 9,618
Re: Where to live - relocating to Southern California
The closer you get to the coast i.e west of the I-5 which runs from San Diego to LA, the more expensive the homes.
Yes, you could get a small 2 to 3 bedroom house for under 800K, but further inland you would find more for your money.
In the San Diego area I would look at Poway, Rancho Bernardo, Scripps Ranch, inland Del Mar, Rancho Penasquitos. These places are 30 mins drive to downtown San Diego outside of rush hour and all within the Poway school district which is considered very good. You can get to the southern edges of LA in 1 to 1.5 hours - getting across LA is another story regardless of the time of day.
I would not look at anything east or south of San Diego.
East of the I-5 in places like Carlsbad, Encinitas are also places to research.
Also loads of homes being built in the Carmel Valley area just off the I-56. (Just south of Del Mar). Most have small backyards but the homes are very attractive.
Yes, you could get a small 2 to 3 bedroom house for under 800K, but further inland you would find more for your money.
In the San Diego area I would look at Poway, Rancho Bernardo, Scripps Ranch, inland Del Mar, Rancho Penasquitos. These places are 30 mins drive to downtown San Diego outside of rush hour and all within the Poway school district which is considered very good. You can get to the southern edges of LA in 1 to 1.5 hours - getting across LA is another story regardless of the time of day.
I would not look at anything east or south of San Diego.
East of the I-5 in places like Carlsbad, Encinitas are also places to research.
Also loads of homes being built in the Carmel Valley area just off the I-56. (Just south of Del Mar). Most have small backyards but the homes are very attractive.
#8
Forum Regular
Joined: Nov 2010
Location: UK > San Diego
Posts: 64
Re: Where to live - relocating to Southern California
I've just arrived for my first night of my new life in San Diego. There's a few expats from BE here and so far it seems lovely here.
#9
Account Closed
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 0
Re: Where to live - relocating to Southern California
The closer you get to the coast i.e west of the I-5 which runs from San Diego to LA, the more expensive the homes.
Yes, you could get a small 2 to 3 bedroom house for under 800K, but further inland you would find more for your money.
In the San Diego area I would look at Poway, Rancho Bernardo, Scripps Ranch, inland Del Mar, Rancho Penasquitos. These places are 30 mins drive to downtown San Diego outside of rush hour and all within the Poway school district which is considered very good. You can get to the southern edges of LA in 1 to 1.5 hours - getting across LA is another story regardless of the time of day.
I would not look at anything east or south of San Diego.
East of the I-5 in places like Carlsbad, Encinitas are also places to research.
Also loads of homes being built in the Carmel Valley area just off the I-56. (Just south of Del Mar). Most have small backyards but the homes are very attractive.
Yes, you could get a small 2 to 3 bedroom house for under 800K, but further inland you would find more for your money.
In the San Diego area I would look at Poway, Rancho Bernardo, Scripps Ranch, inland Del Mar, Rancho Penasquitos. These places are 30 mins drive to downtown San Diego outside of rush hour and all within the Poway school district which is considered very good. You can get to the southern edges of LA in 1 to 1.5 hours - getting across LA is another story regardless of the time of day.
I would not look at anything east or south of San Diego.
East of the I-5 in places like Carlsbad, Encinitas are also places to research.
Also loads of homes being built in the Carmel Valley area just off the I-56. (Just south of Del Mar). Most have small backyards but the homes are very attractive.
You will also find more Hispanics in the community in the South Bay vs North County.
But you talk like the South Bay is some wasteland...lol
If you think you will do a lot of flying, the airport is in the Southern Part of the county downtown, can be a bit of a pain to get to from the North County, which has a small airport, but I think your pretty much limited to flights to LA from Carlsbad.
Don't know what the prices are like but parts of North Park are nice, Ocean Beach, Pacific Beach, all older but nice communities.
(Born and raised in San Diego County)
Last edited by scrubbedexpat091; Jul 29th 2013 at 6:30 am.
#10
Re: Where to live - relocating to Southern California
I am transferring with my job from UK to Southern California and have some flexibility on location.
We don’t know the region at all and are looking for some advice on the best areas to locate – some factors being:
1-We are a professional couple and looking for nice neighborhood with properties up to $800k for a 2-3 bedroom house
2-We have a daughter aged 8 and we are keen to find a good school district
3-We are a British/Ecuador couple – we speak English & Spanish and would like to find an area popular with the professional Hispanic community
We’d truly appreciate any advice, do’s or don’ts etc … even links to other forums which may help
We don’t know the region at all and are looking for some advice on the best areas to locate – some factors being:
1-We are a professional couple and looking for nice neighborhood with properties up to $800k for a 2-3 bedroom house
2-We have a daughter aged 8 and we are keen to find a good school district
3-We are a British/Ecuador couple – we speak English & Spanish and would like to find an area popular with the professional Hispanic community
We’d truly appreciate any advice, do’s or don’ts etc … even links to other forums which may help
There are a number of cities in Orange County where you would be able to purchase a 3 or 4 bedroom home in the $800K price range. Schools are pretty good in this area.
We are about 15 minutes away from John Wayne Airport. This is not an international airport but works great for domestic travel within the US.
#11
Re: Where to live - relocating to Southern California
Also, a great place is the Huntigton Beach area in general.
They both are low crime rate areas and their public schools are some of the best in CA. I work in education and I know how hard it is to look things up in detail.
Culturally, Huntigton- Costa Mesa area is not as Hispanic as Los Alamitos.
Both those areas are south and thus closer to San Diego.
If you prefer something inland I would say Walnut or Yorba Linda.
But I would need more info of your preferences.
KCK