Nice place to live in California?

[marvel]

In my dreams my family and I are moving to the USA, at least for a few years.
We just love it so much and spend so much on travel there, that we are better of just moving. This will be our 5th trip in Sept !!

Well, i figure if I can dream it, it can happen right?.

So I figure I should start planning where a nice place to live would be on the West Coast, which is easier to fly back to Australia for visits.

We are thinking that San Diego would be nice, but looks expensive.

Where would the DISER's recommend a regular family, kids 10 and 8, could find a nice neighborhood with good schools etc etc and decently price housing? You know good neighborhood.

Then I can find a means to get there!!

 

[Judy from Boise]

I love Ventura County. Port Hueneme, Oxnard, Ventura, Camarillo. Thousand Oaks to the south and Santa Barbara to the North.

 

[PinkBudgie]

Well, we are 8 hours from DLR but I still like living north of San Fransisco. Sonoma and Napa counties are very nice. Hills, trees, cows, vineyards. 101 is pretty much the only freeway up here and I usually avoid it to take the back roads. You can hike and picnic in the Redwoods or go to the beach. You can even see the school used in the movie The Birds. Housing was fairly expensive but has recently gone down a lot due to the economy. And 8 hours is still a lot closer than Australia.

 

[LavenderPeach]

Decent priced housing? In California? That's a good one!
No, actually, the prices have come down recently but they still aren't as cheap as most other states. Okay, I have several places to mention that I think are nice.

I agree with PinkBudgie that Sonoma County is very nice. That's where I grew up (PinkBudgie and I are sisters) and they have the best state and county parks there with lots of hiking trails. We were shocked when we first moved to Southern California that the big parks were so different. I got spoiled in Sonoma County. However, with the nice parks come lots of nice trees and grass and plants which means lots and lots of allergies. I used to have terrible allergies up there but down here they are almost nonexistent. It's also nice being close to SF and the bay area without being right in the middle of it.

We used to live in Aliso Viejo which is in OC and i really liked it there. I would move back if I had the opportunity. Again, not the cheapest place to live though. It's only 10 minutes from the ocean, the air is clean and everything is new there.

San Diego is very nice, specifically North SD county. Never lived there but visited often and we have friends who live in Encinitas.

And way out here where I live now in Yucaipa is also very nice. If you want resonable housing prices, then this is much more reasonable than the other places mentioned but we are also farther away from the ocean and it gets HOT here in the summer (fortunately not as hot as Arizona though). But it's a nice family community with good schools (so I'm told). It takes about the same time (1-1.5 hours) to get to the ocean, top of the mountains, palm springs/desert area, LA and disneyland so I guess we're sort of in the middle of everything.

My parents grew up in Spokane, Washington and I always thought that I would like to live there if I didn't live in California. The only problem is that it snows there and not sure a California girl could handle that.

Does that give you some places to dream about?

 

[marvel]

great so far. I have to say quite a few sound really good. I will have to start looking at them in detail.

 

[ACDSNY]

great so far. I have to say quite a few sound really good. I will have to start looking at them in detail.

What type of places do you like? Do you like the bigger cities or more of a country feel? There are many places in Northern CA. Our area is pretty centrally located which makes getting to the Lake Tahoe area and SF Bay area just a couple of hours drive.

 

[mechurchlady]

Definitely not Cerritos or Norwalk. I would move to Anaheim and live near DLR or my bestest spot in the world would be in Orlando near my friends and great wDW food.

 

[marvel]

I would love to move to Florida or somewhere on the east coast but it is just too many flights and hours to get back to Australia. So somewhere on the West Coast would be the best option.

We live in Melbourne a city of 4 million and we are around 20 mins drive from the City area, but I realise the scale of cities in the US is so much bigger so a nice semi suburban area or smaller town sounds nice. I loved San Fran and the redwoods but also love the weather in San Diego.

I will try and have a look at all the current suggestions. To be honest just the idea of moving makes me smile, being that much closer to Disney as well as just being able to drive somewhere, you have such a diverse country it is unbelievable. We can drive for 8hrs and get exactly the same environment we just left, whereas in a few hours being able to go to Vegas, or Mexico, or Napa Valley etc etc would be wonderful.

ACDSNY - Elk Grove sounds wonderful, I will have to look into it.
LAVENDERPEACH - If you happen to know, what would an average say 3 bedroom home in Aliso Viejo be? Just for interest. it sounds great.

 

[mareeld86]

I would LOVE to move to america too.... I have been to america 3 times in 5 years. Although I dont know how to go about just moving there dont you need to get a job over there or marry someone from america to be able to live there??
Not quite sure If you know more please let e know because I am looking for houses etc. too.

 

[pixiewings71]

Well we are 6 hrs from Anaheim and we love it here. Same general area as Pink Budgie actually, we are right between Sac and SF and can go to beaches (cold) or mountains, it's great we really do love it. Lots of homes in our area are super cheapo right now because of the market crash, our area is nice and not too crowded but close enough to everything to not feel isolated. Love it!!!!

 

[Grumpy'sWife4Ever]

Well, we don't live in California, but sometimes Oregon kind of feels like an extension of Northern Cali, LOL! We have very pretty country here, cheaper prices than many areas of California, and are still within a day's drive of the Mouse!

 

[LavenderPeach]

LAVENDERPEACH - If you happen to know, what would an average say 3 bedroom home in Aliso Viejo be? Just for interest. it sounds great.

Hmmm.... I'm not really sure. We lived there from 1999 to 2002 and we rented an apartment. We did look at housing prices but that was when prices were on the rise. Back then i think a 3 bedroom condo/townhouse (not house) was going for at least $300,000 so it was pretty pricey. I'm sure they are cheaper right now but I don't know how much cheaper. I haven't looked at house prices for awhile but I used to go to Realtor.com to look at different houses for sale. I'm sure that site must still be around. Also, be aware that a lot of houses in Southern California (especially the newer ones) don't have much of a yard. That might be a good thing or a bad thing. Less yard to take care of but less space to run around and you are closer to your neighbors. Not sure how big the lots are in Melbourne but I think some people from other parts of the US are surprised at the size of some of the yards here.

By the way, I had a chance to go visit your country when I was in high school and I had such a great time. We went to several cities along the east coast. I would love to go back some day. That long plane ride is crazy though! I can appreciate all the effort that all you Aussies put into making the trek over here to go to DLR.

 

[PinkBudgie]

Well we are 6 hrs from Anaheim and we love it here. Same general area as Pink Budgie actually, we are right between Sac and SF and can go to beaches (cold) or mountains, it's great we really do love it. Lots of homes in our area are super cheapo right now because of the market crash, our area is nice and not too crowded but close enough to everything to not feel isolated. Love it!!!!

We pass it on the way up to Lincoln, I believe. Off of 80 right? Maybe that is why you get to DLR faster than us. We have to go through the mess in Oakland to get over to 5, where all you would do is go 80 to 5. Unless I'm completely mixed up, which wouldn't be unusual for me.

 

[marvel]

I am looking up Suisun City right now, looks perfect.

I am kind of figuring out that buying a place across the next year or so would be good pricewise, then I can work out how to get there !!

Grumpyswife - Oregon sounds wonderful. I have never been there but everything I have seen or heard about it, makes me want to go there for some reason. Looks like a nice place to bring up a family. And its not that far, we are used to having to travel for ages to get anywhere, Australia is a huge place and very spread out.

Lavenderpeach - yards in Australia used to be big but over the years townhouses, as well as big houses on small yards have become the norm. Thanks for the info on pricing, I will keep checking the info.

mareeld86 - you either have to marry someone,or arrange work overthere so you can go for a few years, I haven't checked many of the details yet, I am enjoying this part first, then worry about the details later
happy to let you know how I go. PM me if you would like to keep in contact.

Pinkbudgie - trees, cows and vineyards, sounds great. We loved driving through the woods into Yosemite a few years and ago and really enjoy the whole SF bay area. I am a 49ers fan as well Definetly an option.

 

[bumbershoot]

To be honest just the idea of moving makes me smile, being that much closer to Disney as well as just being able to drive somewhere, you have such a diverse country it is unbelievable. We can drive for 8hrs and get exactly the same environment we just left, whereas in a few hours being able to go to Vegas, or Mexico, or Napa Valley etc etc would be wonderful.

I would LOVE to move to america too.... I have been to america 3 times in 5 years. Although I dont know how to go about just moving there dont you need to get a job over there or marry someone from america to be able to live there??

Don't you wish you could exchange? So we would come over and take your "spot" in the country, and you could take ours? Obviously jobs would be different, but housing, etc? I think that would be lovely. Because I don't know if it's hard to move here (though friends of ours had a very weird time and had to get married inside of a month, or the girlfriend would have had to go back to Canada for a long while before coming back? it was weird, we all though it was a "shotgun wedding" until it was obvious it wasn't), but it's hard to move to Australia!

So let's just swap.

 

[kaoden39]

Well we are 6 hrs from Anaheim and we love it here. Same general area as Pink Budgie actually, we are right between Sac and SF and can go to beaches (cold) or mountains, it's great we really do love it. Lots of homes in our area are super cheapo right now because of the market crash, our area is nice and not too crowded but close enough to everything to not feel isolated. Love it!!!!

We do live in a nice area don't we? I think this is the perfect location. We can be at the ocean or in the mountains within a couple of hours. We are lucky to live close enough to Napa and Sonoma counties to enjoy everything that they have to offer. Especially the beautiful coastline and campgrounds. I love Salt Point.

 

[ACDSNY]

We do live in a nice area don't we? I think this is the perfect location. We can be at the ocean or in the mountains within a couple of hours. We are lucky to live close enough to Napa and Sonoma counties to enjoy everything that they have to offer. Especially the beautiful coastline and campgrounds. I love Salt Point.

We feel the same way about Northern CA. Salt Point here we come in August it's our favorite place too. My DH family started camping there before it was even a State Park.

 

[kaoden39]

We feel the same way about Northern CA. Salt Point here we come in August it's our favorite place too. My DH family started camping there before it was even a State Park.

We went for a weekend in October one time and it was a little on the chilly side but it was wonderful. We have camped there and spent day trips there. I think it is just about perfect. It has something for everyone. My husband can ride his bicycle if he wants or we can just explore and discover new things. I think the tidepools are so great and our kids are able to see things in the wild that they might never get to. Most people prefer the Bodega Bay campgrounds but it's nice to find out we aren't the only ones that enjoy Salt Point.

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

CA is expensive everywhere! We live in Sacramento and are happy here. Drive 2 hours either way and you are in San Fran or Tahoe, that's pretty nice, although we rarely go to either of those places.

 

[kaoden39]

CA is expensive everywhere! We live in Sacramento and are happy here. Drive 2 hours either way and you are in San Fran or Tahoe, that's pretty nice, although we rarely go to either of those places.

You know I know that feeling. We go to bicycle races though like we went up by Calvarus yesterday.