Areas of interest in LA or Orange County?

The wife and I will be in the LA area starting tomarrow afternoon untill friday morning on a job interview. What should we look at in terms of housing, lakes and other amminities to determine if that is the right place for us?

we want a place that is relativly close to a freshwater lake, housing that is less than $2,000 a month, and reasonable traffic.

One job would be for the L.A.C.S.D. and the other would be for a community college. I am not too sure of the exact locations as my wife has made all the arangements.

It looks like we should have two full evenings to scout the areas. Where should we start?

BTW, we are coming from Houston, Texas. I have never been to California, but we have been to Nevada numerous times.

(Message edited by ag4ever on June 01, 2004)

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we want a place that is relativly close to a freshwater lake, housing that is less than $2,000 a month, and reasonable traffic.

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Good luck.

The absolute best place to live/ride in SoCal is at Canyon Lake. It's a private community w/ awesome riding conditions. The problem is that housing is probably more than $2,000/month (unless I do your loan for you) , and that you'd have to commute a loooooong way!

When I say relativly close, I mean within an hour to hour and a half drive to the lake.

When I say reasonable traffic, I don't mean no traffic, as I live in Houston, and know what traffic is. A hour commute to work is not unusual.

BTW, if you can get me on a private lake for $2000 a month, I would be happy to let you do the loan. I would have final say over it though.The bigest thing I am unhappy with California is the three person rule 9aside from the astronomical living costs). Here in Texas all you need is a mirror or a spotter. Great for the times it is just my wife and I and I want to put in a couple quick sets.

I live in Irvine, which is probably one of the most expensive places to live in SoCal. And I'm an hour away from Canyon Lake and Lake Elsinore.

From Canyon Lake though, you're looking at at LEAST 1.5hr drive, if LACSD is in Whittier.

Are you set on SoCal? You might want to check out NorCal...lots of lakes, lower cost of living, and less traffic.

Reasonable traffic in LA that's a good one.

Seriously though, where in LA are the jobs located? In the heart of downtown LA or???

I'm not very familiar with LA but I think the closest fresh water lake is Elsinore & then Perris would be 2nd. There might be some lakes closer but none that I am aware of. Again though I do not know LA very well.

Joe thanks for the kind words about Canyon Lake. It would sure be cool to see you here some day.

Robert you can live in Canyon Lake for less than 2K a month. It just depends on what you are looking for in a house. I know in Texas the houses are typically larger than in So Cal. Do you have any money to put down on a home? Are you looking to rent a home? If you decide you might be interested in Canyon Lake I am good friends with a few realators in the area and for a loan either Joe or myself can help you out (of course I can get you a much better deal ).

I hope you have a good time down here, as of right now the weather is wonderful. If you want a tour of Canyon Lake hit me up we can cruise around in the boat.

Good Luck.

I don't recommend Canyon Lake. It's like nazi Germany, but some of the girls are a bit better looking.
Castaic is really nice, very expensive, beautiful lake on weekdays.
Elsinore has good conditions early (6-9am). Smells a bit like poo.
Marine Stadium in Long Beach is cool early. It's salt water though.
Perris is touch and go. Any wind will wipe out the whole deal.

2g a month? You could get an apt for that in the 909 (Riverside county) As far as a house, 400g is the bare minimum for anything nice.

Way to throw me under the bus, Richard!

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Smells a bit like poo.

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Smells A LOT like poo!

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quote:
Smells a bit like poo.


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Smells A LOT like poo!


A whole bunch of it!


WikedeeWak, Do you feel that way (nazi Germany) because of the rules or did you have some bad experience with some people that live here? Did you use to live here? Just wondering.


(Message edited by cws_kahuna on June 01, 2004)

Sorry, I think it is actually LAUSD (LA Unified School District). I am not too sure of the office location, but it is construction related, so there is a chance it will be all over LA.

Nor Cal is out unless ou compay can find us work up there.

Right now we are contemplating a move to those jobs if they pan out. Right now we are just in the looking stage.

I was afraid of the $400 grand for decent houses. Our current house is 2,600 SF with a three car garage in a nice neighborhood. It is less than $180,000. I am sure we would not find any comparable house for anywhere near that price anywhere in california! Heck, I am not sure if I even want a 2,600 SF home anytime soon again. Right now it is just me and the wife.

1 hour drive to work right now is using the HOV lane (wife works across the street from me right now), and hoping there is no wreck. I was told the two jobs are about 3 minutes apart, so we should be able to still "car poole" again.

Not thrilled about putting my SANTE in salt water. I would rather drive a few hours to go to some nice fresh water than shorten the life of my boat. It has never seen salt, and I hope to keep it that way.

Check out Anaheims Hills. Close to the 91 freeway which would be your main route to the local lakes and a straight shot to LA area too. On the weekends you can be at Elsinore in 45 minutes with no traffic and can be in LA in the same amount of time. Obviously when the traffic hits it can double the time. Prices are pretty good for what you get, I would say as compared to Irvine, or a lot of other areas in OC, but in my opionion Anaheim Hills is as nice as those other areas. You can get anything from brand new homes to 20 year old homes.

The 10 plus year old homes are nice becasue in a lot of cases you won't get hit with MelloRoos "sp?" taxes. You will learn about them soon trust me. But to avoind them is to save up to 1% "half" on your property tax bill which can add up to 3 to 6 thousand in savings a year, thus getting you a nicer home for the monthly outlay.

Ok, splain some of the fun taxes y'all have.

If you want you can send me an e-mail (ag4ever at ev1.net)

Thanks,
Robert

BTW Anaheim Hills is about 30 minutes from Newport Beach, 20 minutes to Anaheim Stadium or the Pond. New toll road makes it easy to get to South County. Good schools and the city of Anaheim has it's own power company, that was key when they had the power crisis and the rolling black outs etc.

But really you should get the exact area you will be working in LA. Because depending on where you end up it could be a pretty good haul from OC.

Mello Roos "sp" LOL

Anyway in new areas they use these extra property taxes to essentially build the infrastructure of the area. Sewers, roads, landscaping etc. Usually the bonds are 15 to 20 years in duration. To pay for them they will add usually .06% to 1% to your property bill. Most property bills are aound 1%. So if you add 1% to that it makes it 2%. On a $400,000 home that extra 1% adds up to $4000 to your property tax bill and to make matters worse that part is not tax deductable.

Pay carful attention in newer areas for this tax.
In the part of Anaheim Hills my house is in I don't have to pay the extra taxes. If I go 1/2 mile away they do. Not having them even helps the property values some too.

Alot of the newer homes have the Malloroos tax. It's like a 15 year tax I believe, price is based on cost of home or at least it was at my old house. Watch for property tax rates, some areas are very high and that can make a big difference on your house payment. I think Canyon Lake is 1.2% and that is fairly low from what I have seen. Association Fees are another question to ask. Also alot of newer areas are having school bonds, I don't know much about them but it's another thing that may add to the cost of your home.

Jonathans idea of Anaheim Hills would be a good place to look for sure, considering your possible work location. It's a wonderful area and the costs are much better than south orange county, but still kinda high, it's tuff comparing it to the prices in Texas. I work very close to Anaheim Hills, right on the border of Anaheim, Anaheim Hills and Placentia.

Also important: commute hours. Timing is everything in some commutes.

You'll want to check Corona, too. It's in the 909, just east of Anaheim Hills, on the wrong side of the bad, bad, Santa Ana canyon chokepoint. 400K will get you a nice, newish four bedroom house with a yard and 1500 squares. Takes me an hour in the morning to get to Anaheim (25 miles), and about 45 minutes coming home in the Lexus Lanes (up to $6 toll on peak hours.

Then again, I know plenty of people that commute from Sand Diego and don't complain. Must have some pretty pimp property down there to be cool with my commute PLUS 45 minutes each way.

So, how long of a drive would corona to South Gate be?

It looks like the jobs are for the LA school district, and East LA College.

I am not sure where the actual location of the job, but the main office is located in Cypress. I am sure we would be working out of a field office. I am sure the job will be on the south-east side of LA.

So possible locations are:
Ahaheim Hills
Simi Valley
Corona
Fullerton

What are your thoughts?

Any other possible locations?

South Gate is off of the 710fwy as well as the 5, which at times, is the worst commute in the southland. From Corona, it's a bit of a trek during commute hours. Like I said above, at least 1.5hrs. But, from Corona to Cypress...that isn't too bad of a drive.

Fullerton, Placentia, Yorba Linda and Anaheim Hills are all pretty good areas. That would be in between work and the lakes and closer to the Colorado River if you wanted to head out to Havasu or something.

Simi Vally would be closer to the LA lakes. "Castaic"....Corona is another option, but you will add 20 to 40 minutes to your commute as compared to the 4 listed above and in my opinion put it into the unbearble range.

You might have an option of the train to get to work from the Corona area depending on where in LA again. But I have no clue about where they go or anything, we have a few in our office the take the train from Corona to OC.

this is mark landers of realty executives in peris. I live across the street from peris,the annual fees their are 135. and maybe two or three boats on the lake during weekdays so no traffic,no flag. I have some homes for sale in may ranch and could get you in under 2000. a month depending on your credit and down payment.
give me a call if you want.we will be in the water at 6 am on thurs. 909/751-635

I MEAN P E R R I S hey canyon lake say high to my buddy dave P and greg P

Hey Mark Landers, what do you mean by no flag at Perris? I have never heard of this and I saw sombody who recieved a ticket for for no flag when pulling a skier. Please clarify what you mean.

Thanks

I think he means no flag until you get caught. But during the week there is hardly anybody out there and I presume he means boat patrol too.

I dont see any cops during the week but I am sure when school gets out it could change. I look around alot when pulling a rider and if I dont see a boat or seadoo within 1000 yards of us i dont even trip. if we have some traffic then my bud will be protected by a flag and my boat. I installed a flippin electric antenna on my boat controlled by a toggle switch and driver,it is pretty bad --- later people

OK, so we are her in OC (Cypress), and looked around a bit in the above mentioned areas.

Yorba Linda looked nice, as well as Riverside. There was a resevoir (around 91 and 15). do they allow ski boats there. It did not look like there was any way to get to the water. It is a shame, it looked real inviting.

Also there was a smallish lake near the OC airport, and when we flew over I saw a boat pulling a skier. (Maybee Irvine Lake or Santiago Reservoir).

We have meetings tomorrow starting at 7:00 AM (nice to sleep in, it is like 9:00 AM our time), but plan to do more scouting after the meetings.

Mark, our current home is listed by Reality Executives (Kim Raus) in Houston. I might give you a call tomorrow afternoon sometime to talk, and possibly meet.

From what I can see there are a bunch of nice bodies of water out here, how do you know which ones they let you on?

BTW, we got in the traffic at about 5:00 PM from the OC Airport headed to Cypress, and it was not bad at all. There was some bumper to bumper, but Houston can get much worse. We did not head towards LA, so I am sure it is worse that way.

Also, what is with the changing fees for the toll road? Also in Houston, a toll road is a dedicated road that is not part of the other freeway. Just oddities to each local I guess.

That reservoir was probably Lake Mathews, which is closed to the public. It is a "settlement lake" for the water system. The lake you saw the skier on was probably Irvine Lake. It is a limited use lake, with mostly fishing allowed. There is a waterski school there that has exclusive use of the lake during nonfishing days and hours. I have skied there many times and it is a great local ski place, but not for using your own boat. The best local ski lake is Elsinore. It is not that great of a lake, so it keeps a lot of the pleasure boaters away. There is almost never wind there early in the morning, so you can get some great runs. Also, if the water level ever gets up again, there is a private channel you can rent in the SE corner of the lake. There is a slalom section and a open water section available.

THURS 6 AM RUN AT PERRIS WITH ROOM.CHEVY (SILVER AND BLACK TAHOE PULLING A 93 AMERICAN SKIER
Robert, I will be at the office after 12 so give me a call and I would be happy to answer any Qs you or your wife have,

Mark, you are missing a number on the phone number listed above.

I would love to talk with you.

Robert if you're looking as far as Riverside then you may want to take the 15 south into south Corona to take a look too. Closer to Lake Elsinore that way as well as Canyon Lake. There are some real nice homes that way.

Hey Robert,Looks like I will not be going to the lake this morning no 2nds or 3rds.it sucks!!!
Richard B is correct,and my # is 1/909/943-4075 or 1/909/751-6635cell

From the 91 East coming into Corona, take the Main Street exit and turn right (south). Head up Main until you get to Mountain Gate park. All that area up there is less than ten years old, and there's a full range from little 1500's like mine to 5000's. If you work east from there, it gets worse and better. Eagle Glen is a country club community, El Cerrito is, well, El Cerrito.

Make sure your agent shows you Mountain Gate, Sierra Del Oro, and Eagle Glen.

My areas of interest would be all highways leading out of LA.

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My areas of interest would be all highways leading out of LA.

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Then maybe you should've stayed out of a thread that had "L.A." in the subject line...

Guess so.

Now bite me.

(Message edited by swass on June 03, 2004)

Robert,
Check out Santa Clarita, there are lots of new houses being built in that neighborhood. Its about 20 minutes from Castaic. Neelley would be a close neighbor. And you have a straight shot on the 405 south to LA. You would want to commute early on the weekdays to LA.

Go to Homebuilder.com
Find a new home California in the Los Angeles-Ventura counties.
When you get the search results, look for Saugus, Stevensen Ranch, Canyon Country. I see alot of homes in the mid $400,000s. With the right financing you might get close to your target 2k per month.

Joe

Great ideas.

Both jobs look to be in the North-East LA area.

(around the I-5 and I-10 intersection.)

Wife just got an additional lead with a different company in Tacoma Washington, so that might be another choice. They are all still tentative.

Thanks for the leads. I am going to try and reschedule the flights to give us more time here.

I dropped you an e-mail regarding that area. I drive to that exact spot for my office and it is a choke point in L.A. If quality of life based on commutes is a factor, I would suggest looking towards the Pasadena and surrounding areas like Sierra Madre or Monrovia. If being closer to the beach or closer to the lake is a factor, then you trade off for a longer commute. From South Orange County it is like clockwork at a hour and 15 minutes to get to East L.A. My trip to Elsinore is a little under an hour, and to Newport Beach is about 30 minutes. I love my location, but housing prices are nuts. For reference, my 2350 sq. ft. home could sell in a matter of days for over 800K.

hey Robert,I cant see a 400000.house payment under 2500 a month.50 to 100 grand down payment would give you action.Give me a call,I think my phone will stop ringing in a minute.

I want to thank everybody for the pointers while we were in the area.

We were not expecting the area to be as nice as it is. We had a preconcieved notion from all the typical banter of how bad the area is.

it is actually a really nice place.

The two big drawbacks are: price of housing and the rules on all the lakes.

Swass, I don't know why you like the roads out of LA so much. I find them kinda crowded and think the streets around the surrounding area are much better.

Mark, Thanks for meeting us, and thanks for all the info. Hope to see you around sometime.