Virtual vs. Reality…City Comparisons
Oxnard Harbor
About a year ago, my husband and I began discussing moving into a neighboring county. We have lived in Los Angeles County for many years (I’ve practically lived here my whole life) and are disappointed in the way the city is declining, i.e. graffiti, traffic, bumpy roads, too many people squished into a few hundred square miles. We also are tired of the scorching, dry summers. So, I began investigating nearby cities and counties. Using BestPlaces.net as a jumping off point, we narrowed down our search to San Diego, Santa Clarita, and Oxnard/Ventura. Each of these areas cost about the same, give or take a few dollars, than where we live based on the cost of living index Best Places offers.
Based on the data from BestPlaces.net, we decided to research these three cities for the reasons listed below:
- San Diego – Amazing climate, quaint downtown districts, and cultural diversity.
- Santa Clarita – Affordable housing (compared to our neighborhood), excellent city planning with paseos and bike paths, new neighborhood amenities, proximity to mountains and hiking.
- Oxnard/Ventura – Amazing climate, affordable housing (in some areas – not all), laid back atmosphere, quaint downtown districts, less dense population.
Last summer, we drove nearly four hours to San Diego. We absolutely loved the climate, but we just weren’t jiving with the city itself. It was much hillier than I thought it would be, not great if I hope to increase my daily bike riding. It also seemed like it was a city made up of “pockets” of neighborhoods. One moment we felt like we were in a slum, the next in a very prestigious neighborhood made up of million dollar homes. We just couldn’t find the right neighborhood that really caught our attention (and that was affordable enough for us to live within our means!)
After our San Diego trip, we realized we might feel more “at home” if we stuck closer to home. Just a mere 30 minutes north of us is the Santa Clarita Valley; a community made up of a few cities such as Valencia, Canyon Country, and Newhall. I lived there briefly right after college and thought it would be a good place to check out. The home prices and cost of living are just slightly less than where we currently live, so it seemed like a possible match. Within 20 minutes of driving around Santa Clarita’s mostly new housing developments and endless mini-malls, we felt it was much too “corporate” and built up for our liking. There was a very commercial feel about the whole community that just didn’t set well with us. The city has definitely grown since I lived there 10 years ago! Any “character” (a very subjective definition) that the town once had, has disappeared into endless cookie-cutter style homes.
This weekend, with my Spring Break ending, we decided to head North-West towards Ventura County, our final destination. Forty-five minutes off the 101 FWY, we exited near Oxnard – Camarillo, not quite sure where we were, and headed north west on Lewis Road. We drove past endless strawberry fields and fruit stands; a completely different environment than what we are accustomed to. We finally came to Port Hueneme and headed towards the Channel Islands harbor. We initially liked the overall laid-back feel to the city. We drove into the harbor and sand dunes passing million-dollar homes (quite reasonable for beach-side living!) and my husband got the chills! He so badly wants to own a boat (this, I’ve told him, he’ll have to wait on!) After driving into the historic old downtown, past red-bricked store fronts and FREE parking (this got us excited – free parking!) we realized this could be a town we could live in. Driving 10 minuted farther north along the shoreline, we ended up in historic downtown Ventura; antique store fronts lined with boutique restaurants and more FREE parking! I also made a mental note, there were plenty of painted bike lanes on most streets, and I saw many parked bicycles outside of store fronts. This is an encouraging sign. Our next step is to plan an entire weekend discovering the best Oxnard and Ventura neighborhoods.
As excited as I am about our potential move, I have to be realistic: there aren’t ANY teaching jobs in Ventura County. My husband could easily relocate his web and graphic design business, but for me this could mean a very long drive, or a potential loss of income. More research still needs to be done on my part!
Have you recently relocated? Have you been thinking about moving? What is holding you back?
Those all sound like great options. I grew up in Huntington Beach so anything near the beach would be attractive to me. We recently relocated to a more rural area. There are pros and cons to where we are vs where we were. The main reasons for moving were:
1. We would substantially lower our costs and
2. It would bring us closer to my husbands family. We’re expecting our first child so this was a huge plus.
We’re renters though so another relocation is in our future. But we’re content here for now. We’re building up our savings so we’ll be prepared to go where we want when we finally decide where that is.
Good luck with your move, sounds exciting!
.-= Mrs. Frugal´s last blog ..Net Worth and Goals: March 2010 – Up 5.8% and making great progress! =-.
San Diego is awesome for the weather. A little too sleepy for me, but I’ll take it all the same!
I donno what our fellow east coasters are thinking!
@Mrs. Frugal -Good luck to you as well. I know it’s difficult saving up for a house! I like the idea of a more rural area, but my husband wouldn’t be into that too much. He is open to looking in the mountains, though
@Financial Samurai – I also thought San Diego was a little too sleepy. I need a more upbeat atmosphere. Downtown Ventura seemed to match my personality a little more. I need to research the area and figure out the job thing!
@Sam: We East Coasters are thinking you’re crazy for living in earthquake country!
@LittleHouse: That’s wonderful that you found an area that could potentially meet your needs, but I’m sorry you may not find work out there.
.-= RainyDaySaver´s last blog ..Happy Easter! =-.
@Rainy Day Saver – We may be crazy for living in a rockin n’ rollin’ area, but we don’t have to own our own snow plow
As for the area we found, we have more research to do, but it looks promising!
Would your loss of income be made up in cost of living differences?
.-= Ryan @ Planting Dollars´s last blog ..Can You Turn Your Life on a Dime? =-.
@Ryan -Unfortunately, no. The cost of living isn’t that less. We’d only be saving a couple hundred a month on rent. Everything else would be about the same, and I make more than that teaching. I need to continue researching our options!
I’d love to retire in San Diego. It’s so beautiful. And you cannot beat constant 72 degree weather. I see myself chilling at Balboa park with my other retired lady friends and then going for dinner at a neighborhood bistro with my grizzled but still handsome husband.
@Well Heeled Blog – I agree, the weather is to die for! I’ve decided I like visiting San Diego, but I don’t think I want to move there (at least, not yet).
We live in the country’s biggest city. Expensive, but it’s where the job opportunities are, and where we both grew up. Obviously there isn’t anywhere near as much choice for places to move to! I wouldn’t even know how to decide whether a new city/town was “right” for us.
.-= eemusings´s last blog ..Lessons learned from living alone =-.