Pasadena and Irvine are the top choices. Pasadena has more heritage, and is a little bit older. Irvine is newer, very well-planned city. Both require a bit of capital to own a home.

You can check out Cerritos. It's not as new as Irvine but it's centrally located. Not too far from inland, the beach, and downtown.

But yea, google maps FTW.
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http://maps.bing.com

I like Bing better

 

OC Ftmfgdw!!!! Although not all OC is pretty, but that's everywhere. I think almost anywhere in the 949 should be good to go.

 

Now time to find affordable housing!

 

thats the hardest part of living in SoCal

 

I had my choice of anywhere in Socal to relocate to and I picked San Diego area. LA has some perks when it comes to things to do, but otherwise the natives can have it..

 

where is LA downtown anyways? the last time i went down i couldn't find it

 

Ummmm.....look for the big tall buildings about 10 miles inland? Trust me downtown LA has made some strides in recent years but it's still dirty and ghetto...

 

Westwood, Brentwood area is nice as hell too. Even some parts of Santa Monica and Hollywood.

 

**** Hollywood, way overpriced to live with a bunch of stuck-up DBs...

But westwood and Brentwood are nice buy way $$$$, more than Irvine or MB and probably as much as Newport..

 

Is he trying to get a house or apartment, because westwood apartments are cheap, I am looking for one now, prices aren't bad.

 

I'm looking to buy, and after some research I see that I probably cant do much more than a condo. I'm thinking it might be better to rent for a while to get a feel for places and then decide to buy later. Excuse my west coast ignorance (I've been on the EC my whole life) but is it smart to live in a high rise condo (because of earthquakes?). I mean I know you guys dont get them that often so am I just worried over nothing?

 

Come to Riverside hahahahahaha. It's can get really hot here since it's inland, but housing is really cheap and some areas are pretty nice. The beach is about a 40 minute drive, which fits your requirement. $350K here can get you a nice 5-6 bedroom house in a gated community depending on where you look (i.e. Victoria Grove). Gamedog might know what I'm talking about. Dave, chime in! hahaha

 

WOW. 350k for a 5-6 BR HOUSE in a gated community? IM SOLD. haha. Seriously, 350k here would get me a semi new townhouse or a brand new 2 BR condo. I just thought that I'd be getting less in CA but it's a sacrifice for better weather. I'll start searching for places around Riverside. Thanks!

BTW: How is South Corona?

 

Sweet! Yeah Riverside is pretty much close to everything out here man. An hour drive up to Big Bear (Great snowboarding in the winter), 40 minutes to the beach (year round), 45 minutes to LA/Hollywood, An hour and a half down to San Diego. Pretty centralized if you ask me But yeah it can get kinda hot here, but living in a nice air conditioned home takes the heat away.

Chase is right, $350K will easily get you a 5 bedroom home. I bought a 3200SF 5 bed, 3 bath home sitting on a half acre for less than that this past December. Not in a gated community but it might as well be. So quiet and all the neighbors are cool as hell.

Can't go wrong in the Inland Empire. Just stay away from the Casa Blanca/Arlanza areas and you'll be straight. Look up Riverside, Corona, Norco, and maybe even Rancho Cucamonga (although that might be more expensive, the city is VERY nice)