My friend, Sho Torii, may want to relocate to So Cal

[Bill Schenker]

And I'd like to get some advice for him. He'd be moving from New Jersey and is looking for a 3 bedroom, 2000 sq. ft. home in the low to mid $300,000.00 range; where would be some good places to look? He'd like to be close enough to both venues (both he and his wife, Keiko, are avid AXers). The 909? Long Beach area? Fullerton? I just know it won't be in Newport (!), so, would love some advice suggestions. I'm sure soon enough he'll be on the thread as well.

Thanks!

[Davin Swanson]

I don't have anything to add, other than if someone knows where to get a 2000 sq. ft. home for the mid $300s that isn't in Hemet or Apple Valley, I'll be bidding against him!

[John Stimson]

Is there a job to commute to? Azusa is decently cheap, but I'm not sure it's quite that cheap. It's about 40 minutes from El Toro and 50 minutes from Fontana.

[Bill Schenker]

Is there a job to commute to? Azusa is decently cheap, but I'm not sure it's quite that cheap. It's about 40 minutes from El Toro and 50 minutes from Fontana.

He's actually in a position to influence where in So Cal his company will relocate, so that's actually in the mix too.

[George Schilling]

Is there a job to commute to? Azusa is decently cheap, but I'm not sure it's quite that cheap. It's about 40 minutes from El Toro and 50 minutes from Fontana.

He's actually in a position to influence where in So Cal his company will relocate, so that's actually in the mix too.

His housing requirement might be an impediment, but an industrial park is currently under development adjacent to Long Beach Airport where the old Douglas/Boeing plant used to be. Lakewood or east Long Beach has homes in that price range, but for 2000', he'd be in the low 400's at best, probably more. The Ontario area might be a good place to look and would fit the bill. Plenty of industry and homes in his price range. The only stickler for me would be the weather......hot, smoggy, windy at times.

[John Coffey]

It all depends on the type or neighborhood he wants to live in. Some of the older, less desirable neighborhoods are getting gentrified and actually becoming much nicer. Its pretty spotty but if he's thinking about OC then he should look in Buena Park, Garden Grove, Santa Ana, Wesminster, Anaheim, and La Habra. It would also help a bunch if he's willing to buy a house that needs work.

[Jayson Woodruff]

If he has influence on the job location, maybe Lake Elsinore? Cheaper housing, common business home, decent recreation (including Ortega Highway), not too far from Fontana and QualComm, fun drive over the mountian to El Toro.

Cons: Really sucks if you have to commute the 91 more than once a year. Gets kinda hot, but I believe most places in the price range will.

Jay W

[Sho Torii]

Thanks, guys, for your inputs!

When it comes to housing, I think we are spoiled. We bought the current house in Rahway, NJ in December 2010. 2,500SF 3-bedroom house on a 70 x 100 lot with a separate 2.5 car garage and we paid $325,000. We moved from Long Island, NY and the price difference in the 2 markets, despite their proximity, was quite astonishing. Our requirements then were a small house with a big garage and a fenced-in back yard for the dogs. The house we found was just that. The same requirements will apply if we decide to relocate to So Cal.

As to the neighborhood, the school system is no concern since we have no kids in the school age. It will be just my wife, me and our 2 dogs (and 1 or 2 daily drivers, 1 towing vehicle, 1 trailer and 1 race car, of course). We would prefer a low crime rate neighborhood not dominated by a single (or few) ethnic group. Other than that, we can be very flexible.

While I am in a position to be able to steer where my employer will set its location, my wife will have to find a job there. She is a HR specialist with a degree and certification in the field and bilingual between Japanese and English. Because of her qualifications, she is in fair demand by Japanese companies doing business in the U.S. I don't know where she will find more Japanese companies as potential employers.

Sho

[Sean Fenstermacher]

Hi Sho!

Most Japanese companies in So. Cal are in the South Bay area (Torrance, Gardena, Carson) and Downtown LA.
Places within that price range would possibly be Gardena, Carson, Hawthorne, Long Beach.

There is a train/subway that goes from Long Beach/South Bay to DT LA as well! Many of my Japanese friends who work in DTLA use it for commuting, as morning traffic into DTLA is a bit hellish!

Zip Realty has a pretty decent search engine for browsing you can use.
I think that their prices are a bit inflated with their fees, but it could be a good source to browse for areas.
http://www.ziprealty.com/homes-for-sale ... Angeles-CA" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Good luck with the house hunting and look forward to seeing you at our local events!

[Bill Schenker]

What about what Toby suggested this morning? Looking at Corona; Seb, what do you say?

Toby thought that there were a lot of Japanese companies in Irvine (is that your experience, Sean?) for Keiko to work at and if your company air ships from Japan, perhaps it will come through March air base - so Corona will put you half way between commuting to Irvine and March (if your company sets up there, Sho).

He also suggested perhaps renting at first to see where you like; the area is so big here and can be daunting to figure out where to live.

[Sho Torii]

Hey Sean! Good to hear from you!

Thanks for the search engine. That is very helpful.

[Sean Fenstermacher]

What about what Toby suggested this morning? Looking at Corona; Seb, what do you say?

Toby thought that there were a lot of Japanese companies in Irvine (is that your experience, Sean?) for Keiko to work at and if your company air ships from Japan, perhaps it will come through March air base - so Corona will put you half way between commuting to Irvine and March (if your company sets up there, Sho).

He also suggested perhaps renting at first to see where you like; the area is so big here and can be daunting to figure out where to live.

You're right, Bill! Irvine/Huntington Beach/Garden Grove has a decent about of Japanese companies, as well. Not nearly as much as South Bay, but they are there!

The website I sent to Sho can be used to set up/save different searches, so he set a search for SB areas, OC areas, Inland Empire (Corona, Ontario, etc..) areas as well. When I was condo shopping, I found it was pretty useful for a free site.

[Lily Liu]

There is also redfin.com and zillow.com, and to give you a general idea of what crime is like in an area there is crimemapping.com

Make sure you know how much property tax is, as tax rates may vary depending on the locality.

I live in Gardena and it's a pretty mix area with lots of Japanese businesses in near by Torrance. For the most part, Gardena and Torrance are patchy in the sense that one street is safe and one block away is bad. Torrance is overall safer than Gardena but housing price in Gardena is more in your price range, even in the safe areas. Very generally speaking, the further west you are, the safer it is

[Ed Holley]

I don't have anything to add, other than if someone knows where to get a 2000 sq. ft. home for the mid $300s that isn't in Hemet or Apple Valley, I'll be bidding against him!

Spoken just like someone has has NEVER been to Apple Valley. Homes in Apple Valley run from $250,000 to several million dollars. A $300,000 home in THIS market will get you 2,000 sq ft + on a 1/2 acre. Clean air, better schools, less crime and, if your business is located in Rancho Cucamonga/Ontario, you're 45 minutes from work on one of the least congested freeways AND, for cargo shipments, Ontario Airport (serving the world) is 5 minutes from work.

[Davin Swanson]

I don't have anything to add, other than if someone knows where to get a 2000 sq. ft. home for the mid $300s that isn't in Hemet or Apple Valley, I'll be bidding against him!

Spoken just like someone has has NEVER been to Apple Valley. Homes in Apple Valley run from $250,000 to several million dollars. A $300,000 home in THIS market will get you 2,000 sq ft + on a 1/2 acre. Clean air, better schools, less crime and, if your business is located in Rancho Cucamonga/Ontario, you're 45 minutes from work on one of the least congested freeways AND, for cargo shipments, Ontario Airport (serving the world) is 5 minutes from work.

Looks like I touched a raw nerve there. Nothing against Apple Valley (other than the heat... yowch), but my commute from there to El Segundo would be a real bear.

[Ed Holley]

I don't have anything to add, other than if someone knows where to get a 2000 sq. ft. home for the mid $300s that isn't in Hemet or Apple Valley, I'll be bidding against him!

Spoken just like someone has has NEVER been to Apple Valley. Homes in Apple Valley run from $250,000 to several million dollars. A $300,000 home in THIS market will get you 2,000 sq ft + on a 1/2 acre. Clean air, better schools, less crime and, if your business is located in Rancho Cucamonga/Ontario, you're 45 minutes from work on one of the least congested freeways AND, for cargo shipments, Ontario Airport (serving the world) is 5 minutes from work.

Looks like I touched a raw nerve there. Nothing against Apple Valley (other than the heat... yowch), but my commute from there to El Segundo would be a real bear.

Don't worry, I'm still work'n the gate. As for the commute, there are those here that DO that commute, although mostly Van Pools.

[John Stimson]

Wow, only a 45 minute commute! Stellar! This city is so weird.

[Ed Holley]

Wow, only a 45 minute commute! Stellar! This city is so weird.

15 minutes of it is just GETTING to the freeway, if that helps. Welcome to Southern California, world's largest "city". Some commutes are WAY longer than that. As for me, I gave that up a long time ago. I "commute" 10 minutes and NEVER get on the freeway. Been doing that for 18 years.

[Sho Torii]

I am commuting from NJ to NY, 43 miles each way. With the traffic, it's one and half hours each way on a good day. Lately, Friday nights are rally bad and it's taking me nearly 3 hours to come home. A 45-minute commute will be a breeze for me.

[George Schilling]

I am commuting from NJ to NY, 43 miles each way. With the traffic, it's one and half hours each way on a good day. Lately, Friday nights are rally bad and it's taking me nearly 3 hours to come home. A 45-minute commute will be a breeze for me.

My commute was getting so bad I just recently moved my office closer to home cutting my travel time in half. It's now 3 minutes instead of 8.

Sho, next time you're in town, try and visit my area. Close to the beach, cool ocean breeze, a great mix of nationalities, a close neighborhood feel, very low crime rate, close to everything, no smog, reasonable home prices compared to the rest of the near beach communities. I feel blessed to live here.

[Marshall Grice]

for Keiko to work at and if your company air ships from Japan, perhaps it will come through March air base - so Corona will put you half way between commuting to Irvine and March (if your company sets up there, Sho).

unless Sho's company is the US military, i doubt any shipments will be going to March AFB. Ontario is the IE cargo airport, with LAX serving the rest of the LA area for cargo.

[Bill Schenker]

for Keiko to work at and if your company air ships from Japan, perhaps it will come through March air base - so Corona will put you half way between commuting to Irvine and March (if your company sets up there, Sho).

unless Sho's company is the US military, i doubt any shipments will be going to March AFB. Ontario is the IE cargo airport, with LAX serving the rest of the LA area for cargo.

O.K. Thanks, Marshall!

[Sebastian Rios]

What about what Toby suggested this morning? Looking at Corona; Seb, what do you say?

Toby thought that there were a lot of Japanese companies in Irvine (is that your experience, Sean?) for Keiko to work at and if your company air ships from Japan, perhaps it will come through March air base - so Corona will put you half way between commuting to Irvine and March (if your company sets up there, Sho).

He also suggested perhaps renting at first to see where you like; the area is so big here and can be daunting to figure out where to live.

Geographically, Corona is great. Only 1.5 hours towing to SD, 40 mins to El Toro, 30 mins to Fontucky. My house is in an older neighborhood, but is quite safe.

I would not live here if I had a westerly commute. Or rather; I would not get a job that required a westerly commute. The 91fwy is a complete nightmare. Luckily I work here too. Shauna commutes to Ontario, it takes her about 1/2 hour. Traffic is usually not too bad.

Sho: If you do decide to look at Corona, please let me know. My Grandfather (in-law) owns the local Century 21 office, I'm sure he would be happy to help you find something.

[Sho Torii]

Thanks Sebastian for your offer. I will definitely let you know if we decide to look at Corona.

Off topic but this was the first time for me to hear someone mentioned a "Grandfather-in-law"! Somehow, people don't seem to get involved with spouse's grandparents much. At least I didn't through my 2 marriages. It's great that you have a grandfather-in-law whom you are close to.

[Sho Torii]

Sho, next time you're in town, try and visit my area. Close to the beach, cool ocean breeze, a great mix of nationalities, a close neighborhood feel, very low crime rate, close to everything, no smog, reasonable home prices compared to the rest of the near beach communities. I feel blessed to live here.

George, I will make sure to visit Lakewood next time when I'm in So Cal. You made it sound sooo tempting.