... Southern California does, in fact, … View Homes For Sale in Rancho Santa Margarita. ©2020 Verizon Media. As a repeat city on our 100 Best Places to Live, it’s hard to believe Ventura wouldn’t break … Rarefied the air may be, for the most part. Your perfect dog vacation is here. GI: 53. The median household income in Vacaville is $74,207, and the median home value is Still, you'll still find a few missed corners, and right up against the pounding Pacific surf, too -- places that have yet to succumb completely to stereotype. facebook/downtown manhattan beach flickr/paul hamilton. Quinoa. From the broad expanse of Mandalay Beach out into the agricultural lands that keep the city from sprawling toward the Santa Monica Mountains, Oxnard is 100% low-key -- the most charming thing about its downtown is the fact that it's nothing like you'd expect to find one town up from rarefied Malibu, a lively but down-home, almost Central Valley-esque hub of a city that works -- very hard. The days of IB flying almost entirely under the radar are over, but thanks to a relatively remote location out in the borderlands, the town is years away from becoming just another SoCal clone. Solana Beach. Distance from Beach: About 126 miles (Channel Islands Beach) The ninth largest city in the state and one of the most affordable cities in California, Bakersfield is about two hours from Los Angeles and rapidly growing with families seeking affordable… A community in San Luis Obispo County, Avila Beach is a great California getaway for … But the town of Oxnard has listings that make the location between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara practical and well worth the investment. Click on one of the city links below to view homes for sale! 12 Best Small Beach Towns in California (And Where to Stay) Laguna Beach. The area in Far Northern California, around Crescent City up to the Oregon Border, and the area around Eureka - Arcata. 3. The city also boasts a high median household income of over $100,000 and has a 94% graduation rate. Known for its giant pier and favored status with R&R-having Marines from nearby Camp Pendleton, the downtown and beaches in this boisterous city of nearly 200,000 are where you'll find some of the best people watching in Southern California. This small city in southwester Riverside County has been marked as one of the fastest growing cities in the state since 2010. Ventura. 10. 2. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. So's the liquor store. Below are just a few of the best cities to live in! 4. Get acquainted: Easily one of the chillest towns on San Diego's busy coastline, the thing to do here is mellow out. SAN PEDRO Technically part of Los Angeles but nearly 25 miles from downtown, highly-diverse San Pedro began life as a fishing village that attracted scores of Croatian and Italian immigrants to its docks. Carpinteria. These 8 Cities In Southern California Are Incredible To Live In And Won’t Break The Bank. Located in Orange County, halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego, Laguna Beach is seven miles of coves and beaches … The refuge is home to endangered species such as the California Brown Pelican, along with the more common kites and curlews that flit in and out of the 2,500 acres of wetland. Here are four terrific SoCal beach communities that for various reasons have yet to lose their connection to the real world -- and why you should pay them a visit before it's all gone. Known for its giant pier and favored status with R&R-having Marines from nearby Camp Pendleton, the downtown and beaches in this boisterous city of nearly 200,000 are where you'll find some of the best people watching in Southern California. This massive "new town," complete with insta-kit city center crammed with mostly rather upscale shopping and dining, was just finishing up when the recession hit - it's back, bad, and in demand, thanks to a great location within commuting distance of good paying jobs in and around Los Angeles. Get acquainted: From the oft-Instagrammed Sunken City -- site of a significant landslide at Point Fermin that took out an entire coastal neighborhood -- to the windswept coastal trails and remote coves just west of town and over to the half-failed Ports O'Call development on the harbor, a faded tourist trap famous for its cheap seafood restaurants, San Pedro has this magnificent off-the-grid quality, best appreciated after experiencing parts of Southern California that are anything but. When it comes to living in Southern California, most people think you have to win the Mega Millions Jackpot or have … With it’s award winning schools and small town feel Murrieta has become one of the best places to raise a family in southern California! How it's changing: One word, which should actually be two words: RiverPark. New homes updated daily! Located in northern Orange County, Placentia boasts one of the lowest crime rates in California. Corn on the Cob. Quinoa has a slightly higher GI than rice or barley, but it contains a much higher proportion of protein. 1. From the broad expanse of Mandalay Beach out into the agricultural lands that keep the city from sprawling toward the Santa Monica Mountains, Oxnard is 100% low-key -- the most charming thing about its downtown is the fact that it's nothing like you'd expect to find one town up from rarefied Malibu, a lively but down-home, almost Central Valley-esque hub of a city that works -- very hard. If you don’t get enough ... 2. Bran Cereal. Home to the “Happiest Place on Earth” Anaheim is located in Orange County and is part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Known for it’s quiet neighborhoods and bedroom community Placentia has a higher average household income, high graduation rates, low unemployment rates and, of course, great weather! Do you imagine Southern California's coastal towns to be an unbroken string of star-studded enclaves, nothing but blissed out rich people living the good life in their sunny little bubble of temperate weather, perfect beaches, and million-dollar cottages? All rights reserved. With great weather, culture and people there’s never been a better place to live! Here are four terrific SoCal beach communities that for various reasons have yet to lose their connection to the real world -- and why you should pay them a visit before it's all gone. A big-city … The Hotel del Coronado is the crown jewel of the tony, tourist-gouging beach town whose name it bears. Recently named one of the best surfing communities in the world Encinitas also has wonderful restaurants, activities and gardens! 4. Bananas. Find Out More. For inexpensive area a little further South, look around Santa Maria and North towards Pismo Beach. How it's changing: Efforts to turn the struggling downtown into something worth visiting are starting to bear fruit after years of stops and starts, with sparkling new condos and lofts bringing in younger, more affluent residents. Manhattan Beach. These 8 Southern California Beach Towns Are The Perfect Summertime Destinations. The liquor store is now Ye Olde Plank, a true dive bar in the working-class coastal village of Imperial Beach, the last stop on the beach before Mexico and for decades the furthest thing from tony. Things have changed, somewhat -- it is now more defined by its extreme proximity to the busiest port in the United States -- but Pedro (to fit in, make sure to pronounce it incorrectly, like Pee-dro) is a delightful throwback to a much earlier era, one where a working stiff with an okay job can still afford ocean view real estate. 1) Vacaville The city of Vacaville is located just an hour outside of San Francisco. Avila Beach. Solana Beach. Well, you're more than halfway there. Travel Writer / Contributing Editor, Airfare Watchdog. encinitas 101 main street associatoin/Facebook flickr/joe wolf. Carpinteria: 15 minutes south of Santa Barbara. Located just 37 miles southeast of Los Angeles Costa Mesa is known for it’s suburban atmosphere with an emphasis on retail, commerce and manufacturing. How it's changing: The recent addition of the 78-room Pier South Hotel --which would blend right into Miami Beach but seems wildly out of place here -- marked the beginning of a new era for IB; the hotel's Marriott affiliation is drawing travelers who never would have otherwise known the town existed. The city is also known for the convention center and it’s two major sports teams. With it’s extremely stable housing market Costa Mesa also boasts higher graduation rates, lower crime rates and a high median household income. Oxnard isn't really looking to impress you -- some great sand and an insane location just minutes from the wilds of northern Malibu already make this working-class city a popular base of operations for sun seekers on a budget. Best of all, it's on a very short list of places in Southern California facing east to the Pacific -- San Pedro wakes up to some of the most memorable sunrises in the West. Located 25 miles north of San Diego and 95 miles south of Los Angeles this city boasts … Get That Goal You've Always Wanted. If you’re thinking of moving to the Golden State, try looking for housing in these eleven cheapest California cities. The perfect place to call home and raise a family! You'll still find a few missed corners, and right up against the pounding Pacific surf, too -- places that have yet to succumb completely to stereotype. The Most Affordable Cities in Southern California, Southern California Homes – $10k to $200k, Affordable Southern California Homes Under $350k. Stop in for breakfast at old-timer fave Katy's Café before hitting the pier (just look for the colorful Surfhenge sculpture) or tackling the trails in the vast Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge, which stretches from just south of the pier all the way to the Mexican border. This means new restaurants, microbreweries, a year-round weekend craft fair on the waterfront, newly-expanded Silver Line express bus service to downtown Los Angeles, bigger crowds for the First Thursday art walk and -- of course -- rising rents. Located 25 miles north of San Diego and 95 miles south of Los Angeles this city boasts some of the most beautiful beach side communities. Bordered by Temecula to the south and Menifee to the north this city sits at the center of the L.A. – San Diego Mega region. The year-round Friday market at the pier is one of San Diego's finest - a good bit of the produce comes from fertile farmlands found right at the edge of town. In 1888, construction began on a hotel at the northern end of San Diego's Coronado Peninsula - the developers vowed their new resort would be the talk of the Western World. From fried chicken at Slavko's to old-fashioned Italian delis that'll serve you up an East Coast-worthy sub to the old-school Marabella Vineyard, an urban winery famous in the neighborhood for their "Dago Red" blend, San Pedro is nothing like the Los Angeles you were expecting -- and its fans quietly murmur thank goodness. MLS Internet Data Exchange (IDX) information is provided exclusively for consumers’ personal, non-commercial use and may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties consumers may be interested in purchasing, and that the data is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed accurate by the California Regional MLS. Brown Rice (Steamed) 3. Carpinteria Chamber of Commerce. Small and local businesses are helping this city grow. This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. 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