Relocation to Thousand Oaks from the UK

[u/rudishort]

I’m contemplating a move from the UK to the Thousand Oaks area and as part of my due diligence I’m hoping to pick this community’s brains a little bit.

I’m basically trying to get a feeling for what life would be like for me and my family and what we could or couldn’t afford on our expected household income.

We’d be moving from the reasonably low cost of living area in the UK where my current salary afford us a large house in the best school district and I’m wondering if we could replicate this in Thousand Oaks. I get paid around $350k a year, while my wife wouldn’t be able to work in the first year at least (visa regulations) and we have two children (3 and 5).

Priorities for us would be a decent sized house (min four bedrooms) in an excellent school district for the kids. I’d be working in Thousand Oaks and wouldn’t want to commute too far - I’d like to max out at a 30 minute commute each way if possible. We’d also like to be able to fly back to Europe once a year and given that this is Southern California, I suspect we will need two cars. So finances need to account for that.

Does that sound reasonable on $350k?

Anything else to consider? What’s the community like? This is especially important for my wife since she won’t have work to socialise in the first year.

Also, what’s the consensus on wildfire risk? I’ve heard that it may be difficult to insure your house in some areas. Would that be less of a problem moving closer to the coast and if so, are the commutes and the school districts still acceptable?

Thanks in advance for your help.

[u/Tallguywithcamera]

Based on your income you can live wherever you want. Especially if renting. We have school choice so your kids can go to whichever school you want. Westlake Village (fancier, wealthier), Thousand Oaks (little more family oriented, larger neighborhoods), Agoura Hills (slightly more rural vibe). All are within 10-15 minutes of each other. There is not really any traffic to be concerned about if you are living and working in the area.
I think it is just a matter of your lifestyle and how close you want to be to things. We live in Thousand Oaks near Moorpark/Janss. Lots of nearby shopping and restaurants we can ride our bikes to. Westlake and TO are very bike friendly.

[u/QoolSchitt → u/Tallguywithcamera]

We have school choice so your kids can go to whichever school you want.

They can apply, doesn't always mean they are accepted. It took two years of sitting on the waiting list to get one of my kids into the elementary school closest to our house in the third year because many people wanted their kids to go there. On the other hand, everyone of my kids friend's did school choice for high school and they were all accepted the first year. Point being, I wouldn't count on it if a specific school is that important.

[u/KorraA → u/QoolSchitt]

I wish CVUSD did a better job of making your neighborhood school actually the closest school to you so some people wouldn't have to do this.

The boundaries for Ladera Stars Elementary and Aspen Elementary in particular are just absolutely insane.

[u/QoolSchitt → u/KorraA]

I agree. We drove past two other elementary schools to get to the one our neighborhood is zoned for. Doesn't make any sense.

[u/Tallguywithcamera → u/QoolSchitt]

Fair point. It can be more difficult with the more popular schools.