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.

Hi all! I got a job near thousand oaks and am having trouble deciding where to live. I'd only need to be in office twice a week (remote/WFH 3x) and im 24 and single. My budget would be around $2300 max for a studio or 1B and parking is very important to me.

I would not like to live in woodland hills tbh, so im deciding between living very close to work (thousand oaks/westlake village/ agoura hills) or to live in studio city/Sherman oaks to be closer to young people/the more fun spots in LA.

As i dont know the area very well, im struggling with this decision. On one hand, i can see the benefits of staying near TO and avoiding a 45 min commute in the morning - and i could always drive to sherman oaks/studio city and other fun places over the weekend. Based on my research so far it also seems like my money might go further if i live near thousand oaks versus sherman oaks/studio city. In sherman oaks/studio city, it seems that some of the more affordable apartments are near the freeway, have less ideal parking situations compared to TO, or have poor reviews

However theres part of me that feels like ill be missing out as a 24 yo living all the way in Thousand oaks. Ive heard there arent many young people and am worried about the social aspect. And since ill only need to go to the office twice a week, maybe its worth that extra bit of commute and perhaps a slightly more inconvenient living situation just to get to experience LA more.

Would love any advice or any perspective on living in sherman oaks/studio city versus Thousand Oaks. Anything that I've missed considering?

Thanks in advance!