Moving to Simi Valley: Need suggestions

[Mastminakshi]

Hi! We are planning to move to Simi Valley from Boston as my husband may get a better job opportunity there.

We are a young couple with a 4 year old. Its a totally new place for us and we don't know anybody in the area. Any advice on the following will be really appreciated:

1. We will be looking for rental apartments or townhouses. What are the good areas for families with young kids?

2. What are the good pre-schools in the areas? We are preferable looking for montessori?

Thanks in advance for all your help.

[shuklafam]

Hi I am a mom of 22 month old in simi valley. Not much experience regarding a lot of preschools.I just enrolled my daughter to pinecrest.It seems to have a good reputation in the valley. Its a very friendy city so almost all areas are good.Do you have a house here yet?

[shuklafam]

Hi I am a mom of 22 month old. I dont know a lot about preschools here but pinecrest has reputation.My daughter is in it

[Mastminakshi]

No, we are looking at renting an apartment there - either Simi Valley or Thousand Oaks? Which one is better? Any suggestions?

[moonstones]

Hi! We moved to Simi Valley a little over two years ago.  It took me a while to like it, but it's started growing on me. It's very safe for kids, there are a lot of parks and good hiking in the immediate area, but it is also very mono-cultural.  

Most townhomes and apartment complexes that I've seen seem to be well kept.  As far as I know, Simi Valley doesn't really have a bad area.  Do you have a few that you're specifically considering?  

There are two Montessori schools in town both with the same owner, and both have openings. We just toured the Montessori school on Erringer about two weeks ago. We liked it a lot, but decided to keep our 11 month old home for the time that we need to be out of the home working.  

I also just discovered and am loving the yoga studio in town -- the Yoga Nook.  Check it out when you get here.  And let me know if you have any more questions!  

[Mastminakshi]

Thanks for all the advice. My husband was just in the area. He would be working in Simi Valley. He seems to like Knolls and Moorpark as well...so at the moment, we are a bit confused on the area. He likes Thousand Oaks but does not like the Archstone property there, he really liked the Wood Ranch and Moorpark area. 

We are moving from Boston,so are looking for a place with a urban feel to it but should be safe for young families. I have a 4.5 yr old and am looking at Montessori education for him, so any suggestions on that front would be appreciated. I did speak with the owner of Simi Valley Montessori School, she seemed really nice and helpful. Thank you for suggesting the school.

Any suggestions on the above would be great!

[moonstones]

Thousand Oaks wouldn't be a bad commute to Simi Valley, nor would Moorpark.  I think it will be tough to find a place with an urban feel in the areas where you're looking.  Moorpark, Thousand Oaks, and Simi Valley are all very suburban.  If what you enjoy about the urban lifestyle is being able to walk to stores and cafes, you can probably find an area that is convenient for this.  In Wood Ranch especially, I always see young families out for walks -- there are many sidewalks and some trails, seems like a nice place, though also very cookie cutter. I don't know the Knolls or Moorpark as well.   Your DS will enjoy Underwood Farms in Moorpark though -- it's a petting zoo/farm where you can pick your own fruits and veggies. 

[Mastminakshi]

Thanks for your suggestions. I guess we have zeroed down on Moorpark, Wood Ranch and Simi Valley...will be there next week to check apartments and look at schools...does anybody have any suggestions on any of the rental properties there?

[carastar]

I'm late in responding to this so I don't know how helpful my advice will be.

I currently live in Simi and have also lived in Thousand Oaks. I prefer Thousand Oaks. It's cleaner, more well-kept, has more tress and also it stays about 5-10 degrees cooler (I don't like the heat). Thousand Oaks also has a Whole Foods and a better farmers market (not that the drive is a big deal from Simi, but I don't like having to drive much if I can avoid it).
 

When I first moved to California 11 years ago, we moved into the apartments in Wood Ranch. It is a nicer area of Simi Valley and there was nothing to complain about. It is very close to the 23 Freeway which means it's fast and easy to get to Thousand Oaks, Malibu, Ventura area.

We moved from Wood Ranch into the Knolls in Thousand Oaks. I liked those apartments and the area a lot more than Wood Ranch. The Knolls is close to nice parks, walking distance to a shopping center with groceries, Starbucks and restaurants. It is also very close to a very nice shopping center (on Westlake Blvd, called Westlake Promanade) with a theater and restaurant and shopping. It is also only a few miles from two different Trader Joe's locations and only a short drive to Whole Foods and the farmers market and a large, nice mall.

Alas, now we're back in Simi. It's fine but I don't love it. Simi is a little bit cheaper than Thousand Oaks, but for good reason in my opinion.

I also have a 4 year old but we are planning on homeschooling so haven't looked at preschools. I know I have seen a sign for Montessori schools around here though. Sorry I'm not much help there.

Good luck, and if you need any more help, let me know!

[Mastminakshi]

Hi! I do wish, I'd read ur post earlier! We have already moved to the apartments in Wood Ranch. When we were doing our apartment search, we did not find too many apartments in Thousand Oaks and had not heard much about it, so we decided on Wood Ranch. However, I think there are better schools in Thousand Oaks than Simi Valley.

I have heard of a lot of people in Simi Valley are homeschooling their kids...I am little new to the concept. Also, if you don't mind, it would be nice to be able to contact you since we really don't know anyone here. If its alright with you, we could speak or meet. I am looking for playdates for my 4.6 yr old! You can mail me at [e-mail].

Thanks for the all the info :)

[Amoreena]

Chiming in a bit late on this thread, haven't visited MDC for a long while.

We moved to Camarillo in 2003, from Montreal, Quebec. We looked a little in Simi and Newbury Park/TO, but liked Camarillo after living there two months in company-paid temporary housing. It's cooler than Simi, cooler than TO, centrally located (easy to get to either LA area or Santa Barbara), and not too big or busy. We have Trader Joe's and Fresh and Easy. There's a Whole Foods going in, in Oxnard, sometime in the next while.

I started a group not long after moving here:  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/VenturaCountyAPMoms

On the homeschooling topic, there is http://groups.yahoo.com/group/VC-LIFE_Homeschool_Network , among others. California is a great state in which to homeschool. We've been homeschooling all along. I've not lived anywhere else to compare homeschooling, although it seemed to be pretty open in Quebec... but my boys were toddlers then, so I wasn't looking into the technicalities at that point.

Would be happy to answer any questions about the groups or our experience in the area, here or in private message.