Santa Clarita, California

What's it like living in Santa Clarita? Do you like it?

Do people there usually go to the valley for international food?

You can find all forms of international food without going to the valley; however the markup is at least 25% higher than the valley.

Are there any chinese markets/restaurants? (authentic)

A lot of our restaurants are Asian fusion. My goto town for authentic Chinese is Temple City.

Are people friendly?

Smile and most will smile back.

How is the traffic?

Typical rush hour style non-city traffic.

How is it for entertainment?

We recently had Vanilla Ice and Sir Mix-a-lot…

Are people more racist there vs other California cities?

You will not fear for your life in Santa Clarita but you may encounter a random drunk person at a bar saying stupid things very loudly.

Are people rich there or middle class?

The majority are middle class to upper middle class - there are pockets with very expensive and beautiful mansions.

What's it like living in Santa Clarita? Do you like it?

Describe Santa Clarita in one word?

For someone coming from China? Open.

There is so much space in Santa Clarita. The houses are huge, the roads are huge, the population is comparatively small for the size of the town. You can generally drive across Santa Clarita in no time, the lights are all relatively well timed, and have smart sensors.

Do people there usually go to the valley for international food?

No real need to do that depending on what sort of international food you're looking for. There's a good selection of every major international food type a person wants.

Are there any chinese markets/restaurants? (authentic)

Having been to China (Guongdong) about 14 times , staying 3-4 weeks at a time, and seen what authentic Chinese food is, you will never find authentic Chinese food restaurants in SCV. They would never survive in America outside of China towns, the amount of bones, ligaments, cartilage and fat you find in real Chinese food would be a major turn off.

The restaurants all serve Americanized asian fusion type of stuff, or American Cantonese style food. If your friend likes Cantonese style food, then that might be acceptable. The food here will be a lot sweeter than authentic Chinese food though.

There's plenty of markets where you can buy authentic ingredients though. Even regular grocery stores have an okay selection of proper vegetables and spices. The only area that might be lacking is the meat and fish. Coming by some of the pieces that Chinese people often eat (chicken feet?) might be a little harder or require ordering in advance, but still manageable. Same with fish, most fish sold at regular grocery stores are already filleted and de-boned, so you might need to order in advance if you want a whole fish.

Are people friendly?

Yeah they generally are. This is a fairly wealthy area, that isn't too crowded, so that contributes to an overall happy mood. There's plenty of bitchy stay at home soccer moms (karens), that feel entitled, but that's really only an issue if you work at retail stores or food service.

How is the traffic?

Within the town, pretty good. You can drive across it pretty quickly any time of the day. The stop lights are usually well timed, and have smart sensors. Leaving the town to go towards LA? Broken…

How is it for entertainment?

Not so good, and to do anything generally requires driving. It's not like in the cities in China where you can generally walk out of your apartment and do a lot of stuff. When I would walk around in China, there were always groups doing exercises, or synchronized dancing, or fishing or other outdoor activities in the evenings. You never see anything like that in Santa Clarita. There's no real night life here.

Moving to Santa Clarita

If you looking for a party town, keep looking… if you are a normal dude /w a wife, kid, dog then this could be a pretty great spot. Outdoor options, plenty of (new) playgrounds, bike paths, parks.

Moved here 4+ yrs ago, lived in an apt. in Valencia for a year or so to get a feel of the area and after that purchased a house in Saugus. Working in the Valley so I had limited exposure so far to the area. But based on my personal experience:

Valencia is new(er), more expensive, apartments, houses /w tiny gardens, close to shopping. Closer to the highway, a huge pro if you commute.

Newhall is a bit older, more historic, /w some "affordable" houses but have some hidden spots /w more expensive houses, downtown has some OK shopping, dining options, some/limited areas I would avoid for sure.

Canyon Country is also older more historic, some areas i would also avoid, but there are some very nice ones as well, its a mixed basked in a way.

Saugus has many new and older house options, OK sized gardens but still somewhat affordable if that is something that matters for you. Shopping/Restaurants are still close-ish, depending on where you are. Somewhat sucks form the commuting standpoint.

There is also Stevenson Ranch and Castaic.

What are the people like in Santa Clarita, CA?

I moved here 30 years ago before the earthquake that basically leveled a lot of the west San Fernando Valley “Northridge quake”. Yes we felt that quake but most of the destruction from it was the freeway bridges not a lot of damage to the homes.

Before the quake this valley had a lot of first responders and migrant workers for the 2 huge farms that were here. Fire, Police, Doctors, Nurses etc… Way back when there was a lot of prejudice. Ethnic families were not meant to feel welcome. This doesn’t seem to be the case anymore.

There are many, many new housing complexes still being built today. Some areas are not even on “waze” or “google” maps yet. I have noticed that there is a large amount of what you would call soccer moms dropping off and getting their kids from school which adds to our rush hour. You have to be upper middle class to afford any of the new homes. Even mine that I have had for 27 years is over 1/2 million.

The biggest problem is getting into and out of this valley if the 5 south is closed. The 14 from the Antelope Valley empties into the 5 south adding to the traffic. The 5 is currently under construction by Cal Trans with various projects for the next 3–5 years. There is no option out of the valley other than huge detours through Ventura or the desert east of here. The 5 north doesn’t get closed often except occasionally farther north above Castaic because of winter snows. In the 30 years I’ve lived here it has snowed about every 10 years where the snow stuck for at least a day in the valley. It always snows on the ridge route as we call it between LA and Kern counties causing it to be closed occasionally.

Summers are extremely hot sometimes 2 to 3 week 100 plus days. Plus at least one and a half months of upper 90’s. It seems to be getting worse every year. Winters get down to freezing. Now in February a lot of nights touch low 40’s and 30’s. It also depends exactly where in the valley you live. I am in Bouquet Canyon, Saugus area which is hotter and colder than the Valencia area.

The 126 freeway connecting the 5 with the 14 on the north end of the valley was never built. We have an extended 126 sort of onto Newhall Ranch Road with speeds of 50 to 55 and 3 to 4 lanes each way, but it still has stop lights.

Traffic is ridiculous at our rush hour between 7:00AM-9:30AM and 3PM-7:00PM on the main thoroughfares Valencia Blvd, Soledad Canyon, Newhall Ranch Road, Bouquet Canyon Road. The Four square intersection where these all meet and change names can take you 10 to 15 minutes to get through if you are turning up or down an adjacent street at rush hour. This is because a huge percentage of people who live here commute out of our beautiful valley into the San Fernando Valley or farther south. With commute times of one to three hours for a distances of less than 60 miles.

After saying all of the above I have to say that I love living here. I don’t like the way the summers are going and my 1967 house isn’t insulated well so Southern California Edison costs a fortune. There are a lot of community events the city sponsors like Concerts in the park at park on Bouque at Central Parkt. Most areas have a small community like feel. But there are some that are very cold and not neighborly. If you buy here check out the neighborhood first. Some neighborhoods are 100% commuters who are too tired to care about their neighbor when they get home. Others are extremely friendly.

Living Santa Clarita California Pros and Cons