Home                   Vol V   Issue 9           February 28, 2010                Previous Issues
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A Great Climate, Amazing Scenery, an Artsy Vibe and the "Pink Moment" Bring Retirees to Beautiful, Mellow Ojai, California

Cost of Living:  Above the National Average

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Active Retirement

 

 

Real Estate for Retirement

 

 

Active Adult

 

 

Master Planned Communities

 
While much of what once made California a magical place has disappeared over the years, at least one small town still makes visitors want to drop what they are doing, sell their home and move here.   Ojai (pronounced Oh-high) is that town, a gorgeous community (population 8,000 people) located roughly 85 miles north of Los Angeles and 14 miles from the ocean.   Adjacent to a national forest and in the shadow the Topa Topa Mountains, this lovely hamlet sits in a lush valley overflowing with orange trees and lemon groves.  Ojai epitomizes the best that California has to offer and reminds one of what the state used to be forty or fifty years ago.    The cost of living is high, roughly 50% above the national average, but the climate is perfect, the views are striking and the quality of life does not get much better.  Of Ojai's population, 27% is age 45 to 64, and 18% is age 65 or better. 

 

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To maintain their quality of life, the residents of Ojai have vowed to limit growth, and as a result, real estate, and just about everything else, is expensive.  The median home price is $535,000, 25% less than it was a year ago, and housing is kind of an odd mixture.  In the 1940s, many single-level, ranch-style homes with 1,000 sq. ft. to 1,200 sq. ft were built here, and these may sell anywhere from $300,000 to $1.5 million.    Newer, larger and more elaborate homes, very different from the older homes, are common and include everything from elegant, Spanish Mission-style country estates to Beverly Hills-inspired mansions.  Prices reach into the millions.   Saddle Mountain, Persimmon Hill and the Arbolad are a few of the exclusive planned developments around town.  Ojai has a handful of condo and town home developments, as well, with prices starting in the low-$300,000s.   Two such communities are the Hitching Post and the lovely La Amistad, a stylish, modern adobe structure with just four units.

 

For all if its high-priced homes, there are also at least nine mobile home and/or manufactured home communities in and around Ojai, including Country Village Mobile Home Park (24 homes) and Casa del Norte, a 55+ community.  Prices start at less than $100,000, with lot rents around $500 and up per month.      Apartments available for lease can occasionally be found; rents start at around $1,000 per month, but expect to pay more for a comfortable complex.

California real estate is assessed at 100% of market value, and the maximum amount of tax is limited to 1% of a property's market value (part of the reason California has no money).  The first $7,000 of a home's value is exempt from tax, but other homestead exemptions that were in place have been halted by the State.   In Ojai, the annual property taxes on a $535,000 home are roughly $3,745.   When it comes to retirement income, Social Security and railroad retirement benefits are exempt from state tax.  There is, though, a 2.5% tax on early distributions and qualified pensions, and all private, local, state and federal pensions are fully taxed.

Ojai, California


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Off the beaten path, beautiful Ojai has long been known as a place to regenerate, and visitors come to relax in its numerous spas, shop in its quaint boutiques (no Wal-Mart), browse in its art galleries and dine in its excellent restaurants.   A farmers' market, coffee houses and bookstores mingle with high-end stores, giving Ojai an eclectic, artsy ambiance (with a touch of the Old West thrown in).   This area is also one of the few places on the planet where mountains run east-west, and many people believe this gives Ojai a unique, almost mystical, energy.   

Despite its expensive real estate, Ojai is an unpretentious spot with friendly people and a welcoming vibe.  Writers, painters, photographers, ranchers and celebrities (singer Johnny Cash, actor Johnny Depp and actress June Allyson to name but a few) make (or once made) their home here, a place where huge oak trees and sycamores thrive and are legally protected, where open spaces flourish and where commercial and residential growth are deliberately reigned in.   There is one movie theater with one screen.  There is one public golf course (and one private one).   Romantic architectural styles are reminiscent of the Mediterranean.    Roses bloom year round.   Coastal air soothes the senses.   Evening sun paints the mountains purple and bathes the Valley in a soft pink glow (known as the "pink moment").  This is indeed a special place, and residents work to keep it that way.

Ojai, California Continued...

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