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One Person´s View of San Clemente!
I remember San Clemente from 1961 when I moved to Orange County. It was just a small sleepy village. No one really paid any attention to it other than the fact that it was known as Camp Pendleton´s town and the marine´s hang out. I usually saw those white buildings with red roofs from the 5 Freeway on the way to San Diego and by then we knew we were getting close to our destination. San Clemente itself was rarely a destination place. When President Nixon moved to San Clemente and called it the Western White House it became an instant celebrity. However the building boom did not start until around 2000 or so.
Now, San Clemente´s hills are dotted with luxury homes, most of which have either hills, canyon or ocean views and the prices range from about $400,000 for a condo up to several million dollars for truly luxury villas.
I live in San Clemente after having lived in Huntington Beach, Orange Park Acres and Newport Beach. What I like mostly about our town is that it still has that little town feeling. The weather is unbelievable! Almost every evening my wife and I take a walk around the beautiful Talega, Fred Couples "Signature" championship golf course, and smell the fresh air and blooms. The sky is dark blue and you can almost see every star. It´s an awesome feeling! I liked Newport Beach but I was never able to see such clear skies as I do in San Clemente. Our town was written up by the L.A. Times as having the best climate in the world. I can testify for that because I either lived on the Mediterranean or visited most of the countries that surround it and I can tell you that San Clemente´s weather is as good or better. Money Magazine has named San Clemente among the "hottest places to live" in the United States. A combination of solid community values, high median household income, above average population growth and a sunny, coastal location make this small town the most desirable places to call home.
I´ve lived in San Clemente for just over 3 years. I absolutely love the old town that is constantly being rebuilt and remodeled, yet keeping the same old charm. The beach is absolutely gorgeous with hundreds of black suited surfers riding the waves almost all the time, or so it seems to me. We usually stroll on the pier watching the surfers and the fishermen casting their lines. From the end of the pier you can look back and see the beautiful hills overlooking the water. A few times I´ve been there to attend summer festivals and listen to the music and watch the crowds. It´s all fun and interesting.
But San Clemente is not just about the beaches and the hills. It´s about wonderful people who live a wonderful life in a great community. Just come and drive through our neighborhoods and see the pride that people take in their homes. We´re neither a retirement community nor just start ups. Every age group is represented and I´ve never met a person here who actually wanted to leave this town.
I happen to live in Talega, which is a relatively new community which has as its center piece the famous Talega Golf Course. Also, Talega Athletic Club boasts of beautiful facilities of Olympic size pools and sports court. With 2000 acres of open space and 19 miles of trails many enjoy hiking or biking up and down the hills and canyons or just taking in the beautiful wilderness. But Talega is just one of many beautiful communities. You´ll love our other communities of Rancho San Clemente, Forster Ranch, and the South West community where President Nixon once lived and others.
We enjoy several shopping centers, all conveniently located. A brand new Talega shopping center just opened and the new beach community of Marblehead is about to open with an outlet mall as well as multi-million dollar homes overlooking the beautiful Pacific. I must admit we don´t have a major shopping Mall such as Newport´s Fashion Island or Costa Mesa´s South Coast Plaza, but we´re just ten minutes from the Mission Viejo Mall and only 20 minutes from the other two aforementioned malls. We´re also about 20 minutes from John Wayne Airport, thirty minutes from Disneyland and about an hour or so from downtown L.A. and downtown San Diego.
And I almost forgot to brag about our schools. Yes, our schools have been awarded the Blue Ribbon Status. We are proud to have some of the best schools in the State. But I´ve always believed that it is the community that is responsible for making our schools great. Our award winning schools are just a reflection of our people who care deeply about their children and their community.
Come and visit us and see why we like it here. I think that after visiting San Clemente a few times and spending the day or the weekend here you´ll get hooked on it and you too might consider moving here. You´re welcome, we have room for you and "we´ll keep the lights on for you!"
Written by Charles Mansur - Castle Realtors |