Cottage Grove Dr, Castaic, CA 91384

"This community is a very nice place to live. There are plenty of outdoors activities and a wonderful park. The people here are friendly and very real. To live here, you do give up some of the conveniences that we take for granted at times. For instance, the nearest gas station is about 10 minutes away. We have a small local mart in town, but a full service grocery store is about 4-5 miles away. There are no restaurants in town also and the nearest place to eat is about 4 miles away (not many choices there either). It is very quiet here and you have wildlife all around. Coyotes walk the streets at night, cut across back yards and howl loudly. We love being this close to nature! Our friends who visit either love it or hate it. For those who want a sterile, clean cut suburban area, this is not for them. Valencia is just down the road and it's more suited for people who want this. We are not part of the city of Santa Clarita, so our government services are provided by LA County. For those who have not lived in unincorporated areas, it is different. We don't get as much service as in a city, but we trade that off for a quality of life that fits our desires. I enjoy not being part of a city and I like the connection with our County representatives. They provide as much service as they can and I believe they do care about our well being. It's simply that the funds are limited and must be shared across the entire county. We have a great charter school, grades K-12 about 4 miles away. Many of the kids in our community attend the school and love it. It's a project based learning school - kids work on projects and give presentations. I think it gives them skills for the real world - how often do you sit in lectures, take notes, do homework and take a test in your job? For me, I meet with clients, do research, come up with a presentation and work with my client to help then achieve their goal. For me, this mimics what SCVi teaches our kids. "