Please do not tell me you are talking about Malibu, CA. Malibu meets those qualifications of Avg list/sales price, but you said amazing beaches and Malibu has tiny, dirty beaches and they vote left. Just come out and say where the community is so we can verify your facts. You are on an anonymous message board. Why you hiding?
Well... I've revealed where I live on this board per my post history. That, and some of you guys are weirdos. I think there a couple stalker candidates here... It's not Malibu, although Malibu has some really nice beaches if you know where to look. I'll just say the south coast of Santa Barbara County and leave it at that.
I've got a friend in La Jolla. I used to make fun of his gravel yard, but after moving to a property in FL that's a trimming, and mowing nightmare, I can't pick on him anymore. Lol.
low maintenance yards are an acquired taste. as you go east from the So Cal towards the desert you see more of them. I love the idea and I sometimes see some very cool ones. The generally involve some golf ideas.
I seriously considered a rock and cactus front yard in my Florida home a few years ago. I had a septic problem that resulted in my entire front lawn being torn out. When I replaced the sod we hit a very dry hot spell that required a lot of water to keep it alive. The town had just put in some crazy water rates that really punished high water users. After two months of $1500 water bills and a city council that didn't want to work with me, I was just about ready to rip that lawn out and replace it with a rock garden.
Since he's on an "anonymous message board," why would you necessarily believe his answer? Anyway, tell us about your oceanfront property, since Malibu is so terrible.