Simi Valley Self Storage

Simi Valley, California is in the Simi Valley which is located southeast corner of Ventura County.  This area encompasses 39.5 square miles of 0.3 square miles of which is water.  This city is surrounded by mountains and hills of Santa Susana Mountain Range, the Simi Hills, the San Fernando Valley and the Conejo Valley.  Simi Valley is located 24.4 miles from Los Angeles.

The early settlers of Simi Valley were the Chumash Indians.  In the early 1860’s and 1870’s   people from the east began trickling into the area where they settled and raised sheep, cattle, and raised grain.  In the late 1880’s a settlement was formed and the Simi Land and Water Company was created to dispose of land and promote growth.  This Company promoted this area in the larger eastern cities of Chicago, Cincinnati, and the New England States and even built a hotel to accommodate individuals that came to visit the area.  A group of doctors from Chicago known as the California Mutual Benefit Company of Chicago decided this area would be an ideal location for a health resort or sanatorium though nothing really materialized from this venture and the doctors moved back east.

Simi Valley is in an ideal location with Highway 118 running through the city and connects with State Highways 23 and 101 and Interstates 5, 405, and 210.  Simi Valley is 42 miles from Los Angeles International Airport, 26 miles from Burbank Airport, and 25 miles from Camarillo.  Amtrak and Metrolink offer passenger service to this area and the Union Pacific Railroad provides freight service.

Simi Valley has been repeatedly been named on the list as of the Safest Cities in America.  Simi Valley is primarily a commuter bedroom community where residents live but work in neighboring cities.  The cost of living here is very high; the January 2011 cost of living index for Simi Valley is 128.3.

The 2009 population of Simi Valley was 120,921, an 8.6% population increase since 2000. The estimated median household income in 2009 was $78,821. The median age of Simi Valley residents in 2009 was 34.7 years. The estimated median house or condo value in 2009 was $453,000.   The median gross rent in 2009 was $1,626.

The population density as of 2009 was 3,086 people per square mile which is considered average. The racial demographic of Simi Valley (2009) breakdown consists of 61.9% White, 241.1% Hispanic, 1.7% African American, and 0.3% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islanders.

Simi Valley is home to several cultural venues. The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum includes over 60 million pages of documents, over 1 million photographs, thousands of audio and video tape, and over 40,000 artifacts. The Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center consists of a 220 seat main theatre with seating on the main floor and balcony. This Center hosts plays, musicals, concerts, art shows, films, weddings, receptions, business meetings, youth festivals, and more.  Strathearn Historical Park & Museum, 47 churches, and 1 synagogue, are also located in Simi Valley.  These are all venues that could benefit from nearby public storage for excess items due to lack of storage space.

There numerous recreational opportunities for residents and visitors to Simi Valley.  This city has numerous parks, dog parks, hiking trails, bike paths, equestrian trails, 2 golf courses, and 3 community centers with swimming and splash pools.

Simi Valley is located within easy driving distance of some of the hottest attractions in the area including Six Flags Magic Mountain, Disneyland, Universal Studios, Knott’s Berry Farm, Hollywood, Santa Barbara, and downtown Los Angeles.

Approximately 34.4% of the residents of Simi Valley also work in Simi Valley. Simi Valley’s top employers (2009) include: Simi Valley Unified School District, Farmers Insurance Group, Simi Valley Hospital, City of Simi Valley, AeroVironment, Rancho Simi Parks & Recreation District, Vons, Meggitt Safety Systems, Wal-Mart, and Costco.

The common industries in Simi Valley (2009) are shown below:

Simi Valley has been used as location for filming television series and movies due to its proximity to Los Angeles.  The Simi Valley is home to the Big Sky Ranch which is a movie ranch where “Little House on the Prairie”, “Highway to Heaven”, and some episodes of “Dallas”.   Film crews would likely be in need of nearby secure storage for wardrobe, sets, equipment when there is a break in filming.

Simi Valley is a family oriented community with 20 elementary schools, 3 middle schools, and 3 high schools. Simi Valley Adult School is located in Simi Valley.  Simi Valley is also within 20 miles of several colleges and universities that have a student body of over 2000 such as California Lutheran University (Thousand Oaks), Moorpark College (Moorpark), and Los Angeles Mission College (Sylmar). 

Simi Valley has had dramatic population increase of 8.6% from 2000 to 2009 and will likely continue to grow in years to come since this city is considered a safe community and has access to highways and passenger rail.  As people relocate into the Simi Valley they will be in need of secure storage facilities during the moving process as well as storage facilities once they permanently settle in this area to store seasonal items and excess personal items.  As the population increases there will also be an increase in businesses to the area which will likely be in need of storage solutions themselves.

Note:  Statistical information obtained from City-Data.com, retrieved June 17, 2011.