THE COMFORT ZONE : Few of Us Live the California Dream at Home

A single-family detached home with a private outdoor patio, terrace or yard.

And a garden, either for flowers or fresh veggies and berries.

A pool or Jacuzzi would be nice . . . dare we dream of both?

And for those dog days of August--or October? Air conditioning.

Ah, filmland’s version of the good life in Southern California.

Ah, what a myth.

A Times telephone poll of 1,586 people who call SoCal home found that only 7% bask in the above version of the comfort zone. (Five percent have none of those amenities.) When you take away air conditioning, 11% qualify.

Just the facts:

* 55% of all Southern Californians live in single-family detached homes; the remaining 45% dwell in apartments, condos, townhouses, duplexes and mobile homes.

* Just over 80% live in a residence with a private outdoor patio, terrace or yard.

* Almost two-thirds (65%) don’t live in a place with a pool or Jacuzzi; 17% have a pool, 7% a Jacuzzi and 11% have both.

* About half (51%) have a flower or vegetable garden at home. (That’s about the same as the number--49%--who own pets.)

* Air conditioning is a 50-50 proposition and seemingly a function of location and income. About three-quarters of people who live near the ocean don’t have it; about two-thirds of those who said they live in the valleys, mountains or deserts do. Slightly more than one-third (36%) of people who earn less than $20,000 per year have air-conditioned housing. That figure basically rises with income to those who earn more than $60,000, about two-thirds (62%) of whom have air conditioning.

* Just over half (55%) said they own their dwelling, which is less than the national figure of 69% found in an April Times poll. About one-third (36%) of the region’s renters said it was “likely” that they would buy a house or condominium in the next two years.

But just how important is one’s home?

That’s where seven in 10 Southern Californians said they spend more of their non-working leisure time. (The rest said they spent more of that time away from home.)

But when asked what things are most important to them, only 14% of Southern Californians mentioned their homes, the same amount who chose their jobs. Family and friends ranked first (77%), followed by “things you believe in” (39%) and financial security (31%).

Only 1% mentioned cars.