John and Judi Bates

It’s not just the sweeping ocean views and unobstructed city lights that lead people to the Palos Verdes Peninsula.
John and Judi Bates, local residents who have called PV home for more than four decades, found their piece of paradise thanks to their family. “Judi is a fifth-generation Californian,” explains John. “Her great grandparents are from Redondo so she was born here and we have never lived anywhere else together in the state of California, nor would we,” he says.
John, a highly contributive Palos Verdes community advocate who spent a lifetime working in commercial real estate is enjoying the fruits of his labor these days. When asked about his success in business John tell us, “I have a partner that I got together with when we both worked at Coldwell Banker maybe 45 or 50 years ago. Our business is acquiring property and doing deals. We have built it up today where we own commercial properties, shopping centers, and apartments. We own a building in the Riviera Village called Riviera Center run mostly by our kids. They collect the rent and we spend it,” he laughs and says,” It worked out pretty well.”

We met up with the Bates’ in their glorious, eclectic home in Rolling Hills where they shared a bit about their lives. Filled with treasures collected from travels, antiques and religious relics, it was a warm reflection of this interesting and fun couple. Judi’s passion is design and when asked about acquiring all of these fabulously interesting and colorful pieces, she lights up and says,”I just love going to flea markets and estate sales. It’s so much fun!”  You immediately get the feeling that entertaining and family are at the heart of this home.
“We have a big family, there is always something going on here. We have his, hers, and ours for a total of seven kids we have raised,” Judi shares. “There were John’s two and my two when we got together which was perfect. Then one of us decided we should try for one more,” she laughs. “He said are you crazy, we have a perfect setup. But I said just one. So then, we had three more,” she adds behind her big sheepish smile.

The couple who clearly display their Joie de vie and bring a smile to their visitors, also share fourteen grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, and amazingly, all of them live locally.
Judi began exploring PV with her family when she was a child, sharing leisurely Sunday drives along the Peninsula’s winding roads. With parents who always wanted to live here, Judi feels fortunate. “I landed on top of the world living up here and my mom was thrilled and I was so glad she could enjoy it with me,” she says.
The couple, who enjoy so much of what the Peninsula has to offer, are quintessential Palos Verdes people from their lifestyle to their stunning seven-acre property in Rolling Hills. Filled with antiques and fun and unique  finds they have curated over the years, their beautiful property features plenty of open space for their animals and lots of cool eclectic areas to entertain and enjoy life.
“This place is booming with activity,” says John, who is fascinated by the land’s avocado orchard. “We have almost seven acres and about 400 avocado trees. The previous owners had a relationship with growers. It’s cool. It’s not a money-making operation but we do sell them and now they get hand-picked professionally and yield about 12 to 20 tons a year. We take them to Temecula and love to watch the process,” he muses. “It’s an interesting thing to do.”

Long time residents of Palos Verdes the Bates’ enjoy the diverse vibes the Peninsula offers. “We bought a house in 1976 in Malaga Cove. We still own it today. We were going to remodel because it was pretty beat up after the kids and dogs and all the running around, so we wanted to remodel it. But as it turns out rather than renting a place for two years we thought we would buy another place too and we just liked it up here,” says Judi.
John agrees. “We decided we would buy one place and flip it back in 2004 and we bought this house. After we got started on it, we realized how peaceful it was and so calm with no neighbors in sight plus there was lots of space for our animals. We decided that we just couldn’t leave,” he says.
Growing up John never had any animals. That changed when he met Judi. Today she says, he helps feed their creatures and has grown to love them. Judi had turtles and lizards and cats and dogs growing up. “Now we have a couple of horses, little mini horses, a pig, goat, chickens and a couple of rabbits and dogs.”
The couple enjoys holidays at home with the whole family and every single day living on the Peninsula. “The virtues of the area are pretty obvious as compared to anyplace else in the world really, I mean we absolutely love Palos Verdes,” John laughs. Palos Verdes Estates is a great city as is all of the Peninsula. We didn’t know much about Rolling Hills in the early days because you don’t have a reason to just drive around. Our kids had friends back here and I came behind the gates a couple of times and thought wow that’s weird how did I not know about this back here. It’s pretty incredible,” John admits.
Celebrating two major anniversaries at La Venta Inn, their 25th and their 40th, the family is clearly and happily entrenched in Palos Verdes.
The Bates family lifestyle is admittedly pretty laid-back. After a lifetime of world travel including for a time a house where they spent many occasions with the whole family in Puerto Vallarta Mexico and so many hours on the tennis courts that John’s knee wore out, they are still busy and making the most
of each moment.
“The gorgeous views,” Judi muses. “When we lived in Malaga Cove the sunsets from our deck I mean,  just wow. We had 30 years of dream sunsets there and now up here it’s just as beautiful but a totally different feel. No matter where I go, when we come home, when we come back it’s just great here. Whether I go into LA or Palm Springs or even Europe, it just always feels so good to come back to Palos Verdes. It’s our beautiful home and community and we love it.”