I need help moving to California-Don't know what city to live in?

Question

Hello, I am moving to California with my husband, but I have no idea where to move. I have only been to Santa Monica & Brentwood and I wasn't thrilled, but maybe it is because I am not used to California. I am coming from a very nice suburb in Michigan. We are moving for a new start and the weather. We do not have jobs yet, so we would be looking for jobs as well. Both have bachelor degrees in communications. I understand it is very costly to live in California, but I was wondering if there was anywhere to live that wasn't so high in cost. Here is my ideal criteria not in any particular order: 1. Safe area 2. Parking 3. Good schools (we plan on having kids in the next 2 years.) 4. I would like to be located near things like the mall and places to eat. I don't want to have to drive 20 minutes to do things. I have heard of Culver City, Santa Monica, Tarzana, Woodland Hills, Silverlake, Los Feliz, Burbank, Glendale and Calabasas, but I have no idea about any of them. Any info please!

Answer 1

Thousand oaks, Newberry Park and check out a job a John Robert Powers

Answer 2

My advice would be to live temporarily in the Oakwood Apartments while you search for jobs. Then, once you have jobs, find an area nearby in order to minimize your commute.



We see this every day in this forum: Everyone hears about the great weather in SoCal or believes they are the next great actor/model/singer, then starts looking for the "cheap, clean, and safe". It's all about supply and demand: If it's in SoCal, then it's not going to be cheap to begin with. If it's clean and safe, then it's more expensive. If you need good schools, add a couple hundred bucks a month on top of it.



If you want to live here and enjoy the weather, then you have to pay for it. You put up with the smog and the traffic, enjoy the weather and pay your rent or mortgage. My advice is to start checking out craigslist, rent.com, and apartments.com if you are looking to rent. You’ll quickly see that the minimum rent for a non-war zone is about $1,000-$1,200 per month for a studio or 1BR. Really nice areas (like the West LA area) easily run $3,000 or more. Want to live near the beach? Expect to pay a premium.



"LA" is such a big place, there are so many neighborhoods/cities where you can live. Of course, even within a city or neighborhood, there are safer sections and less-safe sections.



In Los Angeles, some nice sections are West LA, Brentwood, Westwood, Marina Del Rey, Playa Del Rey, Los Feliz, Silverlake, Eagle Rock, Encino, Tarzana, Studio City, Toluca Lake, Granada Hills, Woodland Hills, Sherman Oaks, West Hills, Chatsworth.



To the east: South Pasadena, parts of Pasadena, Altadena, Arcadia, Monrovia, Glendora, San Dimas, Laverne, Azusa, Rancho Cucamonga.



Along the beach: Santa Monica, Marina Del Rey, Playa Del Rey, Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Torrance, Palos Verdes, Rancho PV.



In Orange County aka "The OC": Seal Beach , Huntington Beach , Newport Beach , Corona Del Mar , Laguna Beach , Dana Point , Capistrano Beach , San Clemente , Brea, Yorba Linda, Orange, Tustin, Irvine, Laguna Hills, Rancho Santa Margarita, Lake Forest



To the west: Agoura, Calabasas, Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village, Simi Valley, Moorpark.



This is not an all-inclusive list, but it's a start.



Rather than type a longer post than I already have, check out wikipedia.org for any of the neighborhoods/cities that strike your fancy. You can find out lots of demographics just from that site alone.

Answer 3

All those areas you mentioned are still areas of Greater Los Angeles. If you didn't like Brentwood, you SURE wouldn't like them!! .. Try Orange County instead.... Newport Beach, Corona del Mar, Orange Park Acres, Villa Park, Anaheim Hills.... Plan to spend a minimum of $1M for a normal, average house in the city or near the beach. And the closer you get to the beach, the higher the price. ... None of the schools are great in California (especially compared to Michigan). You'll feel alot safer in Orange County though - at least you won't have to worry about being sniped at while you're driving on the freeway! I lived in Orange County for years, and was always on edge when I had to drive through LA..... I actually grew up in Woodland Hills, and it's way too congested there now... yuck! .Also, if you're moving to So.Cal, better brush up on your Spanish....... why not try farther north? Santa Barbara is really pretty .... The San Francisco area is super pricey too, but you could look in Walnut Creek, Danville or Moraga....

Answer 4

Santa Monica is good if you live on the right side of town. The north side of town is more like what you are describing of your ideal city, but if you more south closer to Venice, that's the part of Santa Monica you don't want to live in. Seriously though, you are going to have an incredibly difficult time finding a place to live with your criteria. If you waant safe area and good schools, you have to move further away from the city, which you don't seem all that interested in. Honestly, if you are looking to raise a family just head out to the Valley.

Answer 5

I suggest you go inland to more established cities for lower cost and less glitz and more comfort.



We started in South Pasadena, found it affordable, and ended up in Pasadena, where I have been in the same house for 31 years. It is nice! The better schools are in South Pas or San Marino, though.



20 minutes is a happy dream, as commuting is a nightmare here, however. I suggest, as always, that you find jobs first, then locate housing near work. There are many other nice communities, and living near work is really really important. Did I mention that it is important to live near work???? :)



And yes, you will find housing sticker shock, so just find something you can handle at first, then get established. I surmise in the next year, prices will come down enough to make it more affordable, so don't lock yourselves in now. Rent for now and see what develops, and then you will have a feel for the area, too.



Good luck! You will love the weather -- I did, coming from far upstate NY, and I have been here 38 years and holding!

Answer 6

I suggest NorCal over SoCal. SoCal has too much crime and is much more expensive. It also has INSANE traffic! NorCal is good because it has better schools and is generally safer. If you like malls I highly suggest San Jose, CA (where I'm from) There they have Westfield Valley fair which is HUGE!! (It's bigger than the San Fran mall...) and they have Santana Row, a luxury shopping center. They also have things to do like concerts at the HP pavillion and broadway plays at the theater. The best part about NorCal is it's all connected by a train system- BART.



Yeah, I am a San Jose native, but I currently live in Brentwood, CA (the one in NorCal!) The Brentwood in NorCal is a BOOMING area with state of the art schools (Heritage High is by far the best, and recieved many awards for it's superiority.) and tons of new malls and shopping centers opening. You can also drive to the local BART station and go chill in SF on the weekend. It is a very safe area and is very community oriented. There are also many wonderful golf courses, if you enjoy golf..



NorCal is way better than SoCal, in my opinion. :) SoCal is very overrated...check out NorCal, it is still warm and sunny, it's just way better than the OC!

Answer 7

If you like suburb, san diego is your best bet. Prices are much more reasonable for housing in San Diego than LA. For example. A nice house like this one:http://www.silvermoonlighting.net/images/g-SMe094x6-2.jpg would be about 7 or 8 million in LA, but only 2 million in San Diego. The area is very safe. Check out the city of Poway( city in San Diego) and you would be amazed by how much safer it is than the majority of cities. There are many good schools, and the Poway Unified School District as well as the Torrey Pines School District were rated as some the top districts of the country. Living in LA will require you to drive 20 minutes to get somewhere if you're lucky. Traffic is so incredibly horrible. In San Diego, traffic is rarely ever bad, and everything is so close, you could walk to restaurants. I used to live in LA, so i recognize the cities you have mentioned. They are all great, but if you do chose to live there, be ready for stress(traffic causes stress). Also, the people in San Diego are so nice, I forgot what it was like to live in a place where drivers cut you off.



Hope I helped!

Answer 8

I'm from Michigan and lived in both the San Fernando Valley and the San Gabriel Valley, both you would not like, it is very crowded now. Now I live in Simi Valley, in Ventura County. It is the best place to live if you have a family. I love it here. Can't say that I loved the other two valleys. It is going to be a big culture shock for you. You might even hate it if you don't start out on a good foot out here. I definitely recommend Simi Valley for you.

Answer 9

Job market is somewhat better in San Diego. Not the best, but you'd have better chances. In Los Angeles it's extremely hard to get into the pocket for job offers. Good luck though.

Answer 10

i live in Huntinton beach it is the best city i love it here and my high school is great i live 5 min from the beach and the waves are great plus there are 3 juinor colleges with in 15 min away email me if you have any other questons good luck!

Answer 11

You should consider Toluca Lake.

Or Palos Verdes.

Answer 12

corona. or hunnington beach.

a nice place where you have the beach and mountains!

your in SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA!

orange county! what could be better!

and what about being in somewhere where the beach is literally 5 minutes away, LA is too much for a family. but its still close.



good luck:)

Answer 13

Compton

Answer 14

Temecula?? They have nice malls =)

Answer 15

Compton !