Gay English Couple with Teenage kids moving to LA (Los Angeles: to rent, condo)

[goonerkatie]

Hi ,

We are an English female gay couple who are buying a business in LA and moving with 2 of my partner's older teenage children, one of whom is going to study for a MA in Forensic Psychology at CSU next year

We were interested in renting initially in Santa Clarita, but when we you tubed were amazed to see so many Prop 8 demos and a real sense of homophobia. This may not be an accurate picture of the city, but wondering if anyone could suggest to us areas that are not necessarily fly the Pride Flag , but we could live in a community and feel part of it as we do here in England as Civil Partners :-)

We would be grateful for any experiences / views / ideas.

Thanks so much

Kate and Tracy
London, England :-)

[disgruntled la native]

Agreed that Santa Clarita might not be the best place for you.

Most anywhere in the city of LA is fine. Hollywood, the Westside (Santa Monica, Brentwood, Venice, West LA, etc) West Hollywood is gay and lesbian central but not the best place for families. Most of the city of LA, culver city, beverly hills, santa monica will be okay. It depends more on your budget and wants.

[DynamoLA]

There seems to be quite a few gay families down in the Long Beach area (Belmont Shore specifically). Our friends (gay couple) live down their with their newborn and they love it. And I know they have gay friends who have children down there as well.

[West of Encino]

The only places I can think of that are gay-friendly are West Hollywood and Long Beach, where parts are family friendly.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by goonerkatie

buying a business in LA
older teenage children
study for a MA in Forensic Psychology at CSU

Where in LA? Will you be commuting there?
What CSU? Northridge? Los Angeles? Which one?
What type of housing are you looking for? House, Condo, etc?
Renting or buying? Budget?
How old is the teenager not attending CSU?

[goonerkatie]

Hi Charles

LA campus, the youngest son will be 18 years old. We are buying business in west hollywood. Renting for 6 months till be establish ourselves and unfortunately our budget for property at the beginning will only be $2000-$3000 a month until we are settled. We are happy to commute approx 15 miles either way .......

Sorry not be more specific

Katie x

[majoun]

Originally Posted by goonerkatie

Hi ,

We are an English female gay couple who are buying a business in LA and moving with 2 of my partner's older teenage children, one of whom is going to study for a MA in Forensic Psychology at CSU next year

We were interested in renting initially in Santa Clarita, but when we you tubed were amazed to see so many Prop 8 demos and a real sense of homophobia. This may not be an accurate picture of the city, but wondering if anyone could suggest to us areas that are not necessarily fly the Pride Flag , but we could live in a community and feel part of it as we do here in England as Civil Partners :-)

We would be grateful for any experiences / views / ideas.

Thanks so much

Kate and Tracy
London, England :-)

Santa Monica. Good schools, plenty of Brits (I assume from your C-D name you're Arsenal fans?), very tolerant of gays and lesbians (although there is no gay neighborhood per se), mostly family friendly. Think Brighton with better weather. Unfortunately, it's very expensive. The inland parts of SM are cheaper than the areas near the beach, though.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by goonerkatie

Hi Charles

LA campus, the youngest son will be 18 years old. We are buying business in west hollywood. Renting for 6 months till be establish ourselves and unfortunately our budget for property at the beginning will only be $2000-$3000 a month until we are settled. We are happy to commute approx 15 miles either way .......

Sorry not be more specific

Katie x

With that, I would rule Santa Clarita out. Traffic is a huge factor so finding a reasonable commute for your family will make living in a neighborhood full of Strom Thurmonds worth it.

Good idea to rent to scope out everything. The risk is that if you move the other child may have to change schools??? Sort of destabilizing?

[majoun]

Originally Posted by West of Encino

The only places I can think of that are gay-friendly are West Hollywood and Long Beach, where parts are family friendly.

Silver Lake is L.A.'s original "gay village" and was the birthplace of the gay rights movement in the US ; surprised you didn't think of it. Karen Bass' Congressional district has the 3rd highest gay population of any Congressional district in the state, with only Pelosi's and Waxman's having more, due to Silver Lake being in her district.

Venice, while not a "gay neighborhood" because no part of Venice is dominated by gays, has a very large gay population and is gay-friendly. Santa Monica and Beverly Hills both have a higher percentage of gays than the LA, CA, and US averages, and are gay-friendly, though they lack actual "gay neighborhoods". The Westside in general is just fine for gays. The southeast Valley neighborhoods should also be OK. Hollywood, Los Feliz, Echo Park, and downtown L.A. are tolerant of gays.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by Charles

With that, I would rule Santa Clarita out. Traffic is a huge factor so finding a reasonable commute for your family will make living in a neighborhood full of Strom Thurmonds worth it.

Good idea to rent to scope out everything. The risk is that if you move the other child may have to change schools??? Sort of destabilizing?

How gay-friendly is Glendale? Pretty good schools, one of the safest cities in the entire country, and a relatively central location between WeHo and CSULA. I'm not sure if Armenian machismo would be an issue or not. At least it's not as right wing as Santa Clarita (or how Glendale itself was in the old days, when it was full of Strom Thurmond types....)

The problem with a truly central location between the school and business would be the schools. If not for the schools issue Silver Lake would be pretty close to ideal, unfortunately the schools are LAUSD crap schools.

Santa Monica would be very impractical as it's too far away, super-expensive, and the commute even to West Hollywood would be hellish.