Middle-class Family considering an NYC to LA Move (Los Angeles, Long Beach: apartment, hotel)

[readytoleavenyc]

Uptown, unfortunately, it is a rare job in my profession that offers relocation money, so we won't be looking for that, but I'll make sure to convey that to any potential employers so they don't write me off.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions!

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Sounds like you have a reasonably good situation in NYC, why go through the hassle of moving?

California is in much worse fiscal condition than New York State.

NYC has been a better managed city for the past 15 years than LA has been.

You need to be clear on your goals. If a move will not really foster your goals and will not specifically improve the effectiveness of your "life roadmap" then it is not advisable.

[Miss Pip]

Originally Posted by BayAreaHillbilly

Sounds like you have a reasonably good situation in NYC, why go through the hassle of moving?...

Maybe because they want a change? Maybe they want more sunshine in their life? Maybe they're sick of the environment they're in??

I wouldn't want to live in New York, it's too much and the men are so aggressive. It doesn't matter what you're wearing, you could be looking like sh*t and they still hassle you. California is way more relaxing. At least when you're stuck in traffic you can look at the mountains and palm trees and get inspired. From my experience, LA seems to be way cheaper than NYC and the apartments here are bigger.

[LuckyGem]

Originally Posted by readytoleavenyc

My partner & I have lived in New York for 12 years. The problem with New York is that a) it's so expensive we really can't afford to live here anymore (well, we could if we want to cram into a tiny apartment in a sh*tty school district) and b) it makes most every place else we've considered moving (Philly, NJ suburbs of NYC, Atlanta) feel like a step-down (I know there are great things about each place- I'm talking about for US, not looking to start an argument!). Right now, we can't move, but we think about it a lot! We plan to in 3 years, max. I know... it's a little early to think about this, but I'm a planner!

For the longest time, we've ruled out a move out west because our families are all east and we figured we'd missed our chance to make a big move (we're in our mid to late 30s), but last week, we both admitted that if we were honest with ourselves, we'd like to try LA when we're ready to leave NY. We can both get jobs there and the climate/lifestyle are uber-appealing.

However, I've been looking at LA real estate prices and they're really giving me pause. Right now, we don't pay much in rent by NYC standards ($1600/mo for a 2 bedroom) and would be willing to pay more, but everything I'm seeing is WAAAAY more. Obviously, we are used to a pretty high cost-of-living otherwise. Is it completely impossible to find a 3-4 bedroom house/townhome in the LA area in a good school district under $3000 ($2500 would still be a stretch, if I'm being honest) without commuting for hours at a time?

If you think it's doable, what areas should we look at?

A little about us: We are a lesbian couple with kids, so we'd like someplace gay-friendly or at least not crazy conservative/homophobic. I work for a law firm (not an attorney), so I'd most likely working where the big firms are, which seems to be the westside (correct me if I'm wrong, please!). Partner's a designer. Right now, she's staying home with the kids, but plans to find work in her field in a few years. Even with both of us working, we will probably only make 100-120K combined and we're still paying a good chunk of income to student loans. We consider ourselves fairly liberal and we like to keep up on culture(politics/music/art/etc).

The neighborhood doesn't need to be glamorous or trendy. I don't need "nightlife"- we have three kids, so a night out is a restaurant meal or movie every few months. A couple decent non-chain neighborhood restaurants and a coffee shop that isn't Starbucks would be great. A school where my kids will get a good education and be treated with respect. I'd rather not live in a new housing development. My current commute is 50 minutes walking/subway... I know I'll probably be driving but I'd like to keep it w/in that time frame.

Ideas, comments, suggestions? Thanks!

All of your concerns seem to be surrounding your living arrangements, but you have children and their education cannot be entrusted to the LA Unified School District.

Unless you can afford to keep your kids out of the LA Unified School District schools I suggest that you stay where you are.

A private school here can cost up to and above $40,000 per school year.

You should be investigating school districts FIRST and their performance before you decide on any neighborhood and allow that to dictate where you live.

http://www.greatschools.org/californ...hool-District/

[SportyandMisty]

You may well discover the housing price premium for the better school districts is high enough to warrant living in a non-premium school district neighborhood and sending your kids to private school.

At the end of the day, there are precious few things we as parents do that have a direct impact on our children. One of those is choosing what schools we send our kids to. By virtue of deciding that (because of where we choose to live), we are determining the universe of potential friends. We determine the population from which our kids will choose their peers.

Don't skimp on the kids.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Seeing as how I've done lots of travel to and time in Eastern cities for work, and carefully observed coworkers' lives ...

I'll be even more blunt about schools. In general, in California, no matter where, they stink. Private is slightly better but diluted by the many "refugees" from the disastrous public systems. I think something many Easterners take for granted is the generally higher standards and better quality of teaching in their schools. Even modest middle class areas in most of the classic northern East Coast urban areas and suburbs blow away all but the best ones in rich areas here. The whole atmosphere in the Eastern schools is superior, with the notable exception of ones in true ghetto areas. "Tradition" has a certain intangible quality that is hard to recreate in the "boomtown" environments of the West Coast. I'm not referring to social conservatism, I am referring to educational mentality.

It's particularly fascinating to me since I am a product of West Coast public schools. Granted it was during better times but even then, I see retrospectively something must have been lacking. Now as an experienced business person, I can clearly see that schools here do not form people the way ones in the East do. This actually hindered my early career progress and I've been forced to fill in the gaps in refinement on the fly as an adult. Do not underestimate all this. It is a true innate structural deficiency in the systems here.

[Daisy32673]

Originally Posted by readytoleavenyc

Well, OF COURSE I'd be competing with people who already live there. Wouldn't that be the case anywhere one decides to move? I'm well qualified with many years of experience at major firms. I'd think that puts me in as good a position as possible, under the circumstances.

I either get a job in LA and we move... or I get a job somewhere else and we move there. I'm not sure what your point is.

This is not common sense for everyone (surprisingly enough). So its perfectly normal for people to lay it out there when we get theever-so-common "should I move to LA?" thread.

Everybody rents here, the housing market is still ridiculous and you can buy a shack for a million bucks. And it seems to me you would be trading one HCOL city for another. We live in whats considered to be a safe area (Pasadena) and pay $3000 for a 1500 sq foot home which is on the average side of things. And the safer the neighborhood/the better the schools the more you pay.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by BayAreaHillbilly

Seeing as how I've done lots of travel to and time in Eastern cities for work, and carefully observed coworkers' lives ...

I'll be even more blunt about schools. In general, in California, no matter where, they stink. Private is slightly better but diluted by the many "refugees" from the disastrous public systems. I think something many Easterners take for granted is the generally higher standards and better quality of teaching in their schools. Even modest middle class areas in most of the classic northern East Coast urban areas and suburbs blow away all but the best ones in rich areas here. The whole atmosphere in the Eastern schools is superior, with the notable exception of ones in true ghetto areas. "Tradition" has a certain intangible quality that is hard to recreate in the "boomtown" environments of the West Coast. I'm not referring to social conservatism, I am referring to educational mentality.

It's particularly fascinating to me since I am a product of West Coast public schools. Granted it was during better times but even then, I see retrospectively something must have been lacking. Now as an experienced business person, I can clearly see that schools here do not form people the way ones in the East do. This actually hindered my early career progress and I've been forced to fill in the gaps in refinement on the fly as an adult. Do not underestimate all this. It is a true innate structural deficiency in the systems here.

Interesting perspective (your perspectives are always interesting). So the East Coast people are correct when they slam education in California (along with virtually everything else that's different from the East Coast)? I read that New Jersey is the most educated state in the USA, probably for the reasons you gave, and contrary to public perception. (Much of which is shaped by New Yorkers' disdain for their neighbor ; ironically, there are more NYC natives in North Jersey than Manhattan these days because the natives got priced out. Just like what's happened in cities like L.A., S.F., and S.D.)

Tradition is something that Southern California has zero respect for and Northern California doesn't have that much more respect for despite what people claim. As you say, it has nothing to do with conservatism or liberalism.

[West of Encino]

Originally Posted by majoun

Interesting perspective (your perspectives are always interesting). So the East Coast people are correct when they slam education in California (along with virtually everything else that's different from the East Coast)? I read that New Jersey is the most educated state in the USA, probably for the reasons you gave, and contrary to public perception. (Much of which is shaped by New Yorkers' disdain for their neighbor ; ironically, there are more NYC natives in North Jersey than Manhattan these days because the natives got priced out. Just like what's happened in cities like L.A., S.F., and S.D.)

Tradition is something that Southern California has zero respect for and Northern California doesn't have that much more respect for despite what people claim. As you say, it has nothing to do with conservatism or liberalism.

I'm afraid the culture in Southern California is at risk of becoming New York's.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by West of Encino

I'm afraid the culture in Southern California is at risk of becoming New York's.

The entertainment industry has long been dominated by people from the Northeast, particularly white ethnics.

Overall, however, the entertainment industry having established itself in L.A. was a plus for L.A. It widened the cultural horizons of what was a very provincial and backwards city which 100 years ago was the most WASP dominated city outside the South and which didn't allow diversity west of the L.A. River. L.A. slowly losing it is indeed a tragedy. While there are and always have been negative aspects of the entertainment industry, looking at the larger picture its impact had more positive than negative aspects. It helped lessen provincialism and played a major role in L.A.'s economy. It was a major source of the high paying blue collar jobs that built L.A. and which are gone now. (In areas like the San Fernando Valley or the Westside, most of the population either worked for the studios or for the defense industry at one time.) It did do a great deal to shape the L.A. that us natives knew. Without it, L.A. would be a far different place.