Manhattan Beach (Torrance, Santa Monica, Hermosa Beach: low crime, home, high school)

[calibeach]

Per my previous posts, I have been looking for the best place in the LA area for young professionals. Today I visited Santa Monica and Manhattan Beach.

I found that Santa Monica was nice but a bit too touristy and South Beach-ish. Manhattan Beach was nicer and it had a more local, beachy, casual feel to it, while still being close to everything Santa Monica and LA have to offer.

Any information about Manhattan Beach, jobs in the area, and housing would be greatly appreciated. What major corporations and industries are in the area? What are the demographics of Manhattan Beach? Are there a lot of recent college grads there?

[Jonah K]

Originally Posted by calibeach

Any information about Manhattan Beach, jobs in the area, and housing would be greatly appreciated. What major corporations and industries are in the area? What are the demographics of Manhattan Beach? Are there a lot of recent college grads there?

The links below should answer most of the questions that you have about Manhattan Beach...
http://www.ci.manhattan-beach.ca.us/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhatt...ch,_California

[PureHapa]

It's a very nice, if dense area. It's basically a bedroom-community suburb, so there's no industry to speak of. Everyone commutes out. It's highly-educated yuppie-ville (that from a Yuppy I guess - actually I'm a DINK and too old to be a real Yuppy anymore, LOL.)

[calibeach]

Originally Posted by PureHapa

It's a very nice, if dense area. It's basically a bedroom-community suburb, so there's no industry to speak of. Everyone commutes out. It's highly-educated yuppie-ville (that from a Yuppy I guess - actually I'm a DINK and too old to be a real Yuppy anymore, LOL.)

Thanks for the info. What is a bedroom-community and what areas do most people who live there commute to for work?

[PureHapa]

A bedroom community is an urban community that is primarily residential, from which most of the workforce commute out of the community to earn their livelihood.

Where do they commute? All over the place - to the airport, to West L.A., El Segundo, Century City, downtown L.A., etc.

[CLQ]

Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach are good places to live for young professionals and the commutes are great if you work in El Segundo where there is Mattel, Boeing, Raytheon, Directv. There are a lot of young, single professionals that like beach living.

Santa Monica is nice too but there are a lot of homeless people there and it smells like urine.

[James T]

Parts of Manhatten Beach can be an odd mix of newcomer yuppies vs. uneducated hillbilly legacy property owners. Very annoying...

[TheRealAngelion]

Originally Posted by calibeach

I found that Santa Monica was nice but a bit too touristy and South Beach-ish.

Sounds like you were mostly in downtown SM around 3rd Street. The area north of Wilshire around Montana Avenue is less touristy and has a more locals feel to it. Main Street which is south of Pico is a little less touristy as well.

[DontH8Me]

Raleigh Studios is in Manhattan Beach - that's about the biggest employer I can think of at this time that's in MB. But as a previous poster mentioned, there are a lot of big corps around LAX/ElSegundo, and quite a few in Torrance as well.

James is right about the legacy property owners being sprinkled throughout the area, but they are fewer and farther between nowadays after the housing bubble (many took advantage and cashed out their golden eggs).

[lily finch]

i lived in and was raised in Manhattan Beach and graduated high school in Redondo....a lot of memories there that date back to the 60's and the first time i shook Bobby Kenndys hand and met Jim Morrison on Rosecrans in an old warehouse (memories to ME anyway). Now i own my own home in rancho cucamonga. i just found this site and looked up MANHATTAN BEACH for fun. More than 85% white, more than 67% with a decent higher education, low crime rate, on and on. It's no wonder i'm miserable living on the edge of the HOT desert surrounded by a bunch of illegal aliens and no place to fish. i lived in paradise and just didnt adapt. Save your cards and letters. i will not argue the obvious. i'm out of estrogen and i've got a gun.