Anyone from Santa Fe Springs, CA? (Long Beach, Whittier: neighborhood, living, cost of living)

[robertin75]

Hello:

I am considering applying for a job located in Santa Fe Springs, CA as a Software Engineer.

A recruiter contacted me a couple of weeks ago.

Currently I live and work in Indiana but the weather is hitting my seasonal affective disorder pretty hard.

Besides there's not much to do in winter time.

My doctor encouraged me to move more to the South if possible.

Anyone lives or has lived in Santa Fe Springs?

How's the weather, people, cost of living (I assume much higher than Indiana of course), etc.

Any information that you could provide me would be great.

Thanks,
Roberto

[EscapeCalifornia]

SFS is mostly industrial so not a lot of people actually live there. Its surrounded by plenty of residential cities but many of them are pretty ghetto. Commuting is better if you live south of SFS rather than north due to traffic. Cerritos, Cypress, or parts of Long Beach are decent.

[robertin75]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

SFS is mostly industrial so not a lot of people actually live there. Its surrounded by plenty of residential cities but many of them are pretty ghetto. Commuting is better if you live south of SFS rather than north due to traffic. Cerritos, Cypress, or parts of Long Beach are decent.

Thanks for your comments.

So how far would the commuting be from SFS to those towns?

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by robertin75

Thanks for your comments.

So how far would the commuting be from SFS to those towns?

Mostly within 30 minutes. Time of day has a big impact on commute time. A lot of software engineers I know have flexible schedules and can often work from home. Anything you can do be avoid being on the freeways between 6-9am and 4-7pm will help.

[BRinSM]

what kind of neighborhood are you looking for? i wouldn't personally live in SFS, but you have plenty of options within 30 minutes or so. On top of what has already been mentioned, whittier and la mirada come to mind.

[robertin75]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

Mostly within 30 minutes. Time of day has a big impact on commute time. A lot of software engineers I know have flexible schedules and can often work from home. Anything you can do be avoid being on the freeways between 6-9am and 4-7pm will help.

I doubt that my work schedule (of course in case I get the job) does not fall between those times.

I thought that being small towns the traffic would not be so crowded but from what you are saying seems like it's the same traffic that you would find in L.A.

[robertin75]

Originally Posted by BRinSM

what kind of neighborhood are you looking for? i wouldn't personally live in SFS, but you have plenty of options within 30 minutes or so. On top of what has already been mentioned, whittier and la mirada come to mind.

Any quiet neighboorhood with the basic stuff (wal mart, gym, etc.)

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by robertin75

I doubt that my work schedule (of course in case I get the job) does not fall between those times.

I thought that being small towns the traffic would not be so crowded but from what you are saying seems like it's the same traffic that you would find in L.A.

While any particular city may have a population that would put it in the "small city" category, the fact that its in an endless sea of such cities means the overall population is huge. The cities all run together for 50 miles in every direction.

[ragnarkar]

I've driven through the city en route to other places.. don't really like the looks of the place but your own tastes may vary. I-5 being only 3 lanes wide when it needs 5+ doesn't really help either.

There are plenty of decent places nearby.. Cerritos, Whittier, La Mirada to name a few..

[robertin75]

So driving from SFS to any of those cities (Cerritos, Whittier, La Mirada , etc.) would take how long in peek hours (6-9am and 4-7pm )?

more than 30 mins?

an hour?

more than an hour?

Thanks