we're overwhelmed-moving from St Louis to LA-what high schools are good etc (Santa Monica: 2010, rental)

[jmedude]

Thanks for any advice!!We are relocating to LA from ST Louis. We lived in Switzerland before St Louis and are originally from the east coast. We are nervous about going to LA and have sticker-shock. The job is in Beverly Hills.We have a 10th grade girl. What are good high schools (private or public)?She is an average student and great at sports! What is a good place to live? We'll be lucky to get $650,000 for our St Louis home. We can afford up to $1,200,000. We thank you for any hints or tips as we go through this process.

[TheRealAngelion]

Here's a link to a recent thread on the topic of good places to live in LA for families.


http://www.city-data.com/forum/los-a...s-live-la.html

[jessemh431]

you have a very good price range. so that we can help you decide on area closest to the job, could you give us a more exact intersection.

[JackSparrow]

Simply put, a budgeted $1.2m will get you into any area of LA.

[RedNC]

I would find a rental home for now. The market is still going through a correction you will be able to get a lot more for your money next year or maybe 2009, 2010.

[Rats]

If your daughter is an average (B and C) student, she will have a very tough time in elite public school districts like La Canada, Las Virgenes, San Marino, Walnut Valley, and Manhattan Beach. You will probably have to get her some tutoring, since good school districts have extremely tough curriculum. A normal class in one of these schools is the equivalent of an AP class at average (LAUSD) schools. Sorry for being so blunt; that's just the way it is here. I graduated from La Canada HS so I know this first hand.

[katenik]

just because you have $1M+ to spend on housing doesn't mean you'll necessarily end up in a good school district. lots of neighborhoods with homes in that range are zoned to terrible schools, particularly at the secondary level. (sounds crazy, i know!) however, with a work address in beverly hills, you might be able to get your daughter into school there via the permit program for children of parents working in the district. that way, you have the option of living closer to work, in what might be a great neighborhood with so-so to crappy schools. beverlywood and cheviot hills are nice, family-oriented areas close enough to BH to provide an easy surface-street commute to work for you, while allowing your daughter to live relatively near the friends she would make at school in BH and not feel like an outsider.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by katenik

just because you have $1M+ to spend on housing doesn't mean you'll necessarily end up in a good school district. lots of neighborhoods with homes in that range are zoned to terrible schools, particularly at the secondary level. (sounds crazy, i know!) however, with a work address in beverly hills, you might be able to get your daughter into school there via the permit program for children of parents working in the district. that way, you have the option of living closer to work, in what might be a great neighborhood with so-so to crappy schools. beverlywood and cheviot hills are nice, family-oriented areas close enough to BH to provide an easy surface-street commute to work for you, while allowing your daughter to live relatively near the friends she would make at school in BH and not feel like an outsider.

Beverlywood and Cheviot are both nice areas, although the schools in those neighborhoods are godawful and have been for years. I'd pick Westwood over either one, though - the advantage that Cheviot used to have was that it was cheaper than Westwood and Beverly Hills, and that's become a thing of the past. Unless your kids are able to drive they'd be better off a bit further north.

[LivingLikeAGradStudent]

Plenty of places to rent near enough to Beverly Hills High or Santa Monica High for 4K a month.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by LivingLikeAGradStudent

Plenty of places to rent near enough to Beverly Hills High or Santa Monica High for 4K a month.

On that budget, you have a huge number of options in Beverly Hills and Santa Monica.