Hello, Info on LA Suburbs Please (Los Angeles, San Francisco: lease, crime, how much)

[LABound]

Hey! I just read this thread. I am currently relocating to LA from Columbus, Ohio. Wow. I don't know where to start. I grew up in San Diego and moved to Ohio when my grandmother had a stroke when I was 15. That was 15 years ago and I'm ready to go back. I love diversity. I am bi-racial. But, at the same time I want to find an area with a good school system (I have a 9 and 15 year old). Plan on renting for the first year while I get to know my sales territory. Then, buying a 3 bdrm next summer. I am also an actress and want to live close enough to audition. Burbank, Glendale, and Norco have been suggested to me. Any thoughts?

[fastfilm]

Burbank and Glendale are near the studios, have better schools, and in general, will satisfy all your requirements nicely. Be prepared to pay a bit more than you may have budgeted. I haven't a clue why someone suggested Norco to you, unless you own several horses. Norco, built around horse ownership, is quite a long distance away, San Bernardino county, past Chino and on the way towards San Diego county!

[newulm]

i heard that compton and inglewood are very nice parts of town, try those

[jhay1816]

fastfilm is right, burbank and glendale are very nice place to live. its close to everything like shopping malls(media center, galleria), recreational park(universal, sixflags) airports, etc... they have top notched schools and nice communities too. the only thing is that renting in these area are ridiculously expensive like $1500 2bd apt. also if your considering getting a house here, prices for a 3bd house are around 800-1000k in "just ok" neighborhood and millions for a relatively nice neighborhood.

i know your just kidding about compton being a "nice part of town" right? newulm.....

[TriciaK57]

I hope anyone pondering a move to Los Angeles or surrounding area will deeply consider the cost of living vs. your salary. I'm fortunate to be born and raised here, own properties, and have enough equity to sell and move elsewhere in style when the time comes to retire, otherwise, I'd never "move" here. If you aren't bringing in at least a 6-figure salary, your lifestyle standard will be mediocre, at best. I wouldn't board a horse in the shacks that pass for a home these days, let alone pay the $350-$450K asking price for them. If you are used to such amenities as a swimming pool; nice architecture, sidewalks, or a guest house or even 2-3 bathrooms, you will be sorely disappointed, unless you have a million dollars to spend. Trash, filth, grafitti are things no one should have to get used to. They are unavoidable in L.A. Living in Redondo Beach or Baldwin Hills.. well, you have to come outta the water and off the hill some time. The "new" families consist of several working adults and children crowded up in a single family home just so they can afford to pay $3,500-$7,500 mortgages. Simply put... traffic sucks. People do not live where they work. Everybody has a car (but not insurance) and every individual has a different place to be so you get a thousand cars in the same 20 mile radius on any given day. It never ends. I used to pacify myself with: "The weather is so nice" and "I'm so close to the beach house AND the mountain cabin". Time to take off the rose-colored glasses. I don't see my tax dollars at work anymore. One last thought: Norco, which is actually in Riverside County, is a great place to live... if you are a cow, a fly, a horse or maybe a goat.

[GregJ]

Such optimism. Back to the original question: Southern California is more than "LA" just like NY is more than "Harlem". Plenty of decent and liveable suburban places to rent or, just like everyplace else, work hard and save some bucks and buy a home. Yep, houses here are expensive but people here make more $$$$ than somebody doing the same job in Cleveland.

I agree that there are few places in Los Angeles that I'd want to (or be able to afford to) live. Suggest looking west at Ventura Co, north at Valencia/Santa Clarita/Canyon Country, or east at Chino Hills/Corona/Riverside Co.

[TriciaK57]

If I read your inference correctly, you've obviously not been to New York lately. Harlem has returned to its original renaissance grandeur and is a true diverse area where you at least get what you pay for. LA Bound specifically indicates she is looking to relocate within reasonable proximity near or in LOS ANGELES to pursue an acting career and attend auditions. Thus, your options are restricted if you hope to avoid the traffic grind. Even so, teeny, basic homes in Riverside start at $350 and you easily face a 2 hour commute. Chino Hills is certainly not "affordable" by the average standard as isn't most of Corona. I don't know about Ventura, maybe worth a looksee.

[brian_2]

I'm going to be razzed for this, but here goes - LA and environs really do have poor air quality (although you hear lots of spin about how much things have improved since unleaded gas), but San Bernardino has unbelievably bad air quality. Think of driving the 210 from North Hollywood area to Pasadena and trying to see the walls on the sides of the freeway shrouded in recycled traffic exhaust, now imagine that multiplied several times through an entire county - that's San Bernardino more than half the year. One year living there is the equivalent of smoking how many cigarettes - you want that for your kids? Come on, admit it. Glendale (Armenian capital of USA - please no offense, I worked with friends of Armenian ancestry) does have nice neighborhoods, not the level of La Canada/Cresenta, but not as costly either. From a 72 degree day in Glendale, you can often drive a beautiful mountain forest drive up to the snow flurries in Wrightwood - nice to do if you can.

[Chunk]

I know that there is a lot of money in LA but there are jobs that pay the same in other cities. I know living in the Hills is nice but like you said you have to come down sometime. There are selling million dollar homes daily and some of those are vacation homes. But why are people moving here? I know with me another office didn't have the positiion open. Is it really that much better if your rich?

[mom2gurls]

From someone who was brought up on in "The OC" and moved the burbs on ny.

I would say for those who are looking for a good schools, cleaner infrastructure and more of a white collar area...I say head to orange county. It was great growing up there in the hills and I still keep in communication with friends who have stayed there. Of course there is santa ana..to which I just avoided and never went..the schools systems are good, you pay for it...but again..if you do a NYC commute via train, then you will do the same in LA via car.