Hello, Info on LA Suburbs Please (Los Angeles, San Diego: renting, houses, neighborhood)

[BobbyB]

Originally Posted by Josh22

To Richard Beddington: Most of these people here don't know what they are talking about.

I live in Torrance, and these people here don't know what they are talking above. I've had my car broken into, the mirrors stolen, and the APT we lived in has been robbed once or twice, and my moms car broken into multiple times. I live in East torrance.

Now, west Torrance though is pretty safe. You're borderline PV, nuff said. East torrance is a different story. All the gangs of torrance live in East torrance, and it's borderline Carson.

West torrance and East torrance are two different cities. In west torrance you see old white people walking around. In east torrance you see graffiti, trash, and a bunch of mexicans sitting around waiting for someone to pick them up for work. (no racial offense intended here, it's just the truth)




As a matter of fact, go to google.com and in the search type in "Eastside torrance". What do you see? All gangs. Yep



So if you're going to move to torrance don't be fooled - make sure you you live in the right part of Torrance. West torrance is safe. North is mostly safe, although not as good as West. South torrance, I have no idea. East torrance isn't safe.

Otherwise, if you can afford PV, Redondo, hermosa, then move there. (:


You even got rappers coming outta East torrance: http://hellafyderecords.com/diablos.htm

What Police Dept showed up to your apartment break in? I 'll bet dollars for donuts that it was LAPD, with a slim chance of being Carson Sheriff (there is a bit of an overlap in areas there). If it was anything other than Torrance Police Dept, you don't live in Torrance.

I too Live in Torrance. I grew up on the East side between Carson and Torrance Blvd, Western and Normandie. Some people call this area "Torrance", but it isn't. It's in fact Harbor Gateway, formerly LA Stip. It is the LA area between Carson and Torrance. I considered it Carson growing up, but we just called it "the Strip." Where do you live? It sounds like over off 204th street. That is a pretty bad area. The mexican day labnors you speak of gather at the 7-11 on the corner of Carson and Western, right? These guys are just trying to make a buck. I have a hired a few do yard clean up.

I think you are confusing the South and West Torrance areas. The South Torrance area is at the base of PV. West is mostly bordered by Redondo beach. The area titles are dictated by the high schools that serve the area. South High and West High areas are split by Sepulveda. I am not sure what the east/west split line is, maybe Madrona/Prairie?

Why are you living in an apartment in East Torrance? Don't take it the wrong way, I just know that you can find a house to rent for reasonable prices. I lived on the 1400 block of 216th Street for about 5 years. When I moved in it was $850 a month, and that was through a prop managment co. It crept up over the years, and by the time I moved out in 2003, it was $1050. I think they rent it out for like $1200 (still talk to the neighbors there once in a while). But, it had a huge yard (I needed it too with all three of those dogs. That area is pretty common for that, although 216th street has some narrow ones (35'X150'). The house I grew up in on Halldale was like 50'X135', and it was about 4 blocks north. Cool places over there to be had, but folks are scared to go across Western. All I'm sayin is get out there and look around. I think you are living in more of a Carson area then Torrance. You can find a decent apartment on Arlington near 235th, or even over off Anza and Emerald (west High area). Or, try to find a house where you are.

You are right about the gangs. There is a gang called EST (east side Torrance) that's been around since I was a kid. They are east of western(not Torrance). There is also Tortilla Flats & 204th (not Torrance either). Now La Rana IS in Torrance, and I think that is about 4 generations over there. But I drove down Del Amo the other day on my way to Fantastic Cafe, and I still got my rims

Try to find a more suitable apt for you and your Mom. It sounds like you are in a bad situation over there. I would consider Lomita. You can find a comparably priced apt there, and that is a great little community. I wish you the best. If you want more info, PM and maybe I can help you find something better.

-BobbyB

[CBaillo]

rofl Tortilla Flats..i havent heard that name in ages.

[newportbeachsmostwanted]

Being a resident in Manhattan Beach myself for a while.. I explored Torrance. Yup, it's great that you can get a home there still for 550k, which would cost 1.5 mill in Manhattan or even Hermosa. To me- the advantages of living in Torrance would be less crowded, and pretty efficient surface streets. However, the Del Amo mall is a relic that hasn't been updated since the 1980's, and the stores are nothing special. --With that said, there is some construction planned finally to revitalize the mall with an outdoor area and theatres--not quite The Block at Torrance, but still an upgrade.

You get what you pay for there simply aren't any bargains in LA county anymore.. The nicer parts of Torrance-Hollywood riveria etc, you'll be paying 800k and upwards, East torrance-sure try that 500k home, but you'll likely get some roudy neighbors, gangs, graffitti on your sidewalk, and worse schools.

[Winston Smith]

Originally Posted by Richard Beddington

Los Angeles ... White suburb...

Man, are you lost. For your sake I hope you turned down that job. Los Angeles, indeed Southern California, is a wonderfully diverse place where 1 in 2 residents are born in another country, and half of the ones who aren't, are born in another state. You have to get used to neighbors who might not look like you ("but, that's ok," as Stuart Smalley used to say).

If you didn't turn down the job and decided to give S CA a try, I, for one, would be interested to know how well you got over yourself. Have you gotten used to seeing people of ancestries from all over the world, speaking many different languages, eating foods you've never heard of before? Tried some of that good food? If you're monolingual (English only), have you decided on your second language yet? As you probably know by now -- that is if you came here -- Spanish and Korean (among many others) are very popular in this corner of the U.S. of A.

[fastfilm]

And Armenian, and Tagalog, and Farsi, and Japanese, and Mandarin, and Cantonese, and Vietnamese, and Russian, and, and, and. . . This is what you'd require fluency in to chat with my neighbors in a 3 block radius. VERY VERY FEW of them can even garble out the most rudimentary English. And they don't care.

cr8, do you perhaps see the need for English as a "lingua franca" for living in the U.S.? None of the people speaking the above can communicate with anyone else but their own community, not with Americans, or any other person from another part of the world. This country was built by people from everywhere working together, not staying separatist, Balkanized and isolated into ethnic pockets: that's a recipe for class hatred if ever there was one, and this country has worked really hard to grow out of that. Our great nation's motto, that one sees in action everywhere but Los Angeles:E pluribus unum: from many, one: not vice versa.

[wildgift]

fastfilm is wrong, and offensive. Neighborhoods vary, but there are decent all over the city, and they aren't all white. Just drive around and find them. You can also find the good schools by looking them up on one of those school rating sites. You'll find a lot of places where a school with a score of 10 is adjacent to a school with a score of less than 5.

Also, if you're buying a house, you can do yourself a favor by checking out the neighborhood for a few weeks, living there if possible. See if people know each other, even if only by first name. You need a little cohesion to keep things on track, or bad things will happen, like, someone moves out, rents the house out, and lets too many people live there. You have to pressure the owner to sell to a single family. The neighborhood keeps the school good -- again, pressure. I grew up and live in an area that has had gangs for 40 years, used to be somewhat working class, and is heavily immigrant, but the local school gets a 10 score, and regularly sends kids to the Ivys and public Ivys (often via the public schools). Crime is pretty low (though not extremely so).

Race isn't a good determinant of this quality -- there are few whites where I live. If you look at Palmdale or the IE... there's a lot of white folks there, but, those people are constantly running scared from minorities and poor whites. It's folly.

[fastfilm]

How can I be wrong about my own neighborhood? If you'll delineate what you find offensive, I explain my observations further.

[jlrobe]

Originally Posted by newportbeachsmostwanted

Being a resident in Manhattan Beach myself for a while.. I explored Torrance. Yup, it's great that you can get a home there still for 550k, which would cost 1.5 mill in Manhattan or even Hermosa. To me- the advantages of living in Torrance would be less crowded, and pretty efficient surface streets. However, the Del Amo mall is a relic that hasn't been updated since the 1980's, and the stores are nothing special. --With that said, there is some construction planned finally to revitalize the mall with an outdoor area and theatres--not quite The Block at Torrance, but still an upgrade.

You get what you pay for there simply aren't any bargains in LA county anymore.. The nicer parts of Torrance-Hollywood riveria etc, you'll be paying 800k and upwards, East torrance-sure try that 500k home, but you'll likely get some roudy neighbors, gangs, graffitti on your sidewalk, and worse schools.

Wow, you lived in Manhattan Beach but think there is nothing in and around LAX that is interesting to see?? That surprises me. I like MB, and you are the first person I met from MB that didnt like it. What didnt you like specifically about the area?

And Torrance doesnt need good shopping. South Bay Galleria, beach city botiques, and the avenue of the *****ula (an upscale shopping mall with saks fifth ave) are all within 15 minute drive. And as you said Del Amo just finished a major rennovation and opened up a brand new wing, and that is just phase I of the major update to the mall. With a nordstroms, saks fifth avenue, bloomingdales, and over 50 expensive boutiques, I dont think torrance wants or needs more glamour shopping, and I hope they dont put any in. West torrance is nice though as you mentoined as well as the hollywood riviera.

I do agree though that 'practical' torrance is 800k. that is more a product of the silly california housing boom, and not LA.

Wow. You are the first beach cities native I have seen on this forum.

[jlrobe]

Originally Posted by wildgift

fastfilm is wrong, and offensive. Neighborhoods vary, but there are decent all over the city, and they aren't all white. Just drive around and find them. You can also find the good schools by looking them up on one of those school rating sites. You'll find a lot of places where a school with a score of 10 is adjacent to a school with a score of less than 5.

Also, if you're buying a house, you can do yourself a favor by checking out the neighborhood for a few weeks, living there if possible. See if people know each other, even if only by first name. You need a little cohesion to keep things on track, or bad things will happen, like, someone moves out, rents the house out, and lets too many people live there. You have to pressure the owner to sell to a single family. The neighborhood keeps the school good -- again, pressure. I grew up and live in an area that has had gangs for 40 years, used to be somewhat working class, and is heavily immigrant, but the local school gets a 10 score, and regularly sends kids to the Ivys and public Ivys (often via the public schools). Crime is pretty low (though not extremely so).

Race isn't a good determinant of this quality -- there are few whites where I live. If you look at Palmdale or the IE... there's a lot of white folks there, but, those people are constantly running scared from minorities and poor whites. It's folly.

With the exception of calling fastfilms opinoins wrong and offensive, I have to agree with you. People who buy just on race are sorta dumb in my opinion, but alas, they are just helping me out. They will pay an extra 250k for an extra 10% white, while I will pay less for better schools, better locatoin, better dining options, etc. because I did my homework instead of concentrating too much on demographics. I should be thanking people who do that.

I think fastfilms neighborhood sucks and i feel really bad for her. everyone can identify with her that you live somehwere for 30 years, then neighbors come in and ***** up the nieghborhood. That REALLY sucks. Fastfilm does admit that with money and if you are able to find work next to your job, there are many many little places here and there to live (if you have alot of money).

[CBaillo]

exactly, and thats the only point i myself ever tried to put forth...if uve got a lot of money, youll love l.a...but if u dont (which most people who are coming in to CA dont), be prepared for the worst described here, because those neighborhoods are where youll be living.