Talk to me about Westchester... (Inglewood, Vista: 2014, apartment complex, rentals)

[loysleavelondon]

We're looking to move within the Westside - DH's work is currently in Santa Monica but may move to either Playa Del Ray or Mar Vista within the next 18months. Child1 is at preschool in Santa Monica, due to start K 2014. Landlady just put our rent up and our area is a bit meh so good excuse to leave.

Looking at westside rentals there seem to be vaguely affordable places in Westchester - what's it like to actually live there? Are the planes annoying? Is there much to do in walking distance? Any kind of community atmosphere? Taking a look at greatschools but any personal thoughts on schools?

Ta in advance

[ElysianEagle]

hey i live here in westchester :-) if you live in the heart of it right where all the homes are (west of sepulveda, north of la tijera) it's very suburban, nothing but homes. quiet and no crime issues, been here 7 years now with no problems.

[loysleavelondon]

ah ok - I already feel trapped in Suburbia on the West LA/SM border....maybe Westchester isn't for me

[disgruntled la native]

I'm not from Westchester but have spent some time there.. my observations:

-Westchester is a lot more conservative and "Middle America" than most of LA. People are pretty middle class and family oriented. Despite being a neighborhood in the city of LA, it has more in common with the South Bay beach cities than most of LA.

-It's mostly safe, but it borders Inglewood and is not far from south LA. It's Southwest LA after all.

-Not really walkable but anything you need is a short drive

[BRinSM]

you mentioned feeling trapped in suburbia. all the neighborhoods you mentioned (mar vista, westchester, and playa del rey) are considerably more suburban than santa monica. have you looked at marina del rey? the area near washington blvd (especially near the beach) is mostly walkable and you won't be too far from your husband's office. i use to live near admiralty/via marina and really enjoyed it. i was in a giant apartment complex, but could walk to the beach in about 10 minutes and had easy access to the bike/running path around the marina. my wife and i regularly ate/had drinks at the all the restaurants around there as well. it was a fun neighborhood and would get really crazy in a good way any time there were fireworks. additionally, the beach south of washington blvd is one of the best kept secrets in LA since parking is so limited.

[jm1982]

I think of Westchester as a pretty nice area...mostly residential as other people stated.

OP you are on the west la/SM border and it feels suburban?....how? I never heard of those areas being called suburban..

[Dunbar42]

The other consideration with Westchester is the airport noise. I remember someone claiming you can feel the low rumble of planes landing at LAX as they use their thrust reversers. I think it's the same issue you get in northern El Segundo close to Imperial. Don't know how far north in Westchester you need to go before the noise/vibration goes away. I would think that places close to Sepulveda (~2 blocks) might pick up some of the traffic noise too. Playa Del Ray seems to be mostly nice but feels more like the south bay to me than the west side.

[ccm123]

Had friends that lived in Westchester (off Lincoln) when we attended college. They mentioned that it was a very quiet residential area and they enjoyed it. The proximity to Marina Del Rey and the South Bay made it a good choice.

[Tex?Il?]

Originally Posted by loysleavelondon

ah ok - I already feel trapped in Suburbia on the West LA/SM border....maybe Westchester isn't for me

Thats because of your London experience. I think only those coming from New York, London, Asian city, or some city like that, (where you have to go out a certain ways before you start seeing single family homes) that think West LA/SM border is suburbia. To me I think the area is actually quite urban. I think of the residential high rises along Wilshire and Westwood.

I like LAs mix of urban and suburban streets.

[loysleavelondon]

I totally agree, i used to live in central London do yes all strongly residential areas feel very suburban to me. I really like downtown Culver City for example!

So DHs work currently in SM, will move to Playa Vista eventually but prob not for 18months +

Son is at preschool in SM til 2014, we'd obviously like to move to a good school district but can always apply for employers permit for SM. I want to be somewhere with a high walk score or at least feels like there's something unit and I don't have up get in the car constantly.

Pref continue to run one car so husband would commute by bike. We're looking for a single family home under $3200 with 3bedrooms....

I am chasing a holy grail aren't I? Damnit, just wish our landlady hadn't put up our rent!