Chances for white working class in LA? Need some honesty here (neighborhoods, construction)

[jm1982]

Originally Posted by kttam186290

Corona maybe, but certainly not Moreno Valley!

And both are exurbs to LA, too far out!

Exactly...it seems like it would be pointless to want to move to L.A and then move to Corona or Moreno Valley or somewhere that far out.

I live in the valley and don't even make it out to the Westside much on weekends... I work on the westside but just drive to work and back since traffic is so bad. This could also be because I grew up on the Westside , so hanging out there might not be as cool as if I had moved to L.A recently.

[West of Encino]

Originally Posted by JohnSoCal

I wouldn't recommend Moreno Valley.

What's wrong with MV?

[yby1]

Originally Posted by kttam186290

Corona maybe, but certainly not Moreno Valley!

And both are exurbs to LA, too far out!

Both are working class areas.

[theGreat1]

Originally Posted by Guitarmaan

My wife and I are seriously considering moving to LA next year from Phoenix, though originally we lived in London (I'm English and my wife is American). We have visited Southern California enough to know we both like it a lot, and LA is a great city with culture, entertainment, history and coastline. I am white working class, having done unskilled type jobs like warehouse work, electric meter reading and delivery work.

From our research, we could sell our Arizona home and buy a condo in possibly Van Nuys or NoHo. The condo fees would roughly equal the costs of our home. So we'd be downsizing to live in a more interesting area basically. We'd lose the home, pool and large yard. But we'd swap that for all that LA has to offer. I am also hoping wages will be higher in LA than Phoenix.

But in essence my question is "what are our chances?"

I understand the demographic changes that California has gone through since the 70's. What were largely white areas are now Hispanic, with Korean and black mixed in. Diversity doesn't bother me greatly. Back in England we lived in a crime hotspot "ghetto" (entirely Pakistani and black) and while you had to act accordingly and be vigilant, it didn't bother me. But while it's not an issue for me, could it be an issue for resident Hispanics having a white couple move in?

I don't expect to be in danger just by living in an Hispanic area, so don't be offended please. My concern is more about work. I suspect I have lost out on a few jobs here in Arizona (pool work) because my face didn't fit in totally Hispanic companies. And since I'm interested in working class jobs, many of these companies may arguably be Hispanic. Please be open and honest here, whatever race you are. Do you think a white guy can do just as well in LA as a Hispanic or Korean these days? This isn't a race-bait question. I just need to know the real story.

Thanks

No law against it but...I think you're going to run into a bunch of BS. You would think that people of color would be more tolerant but, the reality is people have prejudices whether they're black, white, red, yellow, or brown. If you don't fit the majority or popular opinion (national, regional, local, worksite), then, you will deal with BS.

[Chowhound]

Originally Posted by JohnSoCal

I wouldn't recommend Moreno Valley.

Originally Posted by kttam186290

Corona maybe, but certainly not Moreno Valley!

And both are exurbs to LA, too far out!

Originally Posted by West of Encino

What's wrong with MV?

I spent a lot of time out in MV about 15 yrs ago or so, It didn't seem all that bad then, but I haven't been there since. I recently was drving thru and had to get off the freeway to get some gas, and man... it sure has changed in 15 plus yrs. It looked run down and grungy and tons of homeless people around... I was actually surprised..

I think I heard that there are a lot of meth labs in the area... not sure though to be honest.

[yby1]

Ok, instead of Moreno Valley....move to NorCo.

But honestly, if you are moving to the IE, you might as well stay in Arizona. Decent working class jobs in the metro are slowly going away. You have retail and service jobs left, but they aren't going to pay enough. San Pedro was very working class because of the Port, but that is increasingly not the case anymore, most working class are in Wilmington now.

[kttam186290]

Originally Posted by yby1

Both are working class areas.

Yes, but there is not a substantial white working class demographic in Moreno Valley.

Corona -- yes!

Riverside -- yes!

But not Moreno Valley!

[yby1]

Originally Posted by kttam186290

Yes, but there is not a substantial white working class demographic in Moreno Valley.

Corona -- yes!

Riverside -- yes!

But not Moreno Valley!

I won't disagree. I'll go to Moreno Valley for work sometimes, but I mainly deal with white people there. My experience is most likely not the norm and I'm not as familiar with the IE as I am with the Westside or South Bay.

[tigerprint456]

Originally Posted by Guitarmaan

My wife and I are seriously considering moving to LA next year from Phoenix, though originally we lived in London (I'm English and my wife is American). We have visited Southern California enough to know we both like it a lot, and LA is a great city with culture, entertainment, history and coastline. I am white working class, having done unskilled type jobs like warehouse work, electric meter reading and delivery work.

From our research, we could sell our Arizona home and buy a condo in possibly Van Nuys or NoHo. The condo fees would roughly equal the costs of our home. So we'd be downsizing to live in a more interesting area basically. We'd lose the home, pool and large yard. But we'd swap that for all that LA has to offer. I am also hoping wages will be higher in LA than Phoenix.

But in essence my question is "what are our chances?"

I understand the demographic changes that California has gone through since the 70's. What were largely white areas are now Hispanic, with Korean and black mixed in. Diversity doesn't bother me greatly. Back in England we lived in a crime hotspot "ghetto" (entirely Pakistani and black) and while you had to act accordingly and be vigilant, it didn't bother me. But while it's not an issue for me, could it be an issue for resident Hispanics having a white couple move in?

I don't expect to be in danger just by living in an Hispanic area, so don't be offended please. My concern is more about work. I suspect I have lost out on a few jobs here in Arizona (pool work) because my face didn't fit in totally Hispanic companies. And since I'm interested in working class jobs, many of these companies may arguably be Hispanic. Please be open and honest here, whatever race you are. Do you think a white guy can do just as well in LA as a Hispanic or Korean these days? This isn't a race-bait question. I just need to know the real story.

Thanks

Spend a couple weeks in LA and drive around the different neighborhoods people recommend to get a feel for how it is. LA is large and every neighborhood offers something different.

[ka8]

Don't worry about it. Just move and enjoy. We need more white people moving in to balance things out