1st Time Home Buyer: How is Carson, CA "Avalon Village"? (Long Beach: to rent)

[andyaycw]

1st time home buyer, found a great townhome located in Carson, CA in a neighborhood called Avalon Village. Property is located to the West of cross streets Bayport and Avalon Blvd. Looks to me that anywhere to the east is questionable, but other than that seems OK. The townhome would be in a gated community, if that matters.

Is this area of Carson, CA safe? I drove by the area during the day and it didn't seem bad (other than the east-side of homes), but that was only from a drive-by. I looked on neighborhoodscout DOT com website and it looks like my home is considered in the "safe" area, but then directly across the street is considered "not safe".

Thoughts? Perhaps I should look at other homes to buy?

[2Easy]

I used to live across the street from there. The area is generally safe and generally quiet. There are lots of Mexican parties on the weekends in the summer, but they generally end by 11 or so and aren't really a concern. But it's probably more of an investors/rental community than a homeowners community. If you have to park a car on the street, there are break-ins sometimes. But the neighborhood itself is ok. The main drawback to me is not the immediate area, but the fact that Carson has so little of interest. You pretty much have to go to Torrance or Long Beach for anything to do.

[SOGLAD]

NO ~ 1,000 TIMES no. Not only is Avalon Village ON or near a toxic land site, they almost need a Sheriff car there and on duty 24/7... that or a substation nearby.

There are many other places in Carson where you will be MUCH happier!

[hipcat]

The area is fine. It's a ho hum lower working class Latino area. But one of the draws against that area is that is close to two oil refineries, and it's close to Wilmington which is a very sketchy area.

[GoBears98]

I'd personally avoid carson and look towards torrance or lomita if possible gluck

[timtemtym]

Lots of neighborhoods around there have toxic concerns. There was a lot of refining and other oil activity in that area and quite a bit got buried. Look at the Carousel neighborhood and all the issues they have had.

As far as safety and home value, I think it's a pretty good buy. They are supposedly making progress on getting that huge development at Avalon and the 405 off the ground. It could also be a good investment to rent to students at CSU Dominguez which isn't too far away if you ever move out. That college is expanding and isn't too far away. I see it becoming bigger and better as the years go on.

[yby1]

Nothing wrong with Carson. The area is middle class African American, Latino and Pacific Islander. The area is in transition with lots of development going on. The addition of the StubHub Center has helped the area over the last 10 years and the South Bay Pavilion Mall has been going through renovations, adding new businesses and a movie theater complex.

There are not safe areas in Carson, but thy area you are looking it is fine. However, you should always take precautions even if you live in very safe area.