Moving from Florida's West Coast to LA (San Francisco, Long Beach: rentals, how much)

[dralkr]

Hello all, and thanks in advance for your help and comments.
My wife has been offered her dream job in Redondo Beach (office is between Anita and Beryl St on Pacific Coast Hwy). We currently live in the oldest county for median age in the nation (Charlotte Co) in Florida, which is just south of Sarasota, which is south of Tampa. We are excited about this opportunity and are trying to find out all we can about the area know as LA-LA land. I have lived in San Francisco, Dallas, and other major cities, my wife is a small town kind of person. We currently own an 1800 sq ft, 3 bedroom, 2 bath home here, and understand we will not be able to afford a house in LA. We have surfed the forums here and have seen lots of good advice. We are thinking of trying to rent a studio or one bedroom in either Torrance, Manhattan Beach, or Gardena. It is just the two of us, no children, maybe the cat (we'll see if he survives the drive!) We desire to live as close to her work as possible so the commute will be minimal, we've always believed in the less time in the car the better. Any and all comments or suggestions woud be helpful. Good places to look for housing would be very helpful, we were hoping to spend around $1200 or so for a place, possibly up to $1500.
We enjoy the beach, museums, farmer's markets, and the outdoors. Would not call myself a social person, though my wife is a social butterfly!
Thanks alot!

[BRinSM]

$1500 should get you a 1 bedroom in redondo. you might not be walking distance from the beach, but neither is PCH in that area either. i'm currently couped up with my wife in a 1 br in santa monica and there's absolutely no way that we could downsize to a studio. more power to you if you guys are able to, but i doubt it would be easy.

[whatever78]

you can definitely get a good 1 bedroom in redondo beach for that $. it's a lovely area. check craigslist or westsiderentals. and i think pch is walking distance to the beach...

[BRinSM]

looks like i need to take that back, PCH does appear to be walking distance from the beach in between anita and beryl. once you start heading north or south though, hwy 1 heads inland.

[dralkr]

How about the neighborhoods around Redondo Beach? Can we get a nice one bedroom in Torrance for $1000? Where specifically should we look? Any recommendations? What are the neighborhoods like there? Traffic? Any comments are greatly appreciated!

[TheRealAngelion]

Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach, and Torrance are all mostly nice. Try Craigslist to get a sense of how much rent is in those areas.

[jerblaine]

Say no to Torrance and Gardena ewwww

Manhattan Beach is awesome but you might only be able to afford a studio for 1500 there. It is very rich and expensive there....but you might could get a one bedroom for 1500 there!! I am sure you could!!! it will be MUCH MUCH nicer than Torrance or Gardena.....unless you are african american and want to live in an african american area then you would choose Torrance. Gardena would be good if you are Latino or African American but more suited for Latino.......if you are white then it is a no brainer!!

[TheRealAngelion]

Originally Posted by jerblaine

Say no to Torrance and Gardena ewwww

Manhattan Beach is awesome but you might only be able to afford a studio for 1500 there. It is very rich and expensive there....but you might could get a one bedroom for 1500 there!! I am sure you could!!! it will be MUCH MUCH nicer than Torrance or Gardena.....unless you are african american and want to live in an african american area then you would choose Torrance. Gardena would be good if you are Latino or African American but more suited for Latino.......if you are white then it is a no brainer!!

You are way off base about the demographics of Torrance. It is mostly white and Asian. Blacks and Latinos are in the minority. In fact, blacks only constitute 2.4 percent of the city's population.

Here is population data from the 2006 Census estimate:

Torrance city, California - Fact Sheet - American FactFinder

[CESpeed]

Santa Monica would fit your social needs and possibly your budget. My ex and I tried the studio thing and it wasn't a good idea. Definitely get a one bedroom. Santa Monica to Redondo Beach isn't a bad commute, in fact you'll be going against traffic so it's great. I travel the 405 to Long Beach everyday and it only takes me 30 - 45 min because I'm going against traffic.

Venice is sort of an option but it's a bit pricey so is Marina del Rey but if you stay along the beach you should be okay safety wise. I used to walk from Venice to MDR all the time at night.

[onechase]

Maybe consider Playa del Rey? Not too far from Redondo, right on the beach and cheaper than any other beach town.