Young Family Moving to LA from WA State (Long Beach, Torrance: car insurance, elementary schools)

[Sofi299]

Originally Posted by silverkris

Going to work for LMU?

I can’t say yet until I get the offer but it is a private institution.

[Sofi299]

Originally Posted by ryanms3030

On the surface I agree. If the husband is able to get a job for equal or more money then it may work out fine. If the job was in a different part of LA then it might work out fine. But I make more then OP's projected salary, I support my wife and kid and live in an "affordable" suburb of LA and paying for my condo, 2 used toyotas, insurance, gas, food and a few classes/activities for my kid and my budget is nearly drained. I also don't think housing is getting cheaper here anytime soon despite some people's hopes for a market correction/crash.

Thank you both for your honest response. I know my husband would love to make what I am making but I prooject that once he lands a job hopefully in 6 months of moving, he would make 50-60k. With that being said we would be within a household income of 140-150k.

We are looking to live a bit like peasants until my husband is hired. We don’t have much savings so we don’t have that to fall on, we would spend most of it to relocate.

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by Sofi299

Thank you! I have been looking into the Culver City area, this appears to be a very convenient and possibly affordable area.

Not that these for-profit school ranking sites are completely accurate, but it appears that there is somewhat of a difference in the elementary schools in Culver City.

https://www.greatschools.org/califor...?gradeLevels=e

[Cinema Cat]

Originally Posted by Sofi299

I have done research and found that Sherman Oaks and Burbank areas are really nice and inexpensive

If you consider Sherman Oaks "inexpensive," you can afford Westchester. So why not move to Westchester? It's a nice area.

[ryanms3030]

Originally Posted by CA4Now

Not that these for-profit school ranking sites are completely accurate, but it appears that there is somewhat of a difference in the elementary schools in Culver City.

https://www.greatschools.org/califor...?gradeLevels=e

but Greatschools is a non profit

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by ryanms3030

but Greatschools is a non profit

I see that it isn't. But often, the accuracy of some of these sites is questionable. ( Look up the public school district in which you live and you can see how far off they are.) Also, some use parents' input, which is subjective.

At any rate, when you have an elementary school of "10" ranked in the same city as a "6", you probably want to pay attention to the neighborhoods in which those schools are located.

[JTGJR]

Check out El Segundo. My daughter was graduated from a private college in Westchester.

[ryanms3030]

Originally Posted by CA4Now

I see that it isn't. But often, the accuracy of some of these sites is questionable. ( Look up the public school district in which you live and you can see how far off they are.) Also, some use parents' input, which is subjective.

At any rate, when you have an elementary school of "10" ranked in the same city as a "6", you probably want to pay attention to the neighborhoods in which those schools are located.

Well, the elementary, middle and high school in my district are all rated 10/10 on Greatschools which is a big reason we bought where we did. Real world data such as test scores and feedback from parents who's kids have gone through the school systems all support the rankings.

But I agree that school districts can have varied quality of schools. That is definitely what I found in other cities that we looked at when buying. You can have 4 elementary schools in same district and 2 are great and other 2 are not which generally reflects on the demographics of the neighborhoods that the schools are in.

[DKM]

You're going to have a hard time finding an acceptable 2bd apartment for that price meeting your requirements. A good school in that price range means an old junky apartment. I wish you good luck in choosing what's most important for your family. You won't regret choosing whatever it takes to get a good school. Check out the Palms area, the part nearest the 405/10 freeway junction has a good school. Or across the freeway in Mar Vista is pretty decent.

[ryanms3030]

Originally Posted by Sofi299

Thank you both for your honest response. I know my husband would love to make what I am making but I prooject that once he lands a job hopefully in 6 months of moving, he would make 50-60k. With that being said we would be within a household income of 140-150k.

We are looking to live a bit like peasants until my husband is hired. We don’t have much savings so we don’t have that to fall on, we would spend most of it to relocate.

I wouldn't consider an offer for 95k unless they are paying for your relocation.