Need some honest opinions for good schools and neighborhoods for the following cities...

[NaplesRes]

Originally Posted by missionhome

In the end this is all for the OP. I'm sure the OP will make the right decision for his/her family in the end whether it be Long Beach, Thousand Oaks, Pasadena, Westlake, Los Alamitos, etc... Different families fit in better in different areas. The internet can't substitute for visiting a place so that is what I highly encourage the OP to do. Visit the schools your children would be attending at all age levels and bring the kids to see what they think.

Well said.

[ELIZABETH POULSON]

I Live In The Long Beach Area, Actually It Is Belmont Heights. I Enjoy The Area. I Raised 3 Children In The Long Beach School District. I Feel It Is A Good Place, Since I Raised Them As A Single Parent. The City Bus System Is The Best I Can Get To All Areas By Bus.
For The Area To Live In Stay In The Southeast Area. If You Need More Info Contact Me.
Good Luck Liz

[UB50]

Originally Posted by bhcompy

For a place to raise kids I would put in this order from your list

Los Alamitos/Rossmoor/Seal Beach
Cerritos
eastern Long Beach
Irvine

Los Alamitos area is a great choice. The schools are excellent academically and nationally recognized in sports. The youth sports programs are growing and very good(esp. football). The high school is second to none as far as giving kids a great atmosphere to learn, great selection of elective classes, while still being more relaxed like the community around it is.

Cerritos has very strong academics(especially Whitney HS) and is a very well maintained city. It is a primarily asian area(many Koreans), and the schools reflect that in their methods toward learning. Whitney is very difficult and I've known a few kids that have burnt out from it. Different style than your typical school in the US. Not a great youth sports town, but neighboring Lakewood is rated top in the nation in Sports Illustrated for youth sports.

Eastern Long Beach is similar to Los Al/Seal Beach/Rossmoor, just in a different county.

Other nearby areas you might consider are Cypress and western Garden Grove.

These areas are all much more palateable in the summer being close to the beach than some of the other cities you have on your list and are very accessible being on the 405/605/22 interchange. The atmosphere is different than the Valley or southern OC with a very laid back beach community vibe across the area.

Irvine is very nice, but I'm not fond of the location.

All of these places are very far from Lancaster. I would look at all the areas north of Los Angeles first -- and I noticed that LaCrescenta/Montrose and LaCanada were not on your list? They are also very nice areas.

[bhcompy]

Originally Posted by UB50

All of these places are very far from Lancaster. I would look at all the areas north of Los Angeles first -- and I noticed that LaCrescenta/Montrose and LaCanada were not on your list? They are also very nice areas.

true, but its under the posters 2hour window from place of residence to lancaster

[sethihomes]

First of all you need to tell someone where you work. These places are so far from each other that you may spend 3 hours commuting a day. You can go to the LA unified school district website to get rankings of schools. I suggest you get a realtor. You probably arent from LA and have no idea of what traffic is like. feel free to contact me if you want some solid advice. sethihomes.com