Family-friendly area to buy in LA (Santa Clarita, Pasadena: townhome, safe area, school district)

[Social Democrat]

Originally Posted by NORTY FLATZ

Try this...

3122 W 76th St, Los Angeles
3bd2ba in 1770 sq.ft.
$699,999
Schools are a 3,4 & 1 (ugh.)

Good find - Inglewood may be changing because of the stadium and might be a good time to buy there. I'm not a real estate prognasticator so your mileage may vary.

[Social Democrat]

Originally Posted by KemBro71

Careful, someone might stop by to rant at you for simply injecting a little bit of counterpoint/reason into the discussion.

It's funny that all these threads seem to end up this way. New member posts a skeletal list of wants and needs, often it's evident that they haven't done much of their own research first. Then people chime in with responses that don't tick off many of the OP's boxes or are based on outdated info or suggest something unhelpful like South LA. All without much context. OP never returns. >>>Zombie thread.

What I see are two posters that failed to attempt an answer to the OP's question and are not helpful at all.

[KemBro71]

Originally Posted by Social Democrat

What I see are two posters that failed to attempt an answer to the OP's question and are not helpful at all.

what happened to 'ta?'

[Social Democrat]

Actually I have two words for you but I cannot use one of them. I see you still haven't answered the OP's question directly, no surprise there.

[KemBro71]

Hey OP.

Why are you relocating? Work? Following a spouse?

How old are kid(s)?

How much time have you spent in LA?

When you say DTLA, do you literally mean DTLA?

OK all that said...and without any answers...

AT your price level, you're talking condo. A mid range decent condo, but not a bright new shiny one. Probably a nice refurb of an older building, or a building built after 1995. This is in a neighborhood you might actually want to live in, and not be an early pioneer.

The southeast SFV is a good option if you can take the Red Line to DTLA. Schools are good. Plus the LAUSD magnet/charter system is good...don't listen to any naysayers, esp. those w/o kids. Your kid is young so it won't matter much for a few years but a magnet kindergarten is a good thing to get into.

But I'm still not really recommending moving out here and buying right away, especially a condo, if you've never lived out here or visited (non vacation) for a decent amount of time. Not that the rental market is easy to navigate, just that it is so much easier to pull the ripcord and get out of a property that wasn't what you imagined.

I reserve the right to retract or modify all of this if the OP replies with actual details.

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by KemBro71

It's funny that all these threads seem to end up this way. New member posts a skeletal list of wants and needs, often it's evident that they haven't done much of their own research first. Then people chime in with responses that don't tick off many of the OP's boxes or are based on outdated info or suggest something unhelpful like South LA. All without much context. OP never returns. >>>Zombie thread.

I think that in most cases, they realize just how huge Los Angeles is, how long their commute might be, and how unbelievably expensive it's become to purchase even a starter home--not to mention, one in a good school district--in comparison to where they live now.

[Keknoob]

Originally Posted by Social Democrat

Dismissed.

You're pretty obtuse if you can't figure out that poster is saying not to buy right away. He didn't say not to move here. Wake up, reread the post, and quit being an obstinate jerk.

[Social Democrat]

My apologies to the moderator. I was complaining about non responsive posts to the OP's question and then I do the same.

[Mr. Avocado]

For $700k in 2020 Los Angeles....

You say you're open to metro. If your work is near Union Station and accessible by Metrolink, I would check out Whittier and La Mirada. Definitely underrated as a family-friend area that is very affordable by LA metro standards. You can get a pretty decent SFH in an area with decent schools for around $650k these days. Prices are slowly creeping up. With Covid traffic, it's half an hour to DTLA. I'm in the far eastern end of Whittier, and probably just under 15 minutes to the Norwalk and Buena Park Metrolink stations. From there, it's about a 25 minute train ride to Union Station.

[Tosyne]

Originally Posted by KemBro71

Hey OP.

Why are you relocating? Work? Following a spouse?

How old are kid(s)?

How much time have you spent in LA?

When you say DTLA, do you literally mean DTLA?

OK all that said...and without any answers...

AT your price level, you're talking condo. A mid range decent condo, but not a bright new shiny one. Probably a nice refurb of an older building, or a building built after 1995. This is in a neighborhood you might actually want to live in, and not be an early pioneer.

The southeast SFV is a good option if you can take the Red Line to DTLA. Schools are good. Plus the LAUSD magnet/charter system is good...don't listen to any naysayers, esp. those w/o kids. Your kid is young so it won't matter much for a few years but a magnet kindergarten is a good thing to get into.

But I'm still not really recommending moving out here and buying right away, especially a condo, if you've never lived out here or visited (non vacation) for a decent amount of time. Not that the rental market is easy to navigate, just that it is so much easier to pull the ripcord and get out of a property that wasn't what you imagined.

I reserve the right to retract or modify all of this if the OP replies with actual details.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions!
Relocation reason - Work
How many kids - 1 (14 months old). ** Good school district is really a nice to have since my son is young **
Not spent much time in LA but will be renting for 2-3 months before buying
My office will be in DTLA

I will be moving from the east coast where home prices are way much cheaper so I’m adjusting my expectations accordingly.