Moving into Torrance (Los Angeles, Carson, Manhattan Beach: apartment, how much, townhomes)

[VasylP]

Hi folks,

If I get a job at the Los Angeles County-Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, I will be relocating from Chicago suburbs to Torrance, CA. I will be bringing a spouse and two school-aged kids with me. We will be looking for a 2-bedroom apartment within 15 min driving time from the hospital in a safe, family-friendly neighborhood with decent schools.
We enjoy going out to cafes, shops and restaurants, so places with high walkability index are preferred, but not required. If you asked me describe the vibe of desired area, I'd say the one that provides urban-suburban vibe. Not too crowded as a big city, but not too rural either.

What should I expect to pay for a 2-bdr apartment in Torrance?
What city neighborhoods or adjacent suburbs would you recommend considering the above?

Thank you everyone for your input!

[ccm123]

I have previously lived in the South Bay. As a general guideline, the further west you go (towards the Pacific Ocean), the nicer and more expensive the neighborhoods will be.

I believe Torrance is fine, although I haven’t lived in the area for many years now. From my recollection, West or South Torrance were the more desirable areas of Torrance.

The beach cities: Manhattan, Hermosa and Redondo (especially the southern part of Redondo) are the most desired neighborhoods. El Segundo (near LAX airport) is fine and safe also, but you may have to deal with some departure jet aircraft noise from nearby LAX. There is also a oil refinery in El Segundo.

Torrance and the beach cities will meet your requirement of “urban-suburban.”
In my opinion, Manhattan has the best downtown area.

[Thekdog]

At least $3400 if you want in unit laundry and over 1,000 sq ft

[VasylP]

Thank you for your answer

Do you mean that most units in the area don't have laundry?

[Thekdog]

Originally Posted by VasylP

Thank you for your answer

Do you mean that most units in the area don't have laundry?

I'm not sure about most, but a lot in California don't. The apartment stock tends to be old with few new ones built. LA is also known for not always having refrigerators included.

If you're willing to use on site laundry instead of in unit laundry, it can be significant savings

[sacreole]

Originally Posted by VasylP

Thank you for your answer

Do you mean that most units in the area don't have laundry?

The newer apartment communities would most likely have a washer and dryer in the unit (built after 1995-2000). As a former resident of the South Bay, the further west and south in Torrance you live, the better (towards the Beach Cities and Palos Verdes).

[Veritas Vincit]

Originally Posted by ccm123

I have previously lived in the South Bay. As a general guideline, the further west you go (towards the Pacific Ocean), the nicer and more expensive the neighborhoods will be.

I believe Torrance is fine, although I haven’t lived in the area for many years now. From my recollection, West or South Torrance were the more desirable areas of Torrance.

The beach cities: Manhattan, Hermosa and Redondo (especially the southern part of Redondo) are the most desired neighborhoods. El Segundo (near LAX airport) is fine and safe also, but you may have to deal with some departure jet aircraft noise from nearby LAX. There is also a oil refinery in El Segundo.

Torrance and the beach cities will meet your requirement of “urban-suburban.”
In my opinion, Manhattan has the best downtown area.

There is an oil refinery in Torrance as well. It takes up a significant chunk of the Eastern part of the city, which also features other manufacturing/logistics facilities. There's an industrial vibe to a lot of it.



And in El Segundo there's not just the refinery, there's a hyperion plant, a sewage treatment plant, and a power plant. All located toward the beach (which is as nice as one would imagine a beach next to a bunch of industrial facilities to be) and thus upwind from the city. There's a reason it's sometimes called El Smellgundo.



That being said, if one doesn't mind those elements those areas aren't bad places to live. In fact, they're all pretty expensive to live in. I would add though that I never considered any of those communites to be really suitable for 'apartment living'. Those are primarily SFH areas.

[JohnG72]

Originally Posted by VasylP

Hi folks,

If I get a job at the Los Angeles County-Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, I will be relocating from Chicago suburbs to Torrance, CA. I will be bringing a spouse and two school-aged kids with me. We will be looking for a 2-bedroom apartment within 15 min driving time from the hospital in a safe, family-friendly neighborhood with decent schools.

We enjoy going out to cafes, shops and restaurants, so places with high walkability index are preferred, but not required.

How much money do you have? Mostly areas like this will be in parts of Manhattan Beach, one of the most expensive parts of So Cal.

Also exists in Old Town Torrance though probably on a smaller scale than you would like.

Originally Posted by VasylP

If you asked me describe the vibe of desired area, I'd say the one that provides urban-suburban vibe. Not too crowded as a big city, but not too rural either.

This doesn’t exist within 15 minutes drive of the hospital you would be working at unless you have millions and can live up in PV.

Originally Posted by VasylP

What should I expect to pay for a 2-bdr apartment in Torrance?
What city neighborhoods or adjacent suburbs would you recommend considering the above?

2br/2ba apartment in Torrance run 2300+ townhomes around $3k+

Modern buildings can be much more expensive. Most of Torrance has good to great public schools. Nicer nearby areas may have better.

Make sure you are looking at City of Torrance, and not the City of Los Angeles neighborhood called Torrance. They are adjacent and get confused but different school districts, different police, different services, etc. generally anything west of Western Ave is City of Torrance.

The area that seems to be the best fit for you is some of the newer build townhomes in Old Town Torrance, which is located in City of Torrance and is bounded by Cravens Ave, Van Ness Bl, Carson St, and Torrance Bl.

All the streets west of there are part of old town also, but it’s entirely residences. It’s all a very nice neighborhood, but not sure if you’ll find what you like there or not.