Moving to LA/job in Century City/want family/walking neighborhood with some diversity (Glendale: fit in, apartment)

[mimideede]

We're moving to LA and we have two young children who are not white and would very much like to live in a family neighborhood that has some diversity. We may be able to spend up to $1.3 million on a house. Maybe a little less if we need to send our kids to private school. Hancock Park seems like one option. Wondering too about Venice or other parts of the Westside that aren't too lily white. Any ideas?

[BRinSM]

most of the westside sfh neighbhorhoods are pretty white. the one exception is beverly hills where there is a very large persian population. venice is pretty diverse, but it also isn't a place where i would raise kids, not near the beach anyways. there are nice places, but you should definitely do your homework if you want to live there. santa monica is very nice. it is mostly white people, but due to the high density of apartment housings, there is a decent amount of diversity. culver city has some very nice neighborhoods that are closer to more diverse areas, that may be an even better option for you. unfortunately, $1.3MM still isn't going to get you much around here. prices seem to be coming down though and in a year or so, they will hopefully have dropped significantly. it's pretty sad when 3 br 1300sf homes are selling for $1.2 million, but that is the reality of LA.

as for your mention of hancock park, if you are going to be working in century city, i highly recommend you live west of century city. most traffic comes from the south, north, and east into century city every morning and it can be very, very slow. i live near the coast and work in century city. although i don't drive a car currently, when i did, it was never more than 30 minutes to or from work, usually less.

[Mike121]

One simple option re diversity is to send your kids to public school. Because so few white westsiders will send their kids to public school, local public schools gather children from quite a huge radius. University High in West LA is very diverse.

[TheRealAngelion]

LA is very racially and etnically diverse. So even if you live in a neigborhood that is mostly white, your kids will be exposed to diversity through their school, extra curricular activities and just by virtue of the fact that they are living in a large urban city like LA where seeing all kinds of people is unavoidable. That being said, here are some suggestions of neighborhoods to consider that are near or not too far from Century City.

Cheviott Hills
Rancho Park
Westwood
Beverlywood
Culver City
Mar Vista
Playa Vista (This is a planned community of mostly new homes)
Ladera Heights
Miracle Mile/Carthay Circle
Larchmont Village
Hancock Park

If you don't mind a longer commute to work each day, there are many other options to consider like Torrance, Sherman Oaks, Valley Village, Studio City
North Hollywood, Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena just to name a few.

The two most important things to consider are your tolerance level for commuting and the quality of school you want to send your kids to. For most people with kids the quality of the public schools is the determining factor. However, if you can afford private schools then you will have more options because you can live in a nice area, closer to work, that might have bad public schools. Sounds like an oxymoron (nice neighborhood and bad public schools) but that exists all over LA.

[JonathanLB]

Wow I haven't seen any place in L.A. that is very white. I sometimes feel like I'm the only white person in the entire city. All I see are Asians and Hispanics. I don't see much diversity actually, haha.

[CESpeed]

Originally Posted by JonathanLB

Wow I haven't seen any place in L.A. that is very white. I sometimes feel like I'm the only white person in the entire city. All I see are Asians and Hispanics. I don't see much diversity actually, haha.

You must never get to the Westside.

To the OP: I work in Century City and live in the Beverly Hills adjacent area. There are lots of homes in this area that will suit your needs in your budget. Some areas are: Carthay Circle, Miracle Mile, Beverly Hills adjacent, West Hollywood, or Westwood. I second the idea of Culver City. It's a great area and near Culver City as well.

[Delron]

Originally Posted by CESpeed

You must never get to the Westside.

To the OP: I work in Century City and live in the Beverly Hills adjacent area. There are lots of homes in this area that will suit your needs in your budget. Some areas are: Carthay Circle, Miracle Mile, Beverly Hills adjacent, West Hollywood, or Westwood. I second the idea of Culver City. It's a great area and near Culver City as well.

Outside if Culver City, those areas would be considered too white for the OP and you can't afford a decent home for 1.3 mil in most of them. I can't believe the OP even mentioned Hancock Park and wanting diversity, LOL.

Hancock Park is 80% white (I'm not talking about the wannabe Hancock Park fringes and 'adjacent' parts, since it's surrounded by ghetto areas) or 90% white if you count the Orthodox Jewish people. And 1.3 mil? Good luck getting anything remotely decent in Hancock Park for that.

OP, you should be looking in Culver City, Lemiert Park, Baldwin Hills.

[Rats]

What's wrong with living in a white area? I'm gonna be as politically incorrect here as I can. In my observations, black kids will fit in better in a primarily white school than they will in mostly hispanic, asian or other "diverse" schools. So don't worry about living in Santa Monica or Hancock Park... your kids will get along just fine.

[casharistocrat]

The white areas are alot safer for your family.Why would you want to live somewhere where your more likely to get mugged or robbed.I would take a white area any day other some other areas of LA.If you are black hispanics in LA are more racist than white people.Hispanic gangs are known now to target african americans just for the color of their skin.1.3 million could put you in a safe nice area with good schools.Who cares about if its white or not thats just not smart.White people as a rule tend to have the money because they teach their children the value of hardwork and education.I wish more of our hispanic and black brothers did the same.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by Delron

Outside if Culver City, those areas would be considered too white for the OP and you can't afford a decent home for 1.3 mil in most of them.

Carthay Circle is ethnically/racially mixed.

I can't believe the OP even mentioned Hancock Park and wanting diversity, LOL.

Hancock Park is 80% white (I'm not talking about the wannabe Hancock Park fringes and 'adjacent' parts, since it's surrounded by ghetto areas)

Tell me, what "ghetto areas" are to the west, southwest and northwest of Hancock Park? It's not surrounded by ghetto areas on all sides.

If you consider the Fairfax District, Park La Brea, West Hollywood, and the Miracle Mile to be "ghetto", you've never seen a ghetto.