Is Los Angeles/Southern California a Good Place to Raise Children? (Irvine: house, neighborhoods)

[Lucario]

Originally Posted by KnoxTown

Safety from the cops?

Unfortunately yes. I am a rather large minority male (as are my sons) who lives in a nice area and drives nice cars, and would be doing the same in California. I cannot tell you how many times I have been stopped by police for driving while existing. Many times the police regard me as someone to be protected from, not protected.

[BennyPhoenix]

Originally Posted by Sunil's Dad

Interesting comments so far.....what would be the best areas? Again, I need safety (from the criminals AND the cops), great schools, a diverse environment (or at least a tolerant one).

The public schools here have busing, the schools are pretty much all diverse(with a few exceptions).
Cops tend to stop minorities who look "gangy" or drive beat up old cars. Dont wear a hair net or real baggy pants. Keep your car in good shape, and you should be alright. Also, dont give the police a reason to pull you over, That is, dont roll through stop signs, dont speed. Basically, fly under the radar.

[Lucario]

Originally Posted by BennyPhoenix

The public schools here have busing, the schools are pretty much all diverse(with a few exceptions).
Cops tend to stop minorities who look "gangy" or drive beat up old cars. Dont wear a hair net or real baggy pants. Keep your car in good shape, and you should be alright. Also, dont give the police a reason to pull you over, That is, dont roll through stop signs, dont speed. Basically, fly under the radar.

I don't fit any of these descriptions or do any of these things. It was helpful being a boring, nerdy guy, but not foolproof.

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

Look how I turned out. LOL. My kids are doing just fine as well. (But then we were never in LA just north west of it.)

[BennyPhoenix]

Originally Posted by Sunil's Dad

I don't fit any of these descriptions or do any of these things. It was helpful being a boring, nerdy guy, but not foolproof.

That helps.
You'll find that the LAPD is not that bad. It's the small PDs from some of the smaller cities here that are more likely to pull you over for being the wrong color. But everyone lumps them together with the LAPD, and so the LAPD gets the rep for other PDs.
And when you get here; Change your license plates. You will stand out with out of state plates.

[LaoTzuMindFu]

Originally Posted by Sunil's Dad

I loved the diversity, the weather, the friendliness of the people, the women - especially the women. Now I am married with preteen children. I am African American/Latino. My question is this. Is LA a good place to raise children? Where in Southern California is? Would I have to go north (Westlake Village?) or south (Laguna, Irvine, Newport Beach?) to get away from heavy gang influence? I used to know the area, but now am basically clueless. Where could I go in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernadino or Ventura Counties that would be diverse, safe and have good schools? Are housing prices still out of control there?

LA is still and I believe will always be a great place to raise children for many of the reasons you mentioned above (great diversity, weather, friendliness of people, etc.). I will only talk about Los Angeles and not the other places you mentioned (Ventura and Orange county which do not offer the diversity you seek).

When it comes to schools in LA it depends on where you live and what your child is studying. Some schools are great (El Camino Real High in West Hills) some schools are terrible (Canoga Park High) and those schools are about 4 miles apart. There are non LAUSD schools where there is heavy racial gang violence (Burroughs High in Burbank, Hoover High in Glendale) between Armenian and Mexican gangs. There are high schools with great Magnet programs (Granada Hills, Cleveland, Reseda) but those schools also could be dangerous.

If you want the valley, I recommend moving into the district for either Taft High School in Woodland Hills (which is a very diverse school with lots of Asians, blacks and persians) or El Camino Real in West Hills which predominately white but is consistently one of the best high schools in the country.

[Lucario]

Originally Posted by DaBeez

LA is still and I believe will always be a great place to raise children for many of the reasons you mentioned above (great diversity, weather, friendliness of people, etc.). I will only talk about Los Angeles and not the other places you mentioned (Ventura and Orange county which do not offer the diversity you seek).

When it comes to schools in LA it depends on where you live and what your child is studying. Some schools are great (El Camino Real High in West Hills) some schools are terrible (Canoga Park High) and those schools are about 4 miles apart. There are non LAUSD schools where there is heavy racial gang violence (Burroughs High in Burbank, Hoover High in Glendale) between Armenian and Mexican gangs. There are high schools with great Magnet programs (Granada Hills, Cleveland, Reseda) but those schools also could be dangerous.

If you want the valley, I recommend moving into the district for either Taft High School in Woodland Hills (which is a very diverse school with lots of Asians, blacks and persians) or El Camino Real in West Hills which predominately white but is consistently one of the best high schools in the country.

Yeah, this is the type of info. I am looking for. I don't mind schools that don't have lots of diversity as long as there is some. For instance, my present district is heavily Asian, about 40%, as well as 40% white, with the rest black and Latino. It is also one of the top districts in NJ. That's what I am looking for. Is something like that available in LA, Ventura, or Orange County? I used to live in OC and it was OK, but I was single then.

[BennyPhoenix]

If I were you I wouldn't look for diverse schools. I'd look for good schools that are safe. Too many schools here are violent and gang ridden.
There are many decent schools here that are safe, most are diverse(IMO).
The better schools here will be mostly white and asian. You also cannot judge a school here by the neighborhood. Some awful schools are in good areas, some good schools are in OK areas.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by Sunil's Dad

Buying, I could go as high as $700,000 for a house. Things that are most important are safety, schools and diversity, in that order.

Where will you be working?

[LaoTzuMindFu]

I still say that El Camino Real is the best choice for you high school aged kids. They are consistently one of the top performing high schools in the country and have won several academic decathlons. The school is most white (53% white, 25% hispanic, 10% asian, 7% black) but is probably the safest school in LAUSD. Thats where we are sending the 13 year old next year when he starts high school.

Public schools that are in some desirable areas are not so good but also not bad.

Live in Sherman Oaks or Encino - Van Nuys High school, Birmingham High school, Reseda High school.

Live in Studio City - North Hollywood High school, Grant High School.