Stupid Los Angeles, where can I afford to raise a family? (Huntington Beach: buying a home, safe neighborhoods)

[jc76]

You have 1.2 million dollars to spend on a house? Ever thought about Oregon? They get pissed at the CA transplants, but who cares.

[harhar]

I would say Fullerton (golden hills area), Orange/Villa Park also, but this post is borderline troll-ish, so ....

1. 1.2m is a LOT of money even for LA.

2. If you are worried about your job, then don't get a house?

3. There are tons of houses that are beautiful in Los Feliz for around 1m. I don't know about the school systems though.

4. It seems that bathrooms and sinks are very important to you. You know that stuff really isn't that expensive.

5. Almost every city in or around LA has a downtown/old town. Do more research as you will find nice older houses in these areas.

6. If this isn't a troll (OK I have confirmed that you most likely aren't a troll), then stop having unreasonable expectations here. Your budget is plenty to afford something that you want house-wise, and most likely neighborhood-wise.

You will HAVE to have a car to get places, walking in/to a quaint downtown is doable but rare.
There are good public schools like TROY in Fullerton, but you need to ask around.
If you want to raise a family and live your kind of lifestyle, Orange County might be a little better.

Raising a family in LA can be done, and is done by many, but I think it will take more work than you're willing to do.

LA isn't where ever you're from. But there ARE places like you're describing they are just LA-fied. Just don't carry that many preconceptions or expectations with you and you'll be better off.

P.S. I wouldn't move here now anyway. I'm pretty sure houses will fall a bit more and I'm sure you'll get a better deal within a year or so. Plus that will give you a lot more time to do more research. The last thing you want to be is unhappy.

[jemyr]

Originally Posted by NickelDime

OK - if (s)he is putting 50% down, (s)he wouldn't be concerned about losing the job etc. The poster would have come out with it by saying cash pays, I have X - vs talking about affordability and fear of a job loss for FOUR YEARS.

This is a troll, as evidenced by the title of this thread and the outrageous figures in the OP. If it's not, with a budget of $900k - $1.2M, I would be looking at beach areas, perhaps Huntington or Newport.

End of troll feeding....

Well, I was trying to be somewhat brief, and trying to not reveal too much of my personal business, as that makes me a little uncomfortable.

Yes, I have about 400k we are going to put down (from sale of previous house before housing market crashed, and savings). Maintaining a 500k mortgage plus taxes on a 900k property is about a 3k to 4k nut with taxes and upkeep costs (before tax breaks). I moved to California from Florida, and I have issues with thinking we are consistently going to make over 7k a month, though we have been averaging higher than that since we moved here. We're in the film industry. Feast, famine, feast, famine.

Really, I would prefer to be spending about $2500 a month on housing. And above that I start getting worried. Especially when people are talking about the Great Depression. Then if we're going to add $2000+ a month for private school for 2 kids (Or $3000+ if we have three, then I start worrying about our long term vaibility). I don't want to set down roots and then 5 years from now realize there's no way I'm gonna make it. So no private school. Just public school areas. And try to keep the monthly nut down to real world prices. And if we continue making good money, then great, we'll move up into a really really fancy house when we have the cash in hand to do so. (Instead of counting on making 10 to 15 to 20k a month for the next 30 years)

We mostly work out of the house except when we're on production. Which made me realize we really didn't have to live in California, we could just work on production when the jobs came through, and fly in for interviews when it was needed. (But because we work out of the house, we tend to like more space so we're not in each other's business all the time)

We have previously gone two years with no work, but we made so much money the two years before (that we saved) that we just kept pursuing the jobs we wanted (and we didn't have a ridiculuos monthly nut). But with motivation we would probably pull in 7-8k consistently by taking the jobs that were available. These days, I'm not so sure those big paydays are around the corner anymore. But if we go off of past history, we could afford an 800k mortgage. It just makes me paranoid.

So, yes I have a lot of cash, but not enough cash to purchase house outright and not worry about a mortgage.

As for South Pasadena, as I said it's perfect. The big problem is really the air quality. I could live with purchasing an older home with slanted woodwork that needs the electrical system replaced and is a little drafty with a small postage stamp lot and probably some hidden plumbing issues with my neighbors staring into my window for 900k, for the other upsides of the community. (Yes, it does annoy me that's what you can buy for 900k). Or I could go into the hills where I couldn't really walk to town, but have to drive the 5 miles, and live in a spacious, funky mid century modern. But like I said, the air quality is an issue. And I really like to walk to town. And if I'm going to stress out about a mortgage, then I want to live the life I really want to live.

And Sierra Madre, unfortunately, (Arcadia, etc etc) is even worse in terms of air quality. My son was sick for an entire year when we lived in the area from respiratory complications. (Of 365 days he was out sick for about 180.) It's the "particulate matter" that kills us. You can look at it on the air quality resources board. There's nice maps there.

So good air quality areas (I don't need the beach, though wow, that would be fantastic): Thousand Oaks, Topanga, and that group is good. (getting too far north gets you back in bad air) I believe the cut off is Topanga/Calabasasish as you move towards LA. Air is good going down through Palisades, Santa Monica, and the beach communities (and inland a BIT). Long Beach, Laguna Niguel, and then down towards San Diego.

I really loved downtown San Juan but I heard the schools are touch and go, and middle and high is very poor. Laguna Niguel apparently has good schools but I don't know much about it.

I'll check out Fullerton and El Segundo.

If I wasn't a snob, I would move to Thousand Oaks, but the nieghborhoods just have no character, and the downtown from what I've seen is the parking lot/upgraded super nice strip mall kind. Not community feeling. I like community and walking a lot. I've lived in suburban nieghborhoods and they made me feel trapped. Trapped with my car and my nice big house.

A little more about me: If I could stay in bad air quality I wouldn't do Eagle Rock or Alhambra because of the Highland Park gangs. I have friends in Alhambra who have had raids in their neighborhood, and every once in a while there is a shooting in Eagle Rock. As an adult, I think "Sure, but that was 7 blocks away from my sweet nieghborhood". As a parent, I don't want the risk. We were going to do the high hills in East Glendale (fantastic houses in our price range), or La Canada, but as I said, I really would like to walk to a town. Neither La Canada or Glendale have nice, safe family neighborhoods within true walking distance of a quaint town. (I really don't like La Canada's downtown). I do love Montrose's. The air quality might be okay way high in the hillls above the smog layer... but you still have to get out of the hills for school.

So see? You start getting into the nitty gritty and the post gets too long.

[timelesschild]

See, I perceive a huge improvement in air quality from arcadia to sierra madre. Sierra Madre is waay cleaner. The higher you go, the cleaner it gets. But I will admit I have no idea what the particulate counts are. The Gold Line goes all the way out to Sierra Madre Villa too, and the little downtown village is wonderful. If the particulate counts are really reading badly, though, I can see where that would stop you.

[BRinSM]

Since the particulate in the air is a huge concern for you, Fullerton might not be such a good option as it is a ways inland. I would still check out San Clemente. It is at the very southern end of Orange County though, which is a heck of a drive from LA.

[jemyr]

Yes, Fullerton is too far inland. But El Segundo looks interesting. I've driven through Manhattan Beach and it seemed wonderful, but probably out of my price range.

San Clemente has good schools?

[Larkinhill]

At the least, you make $84,000 a year and have $500,000 in your bank account. Seriously appreciate what you have. By most accounts, you're pretty wealthy. You can afford a house EASILY...some of us with a family are stuck living in an apartment for the unforeseeable future. Sorry to sound crass, but I just think you should realize you have it pretty good.

[jemyr]

Originally Posted by Larkinhill

At the least, you make $84,000 a year and have $500,000 in your bank account. Seriously appreciate what you have. By most accounts, you're pretty wealthy. You can afford a house EASILY...some of us with a family are stuck living in an apartment for the unforeseeable future. Sorry to sound crass, but I just think you should realize you have it pretty good.

Oh I know, I really do. My friends that have to live in LA live in the Valley and they have perfectly wonderful lives in normal ranch houses that cost 400k. And the schools are fine.

But, you save and earn this much money and you see what quality of life you can have elsewhere, and you think... maybe I should live elsewhere.

But I do love the creative people that live in California, and I really haven't seen those types of people elsewhere. The smart, creative, writer types. I like them a lot. There are intellectuals, and geeks, and super funksters in other places, but not really the creative film writer types.

Anyway, the lifestyle in LA with a 500k house in the valley isn't that much nicer than a 1.1 million house in other LA places (to me). Some people get so excited that they can upgrade to a really nice house in the middle of nowhere, but I'd rather save the money and live in the middle of nowhere in a less expensive house. It's not the house but a community lifestyle that I covet. The real living difference for me is at the 1.6 million level. That's a beautiful house near things. At 1.1 you can have a normal house near things. (Is that worth it? I keep debating.) At 500k and 1.1 million you can have a normal house near nothing or a beautiful house near nothing, respectively.


And again, if I'm gonna be trapped in my house in the middle of nowhere, then I'd rather be trapped in a beautiful one that costs less money outside of California.... I think. We'll see.

I really do like the people.

[Larkinhill]

I hear you. Hey, I'm an intellectual film writer type! I'm a screenwriter and (I think) intellectual, so we do exist! But you're right...there doesn't seem to be that many. Well, sorry to be crass again and good luck with your search...you'll find something and things will pick up for everyone soon.

[harhar]

Originally Posted by jemyr

Oh I know, I really do. My friends that have to live in LA live in the Valley and they have perfectly wonderful lives in normal ranch houses that cost 400k. And the schools are fine.

But, you save and earn this much money and you see what quality of life you can have elsewhere, and you think... maybe I should live elsewhere.

But I do love the creative people that live in California, and I really haven't seen those types of people elsewhere. The smart, creative, writer types. I like them a lot. There are intellectuals, and geeks, and super funksters in other places, but not really the creative film writer types.

Anyway, the lifestyle in LA with a 500k house in the valley isn't that much nicer than a 1.1 million house in other LA places (to me). Some people get so excited that they can upgrade to a really nice house in the middle of nowhere, but I'd rather save the money and live in the middle of nowhere in a less expensive house. It's not the house but a community lifestyle that I covet. The real living difference for me is at the 1.6 million level. That's a beautiful house near things. At 1.1 you can have a normal house near things. (Is that worth it? I keep debating.) At 500k and 1.1 million you can have a normal house near nothing or a beautiful house near nothing, respectively.


And again, if I'm gonna be trapped in my house in the middle of nowhere, then I'd rather be trapped in a beautiful one that costs less money outside of California.... I think. We'll see.

I really do like the people.

In Santa Monica you can have :

804 NAVY St, SANTA MONICA, CA 90405 | MLS# 08-326773

On the other side of town in Silverlake you can have :

2130 KENILWORTH Ave, LOS ANGELES, CA 90039 | MLS# 08-333277


So pretty much everything that you asked for is here, except for good air quality, which you won't get outside 50 miles from here, and good schools. But you CAN live in a nice city within your budget. Or you can compromise and buy a $500,000 house and send your kids to a private school.

You have so many options, don't be limited to a price or (relative) area or a reason. If air quality is #1 it wouldn't be a good idea to live anywhere near LA.

And if I were going to live in the mountains, and were moving away from LA and not closer to it, I'd move out of state, and buy more house (currently) for my money, in a nice small, quaint town.