Living in Gardena, Hawthorne, Torrance....pros and cons

[MtnSurfer]

I don't know all the boundaries over there. But I have friends who have lived in different parts of Gardena who said the dangers are real. There are some serious crime problems there.

It may be somewhat disguised especially driving down main streets like Artesia during the day time. This is not to say there are not decent/ok neighborhoods mixed in with the more troubled ones. The best resource is to look up police crime statistics for the area.

Hawthorne can be similar. You can have a lot of elderly ppl living on what seems to be a very nice street. Unfortunately some of those homes do get burglarized sometimes multiple times. We had some family there who this happened to. And as I mentioned before the areas near apt buildings tend to be more problemantic.

[SouthBayTodd]

if you plan to work in El Segundo...i would definitely try to live in El Segundo!

it is actually a nice little city, has some new good restaurants in the downtown, and is very very close to the airport. there is also a very nice new shopping center in El Segundo.

both Gardena and Hawthorne don't exactly have a good reputation as good places to live although there are some parts in each that are ok. Torrance has many great places and few not so good places.

[lawgirl502]

I live here and I will be honest and tell you that the nicest place out of Gardena, Hawthorne, and Torrance is Torrance without question. Torrance schools are best, it is the cleanest and higher education levels and incomes are here. There are houses, apartments, and condos and it is closest to the beach. Hawthorne is a few minutes down the street- a lot more crime and very ghetto- gang problems there and Gardena. Gardena is more inland and closer to the freeway, hence not as nice. Gardena is somewhat ghetto too, although it has some ok places.

So, Torrance is your best spot.

[cakatonk]

I grew up in Torrance and lived in Gardena for 7 years. Basically Stay West of Normandie and South of Redondo Beach Blvd. You can expect the typical L.A. crime so lock your windows and doors and get a car alarm. For the most part, the city is very diverse and the neighbors are great if you make the effort to get to know them. The food diversity is great and is what I miss the most since moving east. Man do I miss the food!

[Desert_Rain_Spirit]

Thought I'd toss in a different point of view. I've been in South Bay area for 22 years. About 5 years in, there was a lengthy spread in the L.A. Times magazine which used to come every Sun. w/the paper. (Very rarely now.) Spread was all about the possible outcomes of "the Big One" (earthquake) hitting greater L.A.

To my great surprise, some very desirable (but expensive) areas such as the beach cities west of PCH would be very unsafe in a "big one"! Because -- the way the ground is -- the "soil" in that area is subject to liquifaction. Ditto the Playa del Rey area.

So you might be safer in an area east of PCH..........

[leaving2]

I think MtnSurfer advice to go west is good advice, just to confirm. Without saying it, just to clarify, his advice wisely takes you away from Hawthorne, which was part of your original question. Away from Hawthorne is good advice.

[808n310]

Out of the three you listed, the order would go Torrance, Gardena, Hawthorne.

But like many already said, why not just live in El Segundo? The price variance betweent there and Torrance isn't too much, if at all, and you'll save yourself the drive up and down Sepulveda or Hawthorne Blvd...

Food in Gardena rocks by the way, but I'm from Hawaii and that makes me biased to Gardena in that sense...haha.

[JTGJR]

Originally Posted by 808n310

Food in Gardena rocks by the way, but I'm from Hawaii and that makes me biased to Gardena in that sense...haha.

HEY! We have a Hawaiian BBQ in El Segundo. Corner of Imperial Avenue and Main St.