South Bay vs Calabasas? (Irvine, Torrance: rental, house, neighborhoods)

[jinmonim]

I need your help for us to decide South bay or Calabasas. We did extensive research on the net and also visited the area in April, but haven't still decided which way we should go.

- family of 4 with two kids (7 and 11)
- he works in Westwood
- we can afford up to $1.1 mil

We now live in a house on a 2.6 acre lot in a beautifully maintained neighborhood. We value space over being close to the beach. We think Calabasas definitely wins here. But we are Asians, and would like to be in a more diverse environment with a good access to the local Asian communities. So we are also considering South Bay (Torrance, Redondo Beach etc.).

Calabasas seems quite white and does not have much Aisian things around there. We currently live in a quite white commuinity. We do not feel uncomfortable, but sometimes I wish our kids had more Asian American friends around them so that they can develop sound identity. How is Calabasas? Do you think we would feel being in a wrong place in this sense? Or, it is in LA after all, so we would do just fine?

ISouth Torrance seems very nice, but do you think his commute to Westwood would be too much?

OH, please help! We appreciate any sort of inputs!

[Charles]

Westwood -> UCLA -> U C Lots of Asians

Irvine is very Asian, excellent schools, but too far.

Calabasas is slightly diverse (middle Eastern), but mostly white (seems like a lot of people from the east coast) but not as many east Asians and also way too far.

With that, I think staying closer Santa Monica, West LA, I'm sure there are others.

Others will chime in.

This may help you target neighborhoods:

School Performance Maps

[hsw]

Either is a difficult drive at normal hrs; most who are time-sensitive simply work around it by arriving at office <6AM; leaving >6PM and using Bluetooth to catch up on calls during commute

Calabasas has Valley heat and smog issues; PV Peninsula has far superior coastal climate and air quality

Calabasas schools are rather weak; PV Peninsula seems to have some of best public schools in CA (look at % National Merit Finalists and % students who gain entry to top 5 colleges)

If anything, PV Peninsula (like San Marino) can be accused of being something of an Asian ghetto, which has good and bad implications

Unfortunately, Calabasas tends not to attract as many education-oriented families as does Encino or Brentwood/Palisades or Irvine

Given falling prices, may want to look into rental choices anywhere

[cali_to_nj]

Palos Verdes, and the nicer parts of Torrance and Redondo Beach will be a difficult commute to Westwood (1 hr plus) because they don't have good freeway access and even then you are stuck on the 405 the entire way. You may want to consider El Segundo or Playa Del Rey (if schools are not a concern - PDR is in LA Unified). Calabasas has well regarded schools and bigger newer homes. In your price range you could also look in Santa Monica or Brentwood or even Westwood - those would have the best diversity, but even $1.1M will not get you a very large or newer property.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by hsw

Calabasas schools are rather weak;

That's pretty interesting considering every school in Calabasas is a 10/10 Great Schools ranking with very high API

California School Performance Maps: Calabasas

[mellabella]

my husband works in west wood (405/wilsire) and lives in calabasas he says his commute is about 35 min. in the AM . He leaves at 6:30AM and gets in at 7:05.
Home commute is 6PM and gets home at 6:45.

He are used to an hour+ commute though, so this is fine for him.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by mellabella

leaves at 6:30AM and gets in at 7:05.
Home commute is 6PM and gets home at 6:45

Is he working 4 X 10?
Otherwise, Life is too short for 11 (or 10 + lunch) hour days.
And that's away from home for 12 hours and 15 minutes.

[jinmonim]

Thanks, everybody.
I thought too that Calabasas has a very good school. It looks so as long as the greatschool.com is concerned.
I also thought about West LA, but those places are so expensive, so I just wrote them off.
I would love to live in PV but wrote it off too, assuming the commute would be unbearable.
El Segundo might be a good choice, I guess. What about West Torrance? Last time we were there we did not have much time to see West Torrance, but is it nice there? Or North Redondo? How would you say the commute is going to be, from West Torrance/North Redondo to Westwood?

[RobE]

I noticed the "nim" on the end of your SN. Korean?

Torrance has a lot of Japanese and Japanese-Americans. I don't know if that is an issue for you. It's a little more typical middle class than Calabasas.

Calabasas is really nice and, as far as living environment, the way to go since you can afford it.

[cali_to_nj]

I agree, Calabasas would give you a more upscale, family friendly lifestyle. The part of North Redondo bordering Hawthorne can be a bit rough, but there are some nice streets near the Manhattan Beach border, and you have 405 Freeway access in that area as well. But I believe those schools are still in the LA Unified school district. You will definitely see a jump in home prices once you cross over into Manhattan Beach schools.

West Torrance is basically at the base of the PV hill next to Rolling Hills. The housing is a little more affordable but you have the same problem with the commute. It could take 20 min or more to get to the freeway, and up to another 45 min to get to Westwood once on the freeway at certain times of the day.