Another Relo Questions (sorry!) (Los Angeles, Long Beach: rentals, condo, townhome)

[melissal]

Hello everyone,
So I've sifted through the questions that already exist so I wouldn't end up asking a duplicate questions, but I'm so unfamiliar with the area that I don't really know if I'm duplicating...so I apologize if I am.

Anyway, I live in NJ (about 15 minutes from Philadelphia, PA) in a suburban, upper-middle class neighborhood. My house is 2400 sq ft, 3 years old, and I grew up with this sort of setting. We have a three year old and one on the way...and we are moving to CA. We are both in our early 30's and are college-educated. We're looking for a place where people will be of a similar persuasion. We are also used to having Philly and NYC nearby for trips to the city, but we are both used to family-oriented neighborhoods and the suburbs.

My husband's company is based in Cypress. He has been traveling back and forth between coasts for a year and its getting old. They would prefer that we base ourselves out there, so we are finally thinking of taking the plunge when the baby is born in April and doing it. When he first took this job, we did briefly look out there to investigate moving...and I KNOW we cannot afford to purchase the kind of home that we are used to

So, we are looking at renting something to see how we like the West Coast. We would like to be within a short-ish commute to Cypress on Corporate Highway (no more than 30 minutes or so). A family-oriented neighborhood is a must and lots of local things to do with the kids is preferred. I really need a 3-4 bedroom home...though I don't care if its a townhome, single family or condo type thing. I won't be working...and I won't know a soul, so I'm going to be stir-crazy. Our rental budget is in the $2500-$3000 range.

I really like the sound of Mission Viejo, but I'm guessing that is much further than 30 minutes? Any suggestions????

Thanks so much!
Mel

[EscapeCalifornia]

Mission Viejo is too far for a 30 minute commute. I'd look in Cypress, Huntington Beach, or Fountain Valley.

[melissal]

Is Huntington Beach too young? We actually went there one day just to check it out, though we admittedly didn't look at any housing or anyting, and it just seemed like a lot of younger, college looking people. Is there a high population of families with young kids too?

Fountain Valley I've never heard anything about...

In my husband's limited travel to the Cypress area, he seems to think that it isn't a place we'd want to live. I can't say what he's basing that on, maybe congestion or tracts built in between major roadways....I don't know.

THanks for your suggestions.

Mel

[oc2nyc]

If I were you I would look in Cypress, Los Alamitos, Fountain Valley or Huntington Beach (not near the beach though). Cypress is a very family oriented city, and although you won't get any where near the type of home you would get where you are now, you can still find a 3-4 bedroom in a nice neighborhood. Los Alamitos is nice, that is where I have lived for the last 12 years and raised four kids. It is more expensive than Cypress, but the school district is very good, and there are tons of kid's activities available. I have friends with kids that live in Fountain Valley and Huntington Beach and they are happy there as well. If you go any farther south than Costa Mesa you will be dealing with major, major traffic. I would suggest that your husband spend some time exploring the different neighborhoods and talking to people at his work that live in the area. You will not be very close to any big city really. We are about 45 minutes (no traffic) from LA, (nothing like NYC), and Orange County does not really have a "downtown". They have shopping areas like Irvine Spectrum, Fashion Island etc. but not any city activities. We are actually trying to relocate to where you are so that we can be close to family and NYC. We love it back there. We have grown up here though so it sounds great to have a new adventure, probably the same way you feel about moving to CA.
You will love the weather though, and there are tons of things to do here, but going to the city is not one of them. Cypress has a lot of local shopping, restaurants etc. close, basically your typical suburban city. You will be about 10 minutes from Seal Beach which has a quaint little Main Street. The beach to me is dirty so we try to go farther down the coast, but my kids still go there in the summer. They have a nice little playground there for small ones. It would be a great day out for you with little expense.
You sound like you are pretty aware of the difference in living expenses so I won't go into that. I have lived within 10-20 miles of Cypress my whole life, so if you want to PM me I will be happy to share whatever I know. Good luck!

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by melissal

Is Huntington Beach too young? We actually went there one day just to check it out, though we admittedly didn't look at any housing or anyting, and it just seemed like a lot of younger, college looking people. Is there a high population of families with young kids too?

Fountain Valley I've never heard anything about...

In my husband's limited travel to the Cypress area, he seems to think that it isn't a place we'd want to live. I can't say what he's basing that on, maybe congestion or tracts built in between major roadways....I don't know.

THanks for your suggestions.

Mel

If you hang out in downtown Huntington Beach where all the bars and surfers are, yeah, you'll find a younger crowd. But the rest of the city is suburban tract home land. Fountain Valley is a separate city, but its bound by HB on two sides and is pretty much indistinguishable from HB. There's people of all ages all over the place. My street in FV has a mix of retired original owners (since 1969) and people with infants through teenagers. You don't hear much about FV but that's because its small and not much happens here which is just fine with me. Cypress looks very much like HB and FV: 40 year old tract homes with major north/south and east /west streets every 1/2 mile. But that describes most of what you'll find within a 30 minute drive of Cypress.

[dougnaie]

I will chime in with the Belmont Shore, Belmont Park, Belmont Heights and Naples areas of Long Beach, which would all be within your commute requirements. You can look online at the Grunion Gazette newspaper (www.gazettes.com), which will give you information re prices. I looked at the paper yesterday, and there are several places in your price range. There are a lot of great activities for kids. My girls are in Catholic school, so I cannot comment personally on local schools, however I hear ok things about them until you get to the middle schools, and then not so great. The reason I offer the above areas is that I think you might find the homes more interesting than the other cities mentioned. In addition, Belmont Shore provides a little small town main street feel -fun places to eat and shop. Maybe this matters to you, maybe not. I like the feel of it personally. I have lived here 42 years and would be happy to answer any questions.

[melissal]

Thanks for all of your responses! That helps a lot. We are basically looking to rent for a year or two and we both know that this won't be a permanent move. He pretty much just needs a break from trying to exist on both coasts...and I think with a newborn at home I'll need a break from him being away so much too!

We are well aware of the price differences...we aren't even investigating the possibility of buying and/or making this a permanent move.

It kind of stinks that I won't be in close proximity to the city like I am here - 15 minutes from Philly and 1-1.5 hours from NYC - but I can deal with that for a year or two.

This is exactly the kind of info I was looking for - I need a place that will have a lot going on for young kids (my 3 year old) and plenty to do to keep me busy all day while my husband is at work. I am afraid of Long Beach, to be honest. I know that is probably ridiculous, but it doesn't have a great reputation - though I actually had heard of Belmont Shores. Thanks for the link...I really couldn't find anything for rent there where I was looking...

What about Brea, Yorba Linda, or areas in that direction of Cypress?

Thanks!
Mel

[oc2nyc]

Mel,
Brea and Yorba Linda are still quite a hike from Cypress. They are great cities but they are also inland, so they get really hot and smoggy in the summer. If you are looking for something to do with your kids during the day I suggest you stay a little closer to the beach areas.
Too close and it will cost you, but some areas are affordable and still within an easy drive with young kids. Belmont Shore is nice, although I look at that area as more established with older residents. I grew up in Long Beach and some areas are nice, but unless you really know your way around you could end up in a really bad neighborhood. Look at East Long Beach, stay away from North Long Beach for sure.
My In-laws live in CT, and my cousins in NJ so we are back there quite a bit. You will not find any houses that are comparable out here. The homes here are very close together and do not have very big yards. If you rent that will probably be fine with you, less maintainance.

Have your husband look at the Rossmoor area in Los Alamitos. I love the east coast and I like living here because we have trees that remind me of the landscape in NJ. It is nothing close once I leave my neighborhood but I try to pretend.
I am not sure what your housing budget is so it may not be the right place for you. You will not get much for your money, but it is close to the beach and very safe, with lots of parks.

[YLresident]

Originally Posted by oc2nyc

Mel,
Brea and Yorba Linda are still quite a hike from Cypress. They are great cities but they are also inland, so they get really hot and smoggy in the summer. If you are looking for something to do with your kids during the day I suggest you stay a little closer to the beach areas.
Too close and it will cost you, but some areas are affordable and still within an easy drive with young kids. Belmont Shore is nice, although I look at that area as more established with older residents. I grew up in Long Beach and some areas are nice, but unless you really know your way around you could end up in a really bad neighborhood. Look at East Long Beach, stay away from North Long Beach for sure.
My In-laws live in CT, and my cousins in NJ so we are back there quite a bit. You will not find any houses that are comparable out here. The homes here are very close together and do not have very big yards. If you rent that will probably be fine with you, less maintainance.

Have your husband look at the Rossmoor area in Los Alamitos. I love the east coast and I like living here because we have trees that remind me of the landscape in NJ. It is nothing close once I leave my neighborhood but I try to pretend.
I am not sure what your housing budget is so it may not be the right place for you. You will not get much for your money, but it is close to the beach and very safe, with lots of parks.

I've never known it too be smoggy nor excessively hot here in YL--maybe in the IE... we aren;t close at all to Cypress, though. The 91 stinks (the only fwy route to Cypress), and taking side streets to Cypress from YL/Brea may be a little less stressful, but it'll take longer than the fwy, and isn't really any less congested.

I love our city, though, and there's lots of classes for children, or other mommy'n'me-type activities here. Yorba Linda's a great place to raise children--I enjoyed a fabulous childhood and received a great education here. My niece and nephew are now reaping the benefits of our wonderful neighborhood and will also benefit from the great schools here soon, too! ^_^

(As much as I love it here, though... it'll take at least 30-45 min via side streets (maybe a little sooner on the fwy--dunno) to get to Cypress form here, so I dunno if that's okay for your husband...)

[dougnaie]

"I am afraid of Long Beach, to be honest. I know that is probably ridiculous, but it doesn't have a great reputation - though I actually had heard of Belmont Shores. Thanks for the link...I really couldn't find anything for rent there where I was looking..."

I hear you, and I understand that people feel this way about LB. You have to remember, it is 55 square miles. The areas I outlined all skirt the water, and because of that tend to be higher income. The zip is 90803. Take a look on realtor.com and try and get a feel for the area. I would never recommend it if it were not safe. That said, I do think you need to be careful wherever you live in the Los Angeles area. The paper link I gave you is only for the areas I mentioned. It will not have anything in the other areas you were talking about...it is sort of a local small town paper. I agree with OC2NYC that there are parts of it that are not great, as with all cities I think, but the bad areas are quite a distance from this one. I also agree with her about Rossmoor - really nice and family friendly, and super close to Cypress..I see signs for rentals there every so often. Check the OC Register or the Seal Beach Sun.

Also, it sounds like you are going to need to do some personal scouting..not easy, I know, with little ones etc, but only you are going to know what feels right for you and your family.