Yeah. I have offers from Long Beach and Fullerton. Where do I go and why? HELP (Irvine: rentals)

[finzup2]

Okay, I thought I was going to get an offer from Fullerton, then one from Long Beach. Now, I have to choose between the two jobs by Christmas! I'm thrilled, but scared. Jobs are nearly identical at the Universities. Pay is identical.

Given everything I've read here, I want to stay reasonably close to work. I do love beaches ~~ my family loves the Angels and the Ducks. We will be renting for a few years b/c of the housing prices. 3 br. approx 2,300 a month is our budget. Less is better. Schools are the deciding factor. Elementary and Junior high aged kids right now....

Please tell me if you'd prefer to live and work in Long Beach/HB area or in the Fullerton area -- and WHY. Quality of life, schools, and leisure time are all important in our decisions.

Thanks!

[bhcompy]

housing will probably be a wash. you'll have more expensive options and less expensive options.

for long beach you'll want to consider east long beach(east of lakewood blvd. any area around csulb will be fine if thats where you're going), seal beach, lakewood(again east of lakewood blvd), cypress, western huntington beach(92647 will have the best prices for a nice neighborhood while still being relatively close to long beach), western garden grove(west of knott i would say), los alamitos, and cypress. all of those areas have good to great schools, nice neighborhoods, and should have options available in your pricerange. the best available will be in the los alamitos district unless you look at a school like oxford academy(test-in public school, no real sports program) which is in cypress and one of the best in the nation academically.

for fullerton, i know less about the schools but there are some good ones out there. options would include anaheim hills(maybe too pricey though), fullerton, brea, yorba linda, and parts of la habra and la mirada. you can probably squeeze in diamond bar and rowland heights, but pricing may be higher.

better schools in long beach and surrounding cities

weather in fullerton will be warmer. when its 80 in long beach, it will be 90 in fullerton. santa anas will also be felt more given the proximity to the hills there

leisurewise, theres plenty of stuff to do in and around both cities. fullerton doesnt have the ocean next to it though. fullerton will be closer to anaheim stadium and the pond(with train access as well) but long beach isnt too bad either. i drive from los alamitos to angel games all the time and its a 20min drive for the 7:05 games

personally, id take the long beach area because of the weather during the summer months because most of the other stuff is pretty much a wash. i am very fond of the los alamitos district as well because on the whole and individually it holds up to any public school district in so cal in performance academically and in sports and not many can say that.

[Charles]

I'll add, there are a bunch of possibilities of housing/school options (Irvine?) within an acceptable 30 minute drive radius. Some parts of Orange County would offer outstanding schools. Since the original poster is renting for a while and he didn't provide ultimate housing budget for when he wants to purchase, and, we don't know what housing will be like at purchase time, it is a little tough provide a fine tuned response. Still it is a good idea to rent.

What about working conditions, the job itself, each campuses' organizational culture, growth, etc.? The original inquiry is about which campus to work at. Has the original poster visited each one?

[finzup2]

Thanks, and Charles, the jobs are nearly equal in my view. Each has a great faculty with whom I'd be working, and the campuses have different, but equally interesting opportunities for me.

I really am interested in the areas b/c the schools are dead-on equal for me! The comment about the summers and temperature are great pluses for long beach -- Thank you!

oh, and bhcompy, would the Grunzion Gazette be the best place for rentals in the Los Alamitos school district?

[NaplesRes]

Long Beach. Big city that feels like a small town because of the many distinct neighborhoods.

Suburban - Park Estates, El Dorado, Viriginia, Bixby Knolss, etc.
Beach - Belmont Shore, Peninsula, Naples, Belmont Heights


All of the above have very good schools, are very safe, have lots of character and culture, no cookie cutter stuff, no realtors / car salesman pretending they are 100k richer than they are.

At your price range it will be tough to do 3 bedrooms though in the above areas. 3k is more like it.

Belmont Shore also is more family friendly and quaint than the HB area.

As far as working, CSULB is the best school in the CSU system with the exception of San Luis Obispo. Long Beach has a good college town vibe in Belmont Shore too.

the grunion is a coastal Long Beach paper.

If I were you, all things considered that you posted for requirements, I would check out Belmont Heights.

[BRinSM]

You are definitely in a win/win situation. I have spent a lot of time in both areas, especially Fullerton where I graduated from. Fullerton is a great city with a lot to do in the city and even more in the surrounding communities. It does get warm, but it's not unbearable. Don't be fooled by Long Beach's proximity to the ocean, the ocean breezes can be blocked by the hills in PV making it the warmest beach city in socal from my experiences. Also, Fullerton has one of the top public high schools in the whole state in Troy High. I'd imagine that the elementary and middle schools that feed into Troy would also be above average. Troy is also across the street from CSUF, so you could live close to your work and your kid's schools. In your price range, you could probably find a nice house to rent in east Fullerton. It won't be in the hills, but it should be in a nice area. Check the area north of chapman, east of harbor, west of state college and south of imperial. I used to deliver pizza in that area think it would be a good match for you. after a quick search on craigslist, i found this home available for rent http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/apa/935396195.html (broken link), so there are definitely options out there for you.

long beach is also very nice, especially the east side near CSULB. i know less about the neighboring communities of Long Beach, so you'll want to use the others' advice for that area.

You'll definitely want to check out both areas before making a decision. Good luck!

[BigShoes]

I bought my home in Fullerton 14 years ago and I just love living here. I lived in LA County prior to moving to OC and I don't regret it one bit. Fullerton is a very diverse city, with a great night life and fantastic schools. There is much less of a chance of choosing a bad area to live in Fullerton as apposed to Long Beach. I think you will find less congestion and a friendlier atmosphere in Fullerton as well.

[julia.denise]

I am moving from Long Beach TO Fullerton. BigShoes is spot on...it is much easier to choose a bad area in Long Beach and I've spent the last year in a congested, not so great neighborhood even when I thought I had done my homework. Good luck.