irvine or cerritos to raise kids and buy home? (Long Beach: 2009, crime rate)

[raj2009]

Hi,
My job is in Culver city i have been living in Irvine for the past 4 years.my wife works in city of orange. we want to buy a house and settle down but we are not sure where to buy irvine or cerritos .I dont want my wife to commute far to work so we are more inclined towards Irvine/cerritos area. but though it would be easier to commute to culver city from cerritos than from Irvine we don't find cerritos as good as Irvine when it comes to schools, safety etc.cerritos has a higher rate of home burglary as per trulia.com .at the same time if i continue to live in Irvine my commute to culver city is pretty tough(though i carpool) i leave home at 7:15AM for work and reach back at 8PM . if i relocate to cerritos i believe i would save atleast 1.5 hrs.we checked shadow park community in cerirtos it is gated and we did like it but its expensive. the maximum we can stretch up to is 750k for a home..but we dont get any homes in shadowpark for 750k ..they are all 850-1.1 million etc.Considering all these situations please advise.

[EscapeCalifornia]

Irvine to Culver City is a LONG drive to make twice a day, not even factoring in traffic which will make it a living hell. What's the point in having a nice house if you never see it or your kids?

[bhcompy]

Most of Cerritos is extremely safe, the crime numbers are inflated by the areas that border Norwalk and Hawaiian Gardens/East Lakewood. The best areas will be the ones close to Cerritos High and to the east and near Liberty Park I guess. It's really the most southeastern and northeastern portions that are trouble, eventhough they are still very safe and Cerritos heavily patrols the areas to keep them that way.

As far as schools, if your kid is very smart, Whitney is better than any school Irvine has to offer(and only Oxford in Cypress surpasses it in the area).

If you want something more in your price range with excellent schools near to Cerritos, try Rossmoor or Cypress instead. Cypress and Cerritos will have mostly similar housing stock, Rossmoor is older. Rossmoor is essentially a very large walled community(10k+ residents, all SFH).

[raj2009]

so is cerritos the best place to stay between irvine and culver city. is cypress better than cerritos?if in ceritos do i need to buy in gated community like shadow park? is it really of any advantage to buy in a gated community? what activities does cerritos have to offer for kids? on a range of 1-10 how would you compare between irvine and cerritos for different factors like safety,kids education ,kids activities etc..

[JohnG72]

You know, you could just buy your kid a bubble to live in and isolate him from the entire universe.

[RobE]

Cypress might be a good midway point for you. It would be about 30 minutes to Orange and shouldn't be much more than an hour to Culver City. It's diverse, but majority english speaking. However, you would need to pay attention to school boundaries, as you want to send your kids to Lexington Jr. High and not Orangeview. Both Cypress High and Oxford High have solid API scores. Don't take the realtor's word for what school boundaries a particular house is in. Phone the Anaheim Union High School District office and get the info from them directly.

Cypress College is also there. My dad went there before he transferred to Cal State. Nice school.

[NaplesRes]

I would choose East Long Beach (El Dorado Park, Park Estates, etc.) or Los Alamitos. They are both very safe, have great schools, fit your price range, and are centrally located to both of your jobs.

Regarding your need for recreation for kids, El Dorado Park is great. It has everything including a large nature center.

[raj2009]

does los alamitos or cypress have better schools than irvine/cerritos? hows the crime rate in those places compared to Irvine/cerritos. how can these cities be rated in terms of safety and education?

[NaplesRes]

Originally Posted by raj2009

does los alamitos or cypress have better schools than irvine/cerritos? hows the crime rate in those places compared to Irvine/cerritos. how can these cities be rated in terms of safety and education?

define better? Newsweek rankings, API scores, parent involvement, availability of extra curriculars, % of students that go on to IVY colleges? It depends on what you want.

You are fixating on crime rate needlessly. They are all safe cities and comparing is arguing around the edges.

[bhcompy]

so is cerritos the best place to stay between irvine and culver city. is cypress better than cerritos?if in ceritos do i need to buy in gated community like shadow park? is it really of any advantage to buy in a gated community? what activities does cerritos have to offer for kids? on a range of 1-10 how would you compare between irvine and cerritos for different factors like safety,kids education ,kids activities etc..

Originally Posted by raj2009

does los alamitos or cypress have better schools than irvine/cerritos? hows the crime rate in those places compared to Irvine/cerritos. how can these cities be rated in terms of safety and education?

According to Newsweek, Oxford in Cypress is the #2 high school in the state academically and 16th in the nation. US News rated Oxford #2 in the nation. Whitney High School in Cerritos is on Newsweeks list of 19 "public elite" high schools in the US and has been rated 10th overall by US News most recently. Business Week rated Whitney best academic high school in the US for 09. Both schools go from 7th to 12th grade and the purpose is academic college prep. Both schools are test in, so if your child isn't admitted, they will go to their regular district school(be it Cypress High, Cerritos High, or somewhere else).

Los Alamitos High School and Cypress High School may not rate as high the two I mentioned above, or as high as University(Irvine), but they are on a comparable level and are among the better public high schools in the area and the state. They offer a good variety of electives and AP classes, have good sports programs, and have respected extracurriculars like Model UN, Mock Trial, etc. Both schools have been California Distinguished Schools in recent years, and some of their feeder middle schools and elementaries have also won academic merit awards as well. A peak at Greatschools will show you excellent schools from top to bottom, and these schools don't have the same level of budget shortfalls that you see in South Orange County, so the future is still intact. Both schools are great choices for public education and college prep. Both cities are very safe and kid friendly

re: Cerritos
As far as activities, Cerritos has the best library I've seen in Southern California(only Cerritos residents can check out books, but it is open to the public). They have a few nice parks, most notably Cerritos Regional which is a large regional park with a public pool, tennis facilities, a softball/youth baseball complex, a skate park, and more. Liberty Park and Heritage Park are also very nice with up to date facilities.

For housing, just stay away from the parts bordering Norwalk and Hawaiian Gardens/east Lakewood/Del Amo Street and you'll be very well insulated. You don't need a gated community to be safe. It's a very safe city, even in the parts that border poorer areas like Norwalk.

I would say Cerritos and Irvine match up very well in feel and demographics.