Live in OC and commute near LAX? (San Diego, Long Beach: middle-class, to rent)

[Freemanfam]

I have a promising job opportunity close to LAX and am trying to narrow down possible places to live (we currently live in Rancho Bernardo, north of San Diego). I have read on numerous threads that the LAC school district is horrible, so am considering OC.

I am looking for solid schools and safe family oriented neighborhoods. Would it be doable to commute to LAX? Some of the towns that come to mind from the forum are Plascencia, Brea, Irvine, Anaheim Hills....other suggestions or opinions on areas listed?

Thanks!

[mrsltd]

Originally Posted by Freemanfam

I have a promising job opportunity close to LAX and am trying to narrow down possible places to live (we currently live in Rancho Bernardo, north of San Diego). I have read on numerous threads that the LAC school district is horrible, so am considering OC.

I am looking for solid schools and safe family oriented neighborhoods. Would it be doable to commute to LAX? Some of the towns that come to mind from the forum are Plascencia, Brea, Irvine, Anaheim Hills....other suggestions or opinions on areas listed?

Thanks!

FYI, that one city is Placentia, and that would be a pretty daunting drive every day, though there are ways to get around freeway congestion.

The part of LA near the airport is known as Westchester, and its schools should be better ON THE AVERAGE, given that the neighborhood is generally middle-class to upper middle-class, though that may not be saying much.

Have you considered Torrance, El Segundo, or Redondo Beach? There are websites for school performance that others should able to supply, but those cities (and some others) are far, far closer to work for you than OC would be (even though I am biased toward it ).

LA County has all sorts of cities and districts to choose from. What level are your children (elementary, middle or high school)?

[BRinSM]

what is your housing budget? i wouldn't discount all la county cities just becasuse lausd is terrible. anyways, you'd be looking at an 1.5 hour plus commute each way from the areas you mentioned unless you work off peak hours.

[Freemanfam]

My kids are will be going into grades 7 & 8 next school year. I know pretty much zero about cities in the LA area and I have lived down here for 20 years...sounds crazy.

I am willing to do some extra commuting for good schools and neighborhood though...we are looking to rent at first for between 2-3K per month for a 3-4 bdr house.

[Charles]

I think you could pull if off from Irvine in less than an easy hour both ways iff you worked something like 6-230/300 and/or used a vanpool. You could also catch the green line in Norwalk and (beat the nasty South Bay 405 traffic) which takes you all the way to El Segundo.

If you don't want a newer home then:

You could also consider El Segundo or the South Bay but housing is pretty expensive ($/sqft) in good neighborhoods with good schools. Homes are also older. Palos Verdes is really expensive too. Torrance pops up a lot for people working in El Segundo. Further out Los Alamitos and Rossmore have good schools, housing may be a bit cheaper (I haven't checked).

[Freemanfam]

Thanks..I will take a look at those areas as well. Taking a quick look at Palos Verdes, it does look really expensive.

I was planning on asking about a flex schedule, but the vanpool would be a great option as well. I would think they would be pretty plentiful heading into LA.

[Coldjensens]

The commute will vary. However I always leave at least 2 hours to get to LAX from cenbtral OrangeCOunty and sometimes it takes 3 or even 4 hours to get there. How bad are Hathorne schools? Maybe you cna find good private schools. You can do more for your kids by being home and working with them on their studies/learning, than by sticking them in a better school district and never seeing them. Remember if you are dirving 3 or more hours a day, working 9-10 hours a day, and still sleeping, eating showering and going to the bathroom, you will pretty much see your kids for 5-10 minutes each day if you are lucky. Most days you will not see them at all since they will be sleeping when you leave and when you get home.

[BRinSM]

the problem i foresee for you is that you're probably moving from a nice, newer home in rancho bernardo and there is no housing stock like that within 25+ miles of LAX. there are plenty of nice, established communities, but the houses are going to be older (think 1950s) and not very big in your price range. OC will have more options for newer homes, but then you've got the killer drive everyone has mentioned. if you don't mind the older homes, then i would do some research on middle/high schools in torrance, east long beach, and the del aire neighborhood of hawthorne. i don't have specific experience with any of these places, but it is my understanding that they have good schools while remaining relatively close to LAX. good luck!

[Lincoln10]

I work at LAX and commute from Yorba Linda (Placentia/Anaheim Hills area) - it's about a 45 mile drive and I've been doing it for almost 10 years now. It's not as bad as it sounds. I used to work from 7 am - 5:30 pm and it would take about an 1:15 to get to work and about an 1:30 to 1:45 to get home. If you can hold off on heading home until after 6:30/7 pm (or leave before 3 pm) your drive will drop to under an hour. I recommend getting a gym membership and working out for an hour before heading home during peak traffic. I now work 12 pm - 10:30 pm and it takes about 45 minutes both ways while driving in the fast lane and not speeding too much! You have several freeway choices when accidents occur along the 105 and the 91, though you're pretty much stuck with the 91 east of the 5.

* Oh and always keep some good audiobooks in your ipod...use that drive time wisely!

[Charles]

Originally Posted by Lincoln10

I work at LAX and commute from Yorba Linda (Placentia/Anaheim Hills area) - it's about a 45 mile drive and I've been doing it for almost 10 years now. It's not as bad as it sounds. I used to work from 7 am - 5:30 pm and it would take about an 1:15 to get to work and about an 1:30 to 1:45 to get home. If you can hold off on heading home until after 6:30/7 pm (or leave before 3 pm) your drive will drop to under an hour. I recommend getting a gym membership and working out for an hour before heading home during peak traffic. I now work 12 pm - 10:30 pm and it takes about 45 minutes both ways while driving in the fast lane and not speeding too much! You have several freeway choices when accidents occur along the 105 and the 91, though you're pretty much stuck with the 91 east of the 5.

This makes sense to me, having spoken to colleagues who work in El Segundo. They do a 6-3 thing and it's about a mile a minute. Even better are the vanpools that use the carpool lane. But after three o'clock the traffic builds. Seems worse on that stretch of the 405 between the 105 and Long Beach. The nice thing is (as mentioned above) your GPS can route you to the best freeways as there are so many possible ways to OC from the LAX area. For example, right now (6PM in LA), I would go 105, 710, 91, 405, and maybe 73 if going way south.