Move to Torrance for better air quality? (Long Beach, Riverside: to rent, high crime)

[athom89]

Hi

I am in my 40's and live in the Bakersfield area. My spouse and I need to move in the next year or sooner as my doctor strongly recommends that I do so as I already have lung damage from air pollution (not allergies). After looking up the LA area, it seems the best places for relatively cleaner air is in the coastal areas. We love Hermosa Beach but can't afford to live there. So we thought of Torrance. We are in our 40's, I love to garden, we love the beach scene and love outdoor activities and have no children. We might be able to find jobs close to Torrance e.g. Carson etc. Anybody know about any reason for not living in Torrance and also are there other areas that have good neighborhoods close by. We might have to rent for a year or so until we can sell our house in Bakersfield, what with the bear market and all. After that we could spend about 600,000-800,000 on a house (hopefully at least 2000 sq.ft.). We make fairly decent income together, in the $120,000- $135,000 range.
Thanks

[bhcompy]

torrance is okay. there are good neighborhoods and there are bad ones. really not a bad place to live

the one thing ive noticed is that the hill that palos verdes resides on seems to cut off the onshore flow that brings the cool ocean air over the coastal regions. im not an expert, but just personal experience working in the beach cities from santa monica down to newport, the area from rolling hills through long beach(other than san pedro maybe) is always a little less breezy and a little hotter than the rest of the beach areas.

just my personal experience though, someone else may have better knowledge

[athom89]

Originally Posted by bhcompy

torrance is okay. there are good neighborhoods and there are bad ones. really not a bad place to live

the one thing ive noticed is that the hill that palos verdes resides on seems to cut off the onshore flow that brings the cool ocean air over the coastal regions. im not an expert, but just personal experience working in the beach cities from santa monica down to newport, the area from rolling hills through long beach(other than san pedro maybe) is always a little less breezy and a little hotter than the rest of the beach areas.

just my personal experience though, someone else may have better knowledge

Does that mean that the palos verdes hill blocks the onshore breezes into Torrance? Not sure about the geography.
Thanks

[bhcompy]

thats what im saying

[MtnSurfer]

Well,

I grew up in the S. Bay and lived there for 40 years before moving to Colorado. My home town is Hermosa Beach. And you simply cannot beat the beach for the best quality air in LA County period. But it became too pricey for my wife and our 3 young children even with a decent 'single' income. So we moved to Torrance.

Torrance is a very large city compared to the other S. Bay. beach towns. And there are a 'many' micro climates within the city relative to the coast and PV. Generally speaking the closer you are to the coast the better and more pricey. Remember Torrance has a beach also which is actually very nice. And the hills right behind the beach are a great place to live. The main neighborhoods are really centered around their 'four' high schools (North, South, West, Torrance). I would say there are desirable places to live within each of these neighborhoods. The main thing is to avoid going too far to the eastern border. That is really where you lose the ocean breezes and are closer to lower income, high crime areas like Torrance PO (not really Torrance at all).

I highly recommend driving the neighborhoods yourself and try to find a place as close to the coast as you can possibly manage, on or near a hill for better breezes and you will do fine.

Lastly because of the soft CA RE market don't rule out parts of PV/Rolling Hills. To me this is the nicest part of LA. And up on the hill you will have more breezes, trees and less cars. If there was ever a good time to buy up there these next couple of years may be it. I think the prices up there have actually come down more compared to the other beach towns (Manhattan, Hermosa, etc...). Of course there is more driving involved. But if you work in Torrance it is really not that bad.

- Derek

[athom89]

Thanks all of you for some great ideas. However, are there any other areas with fairly good air quality within 10-15miles north or south which has some decent neighborhoods/towns/cities that we could consider if Torrance doesn't work out. We are not particular about Torrance except that we love Hermosa Beach. How is the commute going north or south from Torrance or any of the other cities (not sure where exactly our jobs would be but possibly not far from Torrance). Are there city street alternatives to the dreaded 405?

Thanks

[MtnSurfer]

There are a lot of options 'around' the South Bay area. And no, I would avoid the 405 FWY like the plague if at all possible, really! That is one of the things I hated most about S. Cal. And I drove the LAs FWYs alot while living there. But I eventually wised up and determined to find work closer to home and avoid it all together for my daily commute.

So regarding other decent options, as I mentioned before PV would be my #1 choice. Hermosa, Manhattan, Redondo, El Porto and El Segundo are top of the list. Other areas get a little more dicey. Second tier options might include some of the nicer parts of Lomita, Gardena, Lawndale and possibly Culver City. Long Beach has some nicer sections and some really 'bad' sections. Not really my cup of tea down there. The same with San Pedro.

But when considering these second tier locations you have to watch for two big things:
1. Polution
2. Crime
Long Beach and San Pedro are close to the LA Harbour and polution can come from the large freighters. Culver City has airport smog/noise and is further from the coast. Of the second tier places I would probably check some of the nicer parts of Lomita which is closer to the beach than most of the others.

* Remember: The air is more stagnant the further inland you go. So is it really worth your health to save a few bucks or get that bigger house? If your going to make the move then do it right and make it count. Go somewhere with an "Ocean Breeze!" Or move to Colorado like we did. LOL...

Really life is too short and you have already spent too much of yours breathing in all that poisen. So give you and your husband/wife a break. Your budget is reasonable for the Torrance area and some of the 'nicer' places I have mentioned. Why settle for less? If you have to get a little smaller place then so what. Wouldn't it be better to live longer in a little smaller place in a beautful area than have a bigger, fancier home in crappy area? Remember Location, Location, Location. Better for your health 'and' investment in the long run. In LA County especially location is critical.

[Sorcerer68]

The secret bargain, safe area in Torrance is (drumroll please)....Old Torrance. It doesn't have the vibe of being at Torrance Beach...it's a little microcosm but housing is cheaper there. Yes, I used to live there. Regarding air quality...yes, there's less smog. I found onshore flow just fine, not as much as my house in South Redondo (but in one sentence I just tripled the rent). Honestly I don't have any problems here in Los Feliz, it didn't even bother me in the summer in Pasadena....however Bakersfileld does me in. It's up there with Riverside when it comes to smog. You might also look in Culver City, it's reasonable for a (near the ocean) community.

Avoid the 405 like the plague is right. That freeway is wicked. It's a parking lot 4-5 hours a day. During non-peak hours it's mostly OK but it can surprise you. Crenshaw and Hawthorne are good N-S routes and Sepulveda and PCH and the best E and W (although PCH then bends north). Know that surface streets aren't exactly quick in the South Bay, you'll hit lots of signals.

Good luck. Torrance was an ok place to live, I found it boring but you might like it. I grew up in Redondo and lived in Torrance for a couple years. Good shopping and nice beaches nearby...IMHO the nicest in L.A. County.

[MtnSurfer]

Yes, there are actually decent parts of Old Torrance near Torrance High and Wilson Park. That is the last place we lived in CA before moving to CO. And even though it was a bit inland from the coast we still got decent breezes. But you do have to pick and chose your streets, sub neighborhoods, etc... Because it is so 'Old' some of the streets are really tight, one way, poorly laid out and the homes can be tiny and close together in certain parts. But they are slowly giving it a face lift and putting in new homes in on some of the medium to larger size lots.

[Sorcerer68]

Originally Posted by MtnSurfer

But they are slowly giving it a face lift and putting in new homes in on some of the medium to larger size lots.

And that's exactly what we're trying to stop. It ruins the scale and continuity. Facelifting the old homes is like putting 2008 Yukon fenders on a 1928 Buick Roadster. There are new homes in many other communities, OT doesn't need them. It's a bummer when someone lovingly restores their 1921 Craftsman bungalow only to have someone plop a McMansion next to them that's completely out of scale for the neighborhood.

People generally move to Old Torrance because it's one of the last areas in the South Bay with some history. It has wonderful examples of Craftsman and a few Spanish Revival homes. The charming scale of the streets fit nicely. For some (like me), a smaller bungalow is just fine. There are also larger more expensive homes. Stay on the beach side of Sartori...go east of it and it gets nasty fairly soon. West of Crenshaw it gets considerably more expensive. The people I know in Old Torrance have all lived there for a very long time and love the small town vibe it has.