Looking to move to So.Cal from NY Metro area (Los Angeles: for rent, high crime)

[westwardbound]

My husband and I are desperate to leave the New York metro area. We live in New Jersey and commute to work in Manhattan (about 45 min-1 hour), but we're both originally from the southwest and just can't take this nonsense anymore. We miss warm weather, sunshine, our cars, suburbs, and a slightly slower pace. The only thing we'll miss about New York is the ability to eat almost any food we want at midnight and the ability to see great jazz any day of the week.
My husband is an illustrator, and I work in marketing so we can move most places but would do best in metro areas. We're more the backyard bbq, dinner party, nice dinner out, museum, jazz club types than the club going types, but we're both under 30 and don't have kids yet, though they're not out of the question in another 2 years or so. We need a decent size place (mostly for my husband's art studio)--has to be above 800 sq feet--and a decent location, but don't mind the heat, so inland isn't out of the question, though we'd love to be within a 2 hour drive to the beach. We definitely want to be in So. Cal--No. Cal is nice but not for us for a multitude of reasons.

What locations would you suggest? We've been to LA and several surrounding cities, and San Diego before, and that's where we've been focusing, but there are so many towns in those areas, we're not sure where to start. We're planning on taking several trips over the next few months to check places out, but given the size of the area, we'd like to have it narrowed down to a few areas to really research instead of just showing up and driving around.

Thanks for any advice you have!

[dusesean1986]

What's your income, if I may politely ask? Every part of Calfornia is warm all year round, except for the mountains and high desert. Would you rather be inland or closer to the beach? If you could be a little more specific, I can easily tell you everything.

[westwardbound]

Income varies. (I know, that's helpful).

Right now, we have a combined income of around $80k, give or take depending on how my husband's art is doing. However, I work in a very lowpaying industry at the moment, and know that my current position in any other industry would give us an additional $10-20k. With our budget here, we spend approx $2000 per month for rent/utilities.

Of course we'd prefer to be near beaches, but my bigger preference is space. I'm tired of cramming into such small living quarters. If that means I have to be inland, because of pricing, so be it--it won't hurt my feelings.

[metaljaybird]

Hi Westwardbound,

Wife and I are both moving to Socal soon. We're living in Northern Jersey. The biggest thing that draws us are the beaches and the climate. NYC metro has the same traffic, smog, crime that socal has...

[Cattknap]

LOL - but it is going to be 77 here today....can't beat the weather that is for sure.

[miracle]

Ill try first in the Bay Area of Los Angeles, San Pedro, Manhattan Beach (is not New York!!), the rent is expensive, but not as much as in the Westside, conmuting is the same you are having now in Nyc to downtown, but weather is good and crime is not as hight as in other Los Angeles areas. Im talking about living in or around Los Angeles, you first have to specified if you are talking to move to Los Angeles area o San Diego, is not the same. San Diego housing is rising as Los Angeles but still is less expensive, also the amenities are less and is not as world class city as LA or NYC are, but you can live very well in San Diego area, jobs ops are less but rising. Inmigrants from all Mexico and CentralAmerica are as much as in Los Angeles but many areas by the beachside are only whites.

In you try inland the less expensive is the inland impire in Los Angeles sourrinding counties of SB and Riverside, quility of life there is not good in my opinion, many latin people and high crime, but housing still low in SoCal comparison terms.

Also inland are San Fernando Valley, a Latin area also, and still expensive, in the San Gabriel Hills also Latin everywhere, but in Pasadena or San Marino you can find good housing and white areas, but very very expensive. I think Los Angeles is a metro area for rich or poor, middle class have no good quality of life here. Think twice before moving here, try better in Arizona, but the beach is not close!!! Many people from SoCal is leaving the state to Arizona, Nevada, Seattle, Oregon, because of crime, housing and conmuting....Los Angeles is not the paradise you see in movies.