Where to live near Downey CA (Long Beach, Orange: real estate, apartments, leasing)

[rnq]

I may be taking a position in Downey. We are moving from out of state. Where would be a nice safe area to move to? No kids, DINKS. We will be leasing for a year.

[Charles]

Seal Beach?

[bhcompy]

Yea, I'd say Seal Beach or coastal Long Beach based on dinks/yuppie

[chispito]

Originally Posted by bhcompy

Yea, I'd say Seal Beach or coastal Long Beach based on dinks/yuppie

Why drive that far? I'm sure there are some somewhat nicer parts of Downey, and I know there are some decent parts of Bellflower. If you don't mind a moderate drive (especially compared to driving from Seal Beach, ugh) there is Whittier.

[ferretkona]

I lived in Downey for 10 years, great town.
Downey is not part of the LA County Sheriffs. Downey has their own city police and are good toward their citizens. No helicopters, they use ultra light aircraft to patrol. So when you hear a lawn mower engine you can look up and see Barney Fi. They only fly in daytime, a big plus.

Downey has their own fire department as well. Years ago in the 1993 riots they were on their way in to no man's land to put out a fire. They caught a bullet on the windshield and they turned around and returned to Downey.

Great town but the out lying areas can catch problems, I was too close to dogpatch/South Gate and was burgled a couple times. The more north in town, the nicer it gets.

[fatimuhhh]

i would say stay north of downey. not saying downey is a bad area, but being a downey resident, the crime has increased over the years.

[agnt.starling]

Originally Posted by chispito

Why drive that far? I'm sure there are some somewhat nicer parts of Downey, and I know there are some decent parts of Bellflower. If you don't mind a moderate drive (especially compared to driving from Seal Beach, ugh) there is Whittier.

Yes, especially Uptown Whittier, near the college, lots of dinks, blended w/the college students (and not that much of a party scene there during the weeknites)...near Beverly Blvd towards the fwy really fast....Some parts of Lakewood are fine (Stay north of Del Amo & Palos Verdes), plus your closer to Downey....
(& forgot to say some parts of Downey are ok too, forgot which parts though)

[ferretkona]

Originally Posted by agnt.starling

,,,Some parts of Lakewood are fine (Stay north of Del Amo & Palos Verdes), ,,,

Funny post. The largest amount of homes south of Del Amo is Lakewood Country Club, pretty elite. You will not find many other homes in Lakewood South of Del Amo, any you do find are pretty nice. You will not find a bad street in Lakewood other than the west side of the mall.

There is a small bit called East Lakewood at Del Amo and the riverbed. Mostly all mobile homes.

I would steer clear of apartments west of the Lakewood mall.

[mollymonk]

Brea is a really a nice quiet safe city in Orange county, located about 12 miles east of Downey.

Huntington beach is great, it's a nice and clean city if you don't mind maybe driving the freeway for a short time, and it's about 15 miles from Downey. Lots of things to do and close to everything.

There are many good areas and bad areas in cities close to Downey.
Downey, Bellflower, Whittier, La Mirada, Long Beach, Lakewood all have their really nice parts of their cities along with parts that aren't as nice. I've lived, worked and commuted through all these cities for the last 50 years. Right now I live in a gated community in La Mirada and I really like it here. 17 years ago I lived in Downey. Downey still has it's nice parts, but the city is changing... Maybe talk to a real estate agent who handles rentals?

[agnt.starling]

Originally Posted by ferretkona

Funny post. The largest amount of homes south of Del Amo is Lakewood Country Club, pretty elite. You will not find many other homes in Lakewood South of Del Amo, any you do find are pretty nice. You will not find a bad street in Lakewood other than the west side of the mall.

There is a small bit called East Lakewood at Del Amo and the riverbed. Mostly all mobile homes.

I would steer clear of apartments west of the Lakewood mall.

yep thanks for the correction (& pointing out my misinformation) D'oh!,

sorry, it had been years since I lived out there (90's) & couldn't remember sense of direction, I did ask someone, hence the error. All I remember is how nice it was w/the huge trees everywhere, & the easy access to LB, but I also remember some parts were not so pleasant (the area u mentioned.)