moving - El Segundo, Westchester, Playa del Rey (Inglewood, Hawthorne: apartment, rent)

[P-Kush]

For various reasons my wife, 21 m.o. son and I need to move from our Wilshire / La Cienega area apartment. Trying to find a 2 bedroom for $1600 and under (yeah, right!). We are looking into the above three areas because our son's grandma is going to be watching him a lot during the week and she's getting on in her years and doesn't want to drive too far from her place in Marina del Rey.

Any thoughts? We really don't know the El Segundo / Westchester areas very well. Are there any sections to avoid? Any areas that I haven't thought of? Trying to be no more than 20 minutes out of Marina del Rey...

[BRinSM]

el segundo and playa del rey are both very nice. westchester is nice, but gets pretty grungy as you get close to the 405. i would stay west of sepulveda if possible. i lived in playa del rey about 4 or 5 years ago near the intersection of manchester/pershing. considering how small the area is, traffic is a nightmare headed north in the mornings and also getting back in the evenings. other than that and the airplane noise, it's a nice place to live. a friend of mind and i rented a fairly large 2br for $1300/month. there are some pretty good deals to be had in PDR, just avoid the large complexes like archstone which are much more expensive.

[jaypee]

I believe PDR is under LAX flightpath ... drive around there and make sure.

[1200RT]

Originally Posted by jaypee

I believe PDR is under LAX flightpath ... drive around there and make sure.

Every 'city' listed will have jet noise, some worse than other.

My vote is for E.S., as its an independent city with its own school system (good school system), etc. It'll be more expensive than the other. PDR and Westchester are both City of LA (LAUSD, LAPD, etc).

ES would be my second choice if I didn't live in Santa Monica.

[JTGJR]

P-Kush, El Segundo's Halloween Frolic will be on Monday, Oct. 31, from 4-7PM. Swing by to get a sense of the community. Then go trick or treating in the neighborhood.

[nick2006]

Originally Posted by P-Kush

For various reasons my wife, 21 m.o. son and I need to move from our Wilshire / La Cienega area apartment. Trying to find a 2 bedroom for $1600 and under (yeah, right!). We are looking into the above three areas because our son's grandma is going to be watching him a lot during the week and she's getting on in her years and doesn't want to drive too far from her place in Marina del Rey.

Any thoughts? We really don't know the El Segundo / Westchester areas very well. Are there any sections to avoid? Any areas that I haven't thought of? Trying to be no more than 20 minutes out of Marina del Rey...

if schools are not option, westchester (north) in a heartbeat. high middle class, safe, and practically no sewage smell, airport noise. I may be looking in that area pretty soon as well..

[P-Kush]

Originally Posted by nick2006

if schools are not option, westchester (north) in a heartbeat. high middle class, safe, and practically no sewage smell, airport noise. I may be looking in that area pretty soon as well..

Schools ARE going to be an option...in a couple of years. Yeah, I guess I should have mentioned that. I heard the Westchester schools aren't that great anymore, haven't been for a few years, right?

I wouldn't mind E.S. We tried looking there a couple of years ago before moving where we are now (sorta mid-city) and man, there weren't any good deals. The nice places are either all rented or way too expensive. We looked again last weekend and it was even worse. There are some junky, small, no natural light apts available, nothing to write home about. We heard it's because no one wants to leave ES!

I wonder if we should broaden our search to Inglewood...

[nick2006]

Originally Posted by P-Kush

Schools ARE going to be an option...in a couple of years. Yeah, I guess I should have mentioned that. I heard the Westchester schools aren't that great anymore, haven't been for a few years, right?

I wouldn't mind E.S. We tried looking there a couple of years ago before moving where we are now (sorta mid-city) and man, there weren't any good deals. The nice places are either all rented or way too expensive. We looked again last weekend and it was even worse. There are some junky, small, no natural light apts available, nothing to write home about. We heard it's because no one wants to leave ES!

I wonder if we should broaden our search to Inglewood...

you just said schools are important. you have a 21 month old, so you have 3 years to work things. you can live in inglewood for 3 years and then move to el segundo, mar vista, or do the private school thing in marina, playa, westchester, but rent won't be dirt cheap. you have to balance things, but you can't have your cake and eat it too. sounds like you need to find a cheap mar vista or el segundo unit if schools are top priority now. if not immediate, then you have more options.

[cowboyxjon]

What about the northern part of Redondo Beach (90278). I lived there for awhile and loved it. It was a 2br small-ish apartment, but it was in one of those houses where there are two houses on the lot, one in the front and one in the back. The unit was small but it had a lot of windows and a great view of the mountains on clear days. It was $1250/month, but this was in 2005/2006.

[JTGJR]

P-Kush, check out the Del Aire and Holly Glen areas of Hawthorne. Nice family area, eligible for El Segundo School District.

Boundaries- Rosecrans Ave to the south, Aviation Blvd to the west, 105 Fwy to the north and 405 Fwy to the east.