Anyone from Santa Fe Springs, CA? (Los Angeles, Orange: apartments, how much, house)

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by robertin75

So driving from SFS to any of those cities (Cerritos, Whittier, La Mirada , etc.) would take how long in peek hours (6-9am and 4-7pm )?

more than 30 mins?

an hour?

more than an hour?

Thanks

Those cities are all pretty close so I'd say they're within 30 minutes during peak times unless there's a wreck on the freeway or a tanker truck explodes and takes out a major overpass. (yes, that just happened)

[Chelito23]

I actually went to school and commuted to SFS for two years. It is a perfectly decent area. People who are saying that the surrounding cities are ghetto need a reality check to know what ghetto actually means.

It is true that most of SFS is office and industrial park type setting. All of the adjacent communities are fine. Norwalk is adjacent, safe, middle class, has ammenities, etc. Downey is farther but pretty much the same. Pico Rivera is on the other side of the 605 and again, gets a bad rap but it perfectly fine. Whittier is the other direction and again, is fine and has a neighborhood for everybody.

In other words, people can think of one bad apartment complex or a few homes that look run down and right off the whole city. Please don't, it would be insane to move to a palce farthur away and commute on the 5 or 605, those freeways are so backed up...and for what? You will find that the Gateway cities, like all of Socal, are expensive, but the area around SFS is more affordable than the other areas people recommended to you. If you have a ton of extra income to spend on even higher rent, more money for gas for longer commutes and more time to spend sitting in freeway traffic, by all means, move farthur away just to be in a slightly more upscale suburb. But I don't think most grounded people, especially comming from the Midwest, will need or want to do that. That is a very "California" attitude and people project that onto newbies all the time.

Traffic does suck, but it's manageable. You don't have to have a long commute if you don't want to. There are bad people everywhere, but overall, Socal is laid back and you will be safe if you just use common sense. There are new shopping centers, clinics, stores (ammenities) pretty much everywhere, so you should live as close to your job as possible just to have more free time and in your case to not have additional expenses. And mind you most of these stores, malls, etc are perfectly clean and new and safe. If people dispute this, look on google earth or take a trip to the area first to see for yourself.

You will probably find that suburban LA is nondescript and nothing special and is shockingly expensive and may as well be anywhere, USA. If you can live in a place like that, move adjacent to SFS. If you want to live in an outstanding suburb and can afford dizzing rents and long commutes in heavy traffic, do so, but it is not necessary unless that is what you personally want.

[EscapeCalifornia]

Recommended for the thread starter before moving to one of the cities surrounding SFS:

Amazon.com: Spanish For Dummies Audio Set (9780470095850): Jessica Langemeier: Books

It'll keep you occupied on the drive out.

[robertin75]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

Recommended for the thread starter before moving to one of the cities surrounding SFS:

Amazon.com: Spanish For Dummies Audio Set (9780470095850): Jessica Langemeier: Books

It'll keep you occupied on the drive out.

What's that supposed to mean? I am the thread starter.

[Harrier]

It means you need to know the official language of the area before moving here - Comprende?

Moderator cut: not in English

[the one]

thats just ridiculous. most of the SFS, PR, Downey, whittier have large latino populations, but they are not monolingual. they are full of families that haved moved from working class to lower middle, middle and upper middle class. they are usually 3rd or 4th generation latinos.

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

Recommended for the thread starter before moving to one of the cities surrounding SFS:

Amazon.com: Spanish For Dummies Audio Set (9780470095850): Jessica Langemeier: Books

It'll keep you occupied on the drive out.

[the one]

OP dont take Escapes post seriously. they usually always have something negative to say about LA and are full of generalizations and fallacies. SFS is not ghetto. some parts are run down and older, but its not athens or hyde park. its similar to pico rivera. and pico rivera is a nice working class neighborhood/city.

a good indicator for how nice a neighborhood is would be the various crime pages at the LATimes. the last SFS homicide occured april 2010. "ghetto" areas have way more homicides than that.
Santa Fe Springs - Neighborhoods - Homicide Report - Los Angeles Times

and although SFS does not submit crime reports to this webpage, you can look at the surrounding areas to get a better idea of what crime is like around SFS. the surrounding cities like whittier and downey ARE nicer, but others (like norwalk) arent so nice. none of these cities really reach "ghetto" status. they might have pockets of crime, but most cities do. even the nicer areas like glendale and burbank.
L.A. Crime News - Los Angeles Times


if you are working in SFS, i would suggest living somewhere close. whittier is nice enough. it has its own little downtown scene. its just a matter of what you are looking for. do you want night life, restaurants, bars. do you want less density?

at the end of the day, do your research. find facts. check wiki. and dont believe what escape CA says. they are an alarmist hellbent on giving LA a bad name.


cheers.

[behindthescreen]

Isn't the OP's name "Roberto?"

I live in the SFS area and only know English. I get around just fine.

I'm guessing you're going to be renting? How much can you afford?

[robertin75]

Originally Posted by behindthescreen

Isn't the OP's name "Roberto?"

I live in the SFS area and only know English. I get around just fine.

I'm guessing you're going to be renting? How much can you afford?

Yes my name is Roberto and I am from México working as a Software Engineer in Indiana, so 100% bilingual English-Spanish

How much are the rents in those towns? I know much more expensive than Indiana but the salaries are much higher of course.

I currently pay $560 for a 2 bedroom apartment with kitchen, washer/dryer, living room and one full bathroom in a quiet and nice area.

I have a friend that lives in Aliso Viejo, CA and she pays $2,000. (She's also a Software Engineer).

Thanks everyone !!

[robertin75]

Originally Posted by the one

if you are working in SFS, i would suggest living somewhere close. whittier is nice enough. it has its own little downtown scene. its just a matter of what you are looking for. do you want night life, restaurants, bars. do you want less density?

at the end of the day, do your research. find facts. check wiki. and dont believe what escape CA says. they are an alarmist hellbent on giving LA a bad name.
cheers.

I am not a night life lover but I ocasionally like to go to bars and restaurants on the weekends.

Are there any single women on those towns?

I am more into exercising in the gym and outdoor activities if possible. Is this what you would call "low density"? I am not familiar with that term.

There's not much to do in Indiana on winter except going to the gym IF we are not having snow storms