Mar Vista (and other Santa Monica surrounding areas

[Cloudwalker]

Definitely worth paying for Westside Rentals, that's how we got our place and they seem to have a good flow of listings from both individual owners and agents. Things do come up on Craigslist, but not that many SFRs and there seem to be lots of bogus ads on Craigslist too.

We joined Westside Rentals a couple of weeks before arriving to get a feel for prices. When you are getting serious about it, it is also worth checking at least 3 or 4 times a day as new places are listed as they come up. I saw several places get listed and taken in the course of a day, and our one was listed quite late in the evening and we were the first to call in the morning. It's only anecdotal but there do seem to be quite a few people looking currently and there's just not a huge stock of single family homes for rent in Santa Monica.

It is also worth driving or walking around the areas you are interested in as most places that are vacant will have a for rent sign out the front.

You may also want to check VRBO.com for a shortish term (1-3 months) furnished house/townhouse rental when you first get there. Easier than a hotel with kids and if you can find something in one of the areas you are interested in, it will give you a taste of what it's like to live there. If you do take that route, start looking and booking now as we found a lot of places were rented 4-6 weeks out.

[Cloudwalker]

Sorry, don't know too much about preschool/nurseries in the area but you might want to try contacting the British American School in Santa Monica (think it's on 2nd). It's a small school for 5yrs and up, based on Int'l Primary Curriculum out of the UK. They would probably have a pretty good handle on what preschool education is available on the Westside generally and how those facilities might translate/compare with what you would want or expect in London.