Job Offer - No idea what to think!!! (Sacramento, West Hollywood: apartments, for rent)

[ollieoxenfree]

Hi Everyone! Thanks in advance for any replies and input. My husband and I are really struggling with whether or not to accept a job offer/promotion with his company mostly because we are so unfamiliar with LA and feel intimidated by it! My husband would be working near Beverly Center, the promotion would put him on a great track with his company and would lead to other LA based promotions in the future, so in that respect we feel the move is very good for us financially. However, I am just going to admit that all we know of LA really is what we have seen on television and we find it a bit overwhelming! Of course the weather totally appeals, but are the areas that are family friendly? Is it as dangerous as the crime mapping websites suggest? The funny part of this is that my husband is a born and bred Londoner, who has only lived in the states for 5 years, I am from Seattle and very well traveled, so its not that we are not well exposed to big cities, its just that LA seems different to us for some reason. The irony is we would not hesitate to move back to New York (New Jersey) or London. Definitely part of our fear is the unknown and we have never been to Southern California (although have been to San Fran, Sacramento many many times) and we do intend to visit before making a decision, but it would be so great to hear from folks who actually live there and are raising families.

We have two young children (8 months and 3 years), we would be looking to rent a 2bed apt/townhouse initially to get a feel for the area and would have to make a decision about where to do that before actually making the move. My husband would LOVE to be able to walk to work if possible. Are there areas that are fairly safe and family friendly near the Beverly Center or is that a dream? Is public transport a reasonable option for a commute? (Being from London its just his preference over driving, but we do have two cars we will be bringing with us if we needed to live a little further out.) Ideally rent would be under 3K per month as I have a hard time throwing more than that at rent. We also love the idea of being able to walk from our home with our kids to shops and restaurants and parks as that is our lifestyle now.

We would greatly enjoy any input about lifestyle, raising a family, neighborhoods, safety, meeting people, commutes, traffic, places to visit, etc.

Lastly I am a 10 year teacher with a Master's Degree and I would like to continue working. Can anyone tell me anything about teaching positions in the area??

Thanks in advance!!!!

[munchitup]

First off, LA is not nearly the place it is made out to be on television / in the media - it is not nearly as ritzy and upscale as Real Housewives or The Hills would suggest, but also not the gang-ridden hellscape of Training Day or Falling Down, or whatever that movie Crash portrays it to be. There really is not that much to be scared of, it is a pretty normal place and one of the great things about its vastness is that you can easily find your niche and be comfortable.

The good news is the Beverly Center is pretty much surrounded by nice and safe neighborhoods.

Beverly Hills is within transit or walking distance of the Beverly Center area, and it has a very good school district. Like I said the entire city is not all Real Housewives-esque, and much of it towards the southern border (near Olympic) is basically just the same as any other upscale part of LA proper.

In LA proper you have the Miracle Mile, Fairfax District and Pico Robertson in the immediate vicinity of the Beverly Center. These are nice neighborhoods, fine for families, pretty walkable (not NYC level but probably non-downtown Seattle level). Those are your best options for walking / transit to work. I've had two friends (admittedly single) live in Park La Brea (near La Brea and Wilshire Blvd) and they enjoyed it.

If your husband wants a short drive commute or a longer transit commute, there are literally hundreds of neighborhoods to choose from, especially because it sounds like money is not a huge concern for your situation. I think the biggest issue for your situation is the schools, but it sounds like you have a couple years before you need to really worry about that. For now I would suggest living near your husband's job (Rule #1 for living in LA, and those areas easily meet the safety / family friendly requirement) and try to get to know the area a little better before you look for a more permanent residence.

[BRinSM]

my brother used to lived in a nice area near the beverly center that i visited many times. he was west of la cienega, north of burton, south of beverly and east of maple. this is a high density area that is walking/cycling distance from the mall and hospital. he lived in two different places, but both were around $2,000/month if you can swing that. that's a great central area to the entire city. the only downside i can think of is that there are no nearby parks to take the kiddies to so they can breath some fresh air. however, i've read some good things about the area around the grove/farmers market (fairfax/3rd st) and there's a big park near there. since your kids aren't school aged yet, you should be fine living almost anywhere in LA assuming you can afford it.

[ollieoxenfree]

Thank you so much for the replies so far!! I am really glad to hear the area around beverly center would be a good place to live at least initially! However, since there is so much to choose from, how would you recommend we do a search? Are there any specific zip codes or neighborhoods to put in? Or a map area to specify that anyone could recommend? Thanks!!

[BRinSM]

you can start with this West Hollywood, CA 90069 Apartments for Rent and Homes for Rent - HotPads

the beverly center is near the center of this map.

[HarryKerryJr]

The Beverly Center area and adjacent communities are some of the upscale areas of LA, but with high density that could allow for a walk or a short bus ride, but even a short 5 or 10 minute drive may work out better depending upon where you live and you could walk the neighborhood for other purposes.

In addition to the adjacent communities and cities, I would also suggest Hancock Park and Windsor Square. Those neighborhoods are a few miles east of the Beverly Center. Hancock Park has a small village with some good restaurants and is in walking distance of some housing. The public transport options would be either the Beverly Blvd. bus (line 14) or 3rd street bus (line 16 & 316). It's about a 15 minute bus ride to the Beverly Center from Hancock Park. It is also a pretty easy drive there should you husband prefer it.

By all means, do visit these areas when you come out here for scouting and see what you like. While the Beverly Center is a pretty great example of BAD architecture and urban planning as a pretty soul-less shopping mall, there are other, better places very close by and adjacent such as The Grove, Farmer's Market, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood--all with great epicurean restaurants, coffee houses and shopping. You also have some bargain food and shopping places, as well (99 cent store not far away at all, as one example). Getting to LAX from that area is not at all that difficult, either.

The only downside is that the Beverly Center area is all buses for public transport. Metro Rail does not yet extend that far west in that area. Most of the rail services are east or south (Expo Line) and too far to be of effective use to you as it serves points east of the Bev Center area, except for Hancock Park that is adjacent to Metro Purple line subway, but it travels east under Wilshire Center/Koreatown to downtown away from Beverly Center.

Best of luck.

[Exitus Acta Probat]

Originally Posted by ollieoxenfree

Hi Everyone! Thanks in advance for any replies and input.

You're welcome.

[kevinbrown966]

I think you are afraid of moving down to any other city, with your given detail I can see that you are worried about leaving your place not about LA in actual. LA is a good place to be and if you are getting good opportunity, then definitely you should accept this as opportunity do not come easily. People in LA are really good and you will not find any difficulty in surviving there. Best of luck.

[silverkris]

Originally Posted by BRinSM

you can start with this West Hollywood, CA 90069 Apartments for Rent and Homes for Rent - HotPads

the beverly center is near the center of this map.

While West Hollywood is a desirable and lively community, I don't have the impression that it's really all that family friendly - more single folk?

[bpeeps]

Originally Posted by silverkris

While West Hollywood is a desirable and lively community, I don't have the impression that it's really all that family friendly - more single folk?

Plenty of families live in West Hollywood...