Safe Areas Commutable to West LA?

[SpaceMonkyPunks]

I live in 90064 - nice houses, but they're all pretty tiny. If you don't need to pay a premium for a yard, why bother? Lots of newer rentals are just as big as these houses.

[knicksin8]

Ok, how much would a rental 2 bedroom 2 bathroom townhouse/condo/house cost per month in a safe area commutable to the VA West LA medical center? Please make a distinction between areas with good public schools and those that do not. I appreciate all of the helpful feedback thus far. Thanks in advance.

[JohnG72]

Originally Posted by knicksin8

Ok, how much would a rental 2 bedroom 2 bathroom townhouse/condo/house cost per month in a safe area commutable to the VA West LA medical center? Please make a distinction between areas with good public schools and those that do not. I appreciate all of the helpful feedback thus far. Thanks in advance.

Your best bet for the above will be Torrance or Redondo Beach.

GPS currently has that as about a 35 minute drive. Keep in mind this is because its summer and also Monday-lite traffic.

Depending on hours, your commute could be 30 minutes(530am heading in, 2pm heading home) up to an hour each way. Depending on where you live in either city, its about 15-18 miles to the VA hospital in West LA.

The reason I recommend those two cities:

-Ample housing stock. For certain you can get a townhome under $3K. In fact, I've been looking at 2bd/2ba apartments in Torrance over the past 4 months and have seen nice, large(1300-1800 sq ft) 3/2 townhomes in the $2300-2600 range. There are also SFR that are under $3K a month, but it takes some effort to find them. Redondo is generally less expensive unless its within a mile of the ocean.

-Schools...Torrance has excellent schools through high school. This goes for any of the four high schools in the city, the best being West High School, I believe. Redondo Beach has very good to excellent schools as well.

-Safety - Both cities have their own police force and in general are safer than anywhere in City of Los Angeles(which includes the SFV communities others have mentioned). This isn't 100%....these aren't cookie cutter new build communities. Nearby Lawndale(bordering Torrance and Redondo Beach) isn't fantastic. On the south border of Torrance, Harbor City is a pretty awful area. Mostly Torrance is very safe, but some of the surrounding areas might not be.

Really, something like this is pretty common:

****GORGEOUS REMODELED HOME, 3 bedrooms 1 & 1/2 bath******

WINDSONG Gated Community

Take A Look At This Townhouse !!!

Redondo Beach home for rent

Hermosa Condo. 3 bedroom 2 bath, walk to the beach <----Just found this one in Hermosa Beach. Dated, but awesome location....everything I said about Torrance and RB apply here...nice area, great schools.

There are other areas with terrible schools that might get you closer(since you stated earlier that Catholic schools were an option. As mentioned, Mar Vista and Westchester are two of these. Both are plenty fine and theres actually several catholic schools nearby, simply though, I am having difficulty finding a 3/2 SFR in your price range. Same goes for Culver City which is also a good option provided you can find a rental. All three have a substantially shorter commute than from Torrance or Redondo Beach.

I ignored Sherman Oaks/Encino. The reason is that I couldn't find something in your range there and private schools are almost mandatory. Plus its hot as heck in the summer and something perhaps a SAH mom would not appreciate. I would not live any further away than that. The Thousand Oaks recommendation is insane. There are people that do those commutes....they believe its worth it to typically own a home in a cookie cutter, safe community. Others that post here on CD believe its better to have a short commute. I'm in the short commute camp. I believe that Torrance or Redondo Beach would give you the best balance of commute/community/safety/available housing.

One more note...your ability to find appropriate housing will depend on how much time you have to look. I've noticed that lots of rentals list really high. I assume this is because just like there are delusional home sellers who price way too high for market, there are also delusional landlords who do so as well. Sometimes it takes a few months to find what you might be looking for. But people who need to move immediately are stuck with whatever is on the market at that given point in time.

[knicksin8]

Thank you to everyone who replied. Lots of helpful info that I really appreciate.

[nightlysparrow]

Try Agoura Hills or Oak Park. Way cheaper, excellent public schools, top-rated. You can take the 101 and take a canyon road over to the VA----Beverly Glen, Coldwater. Or, you can take Kanan or Las Virgenes over to PCH and look at the ocean every day.

Here's a commercial rental, a bit over $1,700.,
Archstone Agoura Hills near Los Angeles - 30856 Agoura Road - Archstone Apartments in Los Angeles

but you can get private rentals, like these:
http://www.toacorn.com/news/2013-07-25/PDF/Page_043.pdf