Moving to LA to start a family? (Los Angeles, Torrance: for sale, real estate)

[nightlysparrow]

Maybe Calabasas or Agoura Hills, 1 hour to DTLA by car if you leave 6:45 am or earlier. Very little crime, esthetic and relatively pristine landscape, and Las Virgenes is a top school system. Agoura has lots of 4-bd houses. But, tract housing is the SoCal norm if it's less than 60 years old.

[ccm123]

Close to DT, I would recommend South Pasadena. Great neighborhood and great schools, but far from the beach. Most areas in LA will be a compromise of some type.

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by majoun

Most people LEAVE SoCal to start a family, not move there. There is probably no region in the US less conducive to families than SoCal, due to costs, culture...

I have to agree. We love southern CA but grew up here. It's expensive to raise kids here now and I wouldn't call it an affordable place to start a family. If you happened to have a VERY well paying job here, it might be possible to relocate. Otherwise, N.C. is gorgeous, low key, and more affordable, isn't it? (re: the N.C. people who gave you advice).

[CA4Now]

Maybe you should combine your threads since you've already settled on L.A. //www.city-data.com/forum/calif...rt-family.html

[HappyinCali]

At the end of the day, it all comes down to money (doesn't everything). I have lived in the south (AL, TN) and here. I LOVE LOVE California (I live in NorCal) and I can't wait to have kids when my wife and I are ready. However, we are also lucky to have well-paying jobs and have saved a lot of money.

If you have money, you will have a great life in SoCal. I have friends there and when we visit them, their kids are well-adjusted, always out and about hiking, surfing, biking etc. The diversity is always very important as they all have friends from different races, which I think is pretty cool. They, too, have well-paying jobs.

I also have friends who are lower middle class and have kids. They HUSTLE and their kids don't have the same fun lives as lower middle class kids in the South do. Basically, I have found that in the South lower and richer kids basically do the same things for fun. Everything is a lot more affordable, so there are not vast discrepancies. Both of the parents have very transferable jobs, so I never understood why they are sticking around. Daycare is expensive, the younger kid always has to say with relatives or a babysitter when sick. Babysitter is difficult to get sometimes. So they don't have much money left over to spend on trips and experiences - something that I think a lot more kids in the South could enjoy. I have never heard them mentioning going to an amusement park, water park etc.

So, SoCal could be amazing place to raise kids if you are upper middle class or higher. If you are not, my impression is that it is a lot more work to have the same life as you would in the South for a fraction of the effort

[majoun]

Originally Posted by genjy

Manhattan Beach has excellent schools, but I don't think you would be able to get to DTLA in 45 minutes... it's quite a haul.

Maybe Culver City... close to DTLA, Expo Line, relatively safe, and has good schools too. A nice 4-bedroom house for $700k in that general area might be not easy to come by, though.

Manhattan Beach and Culver City are both expensive (MB is REALLY expensive). The OP needs to forget about a house and go for a condo or apartment, or maybe a smaller house.

MB isn't within an hour of downtown, neither are Calabasas and Agoura Hills. CC is, however. The OP might also be interested in Burbank and SoPas. Or Glendale.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by Fontucky

Be advised, the sentiments expressed by majoun are indicative of those expressed by the overly religious and/or very right-leaning Republican types. If you don't possess too many of those personal quirks and faults, you'll find many areas of Southern California are conducive to successfully raising a family. I certainly did, and all four kids made it to productive adulthood after being raised in Southern Orange County.

First time I've ever been called an "overtly religious and/or very right-leaning Republican type".

[Fontucky]

You weren't. Notice how I worded it.

[nightlysparrow]

Originally Posted by majoun

...isn't within an hour of downtown, neither are Calabasas and Agoura Hills.

Oh, yes they are. Personal current experience, if leaving early as suggested.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by nightlysparrow

Oh, yes they are. Personal current experience, if leaving early as suggested.

I've also done that trip. They're only within an hour of downtown on a Sunday morning with no accidents on the 101.

Besides, one can find schools just as good and crime just as low much closer to downtown and with more things to do in Burbank. The housing just won't be as new and the cops will be more zealous.