Would you move from Colorado to Los Angeles with kids? (San Diego: spring break, townhome) - California (CA) - City-Data Forum

Marie87 · 02-21-2013, 12:21 PM

The kids and I currently live north of Colorado Springs, CO where we bought a house just about a year ago. After retiring from the military and taking a job in CO the company my husband worked for shut down after 10 months. He took a position with a major defense contractor in Redondo Beach, CA where he now lives full time. Unfortunately, he doesn't get to travel back to CO as much as we had hoped.

Our kids are in 4th and 6th grade and we are trying to decide whether to move the family out there. We will continue to do the long distance thing for awhile but if he is offered the job to replace one of the directors we will have to make a decision as to whether he takes it and we move or he starts looking for a job back in CO. With the economy the way it is I don't want to turn down a good opportunity but not sure if it is the best move for the family.

We would be looking at living in El Segundo, Redondo or Torrance with schools being the most important. Anyone have any regrets about moving there from somewhere else while your kids were still in school? Thinking about this and researching the area has been driving me nuts! We are visiting over spring break so maybe that will put some of my concerns to rest!

Thanks.....

JohnG72 · 02-21-2013, 12:50 PM

That's probably the nicest family area of LA county due to the combination of proximity to the beaches plus quality of schools. As long as you are ok with $2500/mo for a townhome or $500k+ to buy a 3/2 townhome, there are no other negative mitigating factors IMO. SFR is more.

CarawayDJ · 02-21-2013, 01:02 PM

This is a question that has no right or wrong answer, just opinions. I'll give you mine. I have spent most of my adult life in the military or working for defense contractors. The company I own also works with the military and first responders. My contracting work has taken me to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Germany, Hawaii, San Diego and Orlando. In a nutshell, I can relate to your husband and what might be going through his head. Here's my $0.02

1. Would I move to the LA Metro with kids? I'll answer with a generic yes. It really depends on some other factors. Such as...

2. Does he plan on staying in DoD contracting? If so, I wouldn't move to LA. There is a bit in that area, but it's not one of the contracting hubs for the DoD. Let me restate that. It's not a hotbed for companies that hire former military. There are two types of DoD contracting jobs; those that any ordinary civilian can occupy (e.g. engineer) and those where a lot of military experience is desired/required (e.g. analyst, trainer, planner). You are in a good area right where you are for the latter. Other good areas in the US are the Norfolk area, Orlando, Huntsville, DC Metro. Even San Diego has a nice little pocket of companies like that. I'm probably missing some. Again, my criteria isn't just the presence of DoD contractors, but the nature of the work they do. It has to be work that is mostly done by former military and not any ordinary Joe.

3. DoD contracting is a volatile business. There is a lot of moving around from company to company. If I were to go back as an employee I would seek out an area with a lot of DoD contractors. You can and will lose your job for various reasons. It's a certainty if for no other reason than contracts change hands and programs get cut. Before I had a child I could have cared less if I moved to another state or even country. I wouldn't do that with children. Find an area with a decent amount of other companies in the field to fall back on. There is some activity in the LA area, but they don't require former military for "most" of the work.

You live in a good area right now for DoD contracting. It's not the best area, but still pretty good. It also doesn't have the high cost of living you will find in the LA metro. As for the long distance thing, no way I'd do that with kids. It's one thing to do that in the military when you have no choice, and quite another to do it voluntarily. I understand why you are asking this question. How hard did he look for a new job in the Springs? What is his specialty?

Marie87 · 02-21-2013, 01:52 PM

CarawayDJ,

Thanks so much for your imput. He currently works for Northrop and his career field in the military was acquisition (Aerospace Engineer and MBA) but in the space realm, mostly classified. Since it was only 10 months from the time he retired to the time his company closed down he still had all his connections and didn't have a problem finding a job quickly. There wasn't anything at the time in the Springs although he did try. He did have an offer from Lockheed in Littleton but the commute and some other things weren't as appealing as the job he took. We believe there is more long term potential with the job he took out there. They created the position for him and felt his military experience and connections would add value to their organization. He really loves his job and the pay is good with the possibility of promotion within the next year.

You are right about it being harder to do the long distance thing outside the military when it is now a choice! I didn't think it would be but it has been. Especially since our kids are just in 4th and 6th grade. He retired from the military to spend more time with them but it hasn't worked out that way. Jobs are always about the timing. For now I'm thankful he has a good job! I'm sure we will figure it out but it has been hard.

I'm grateful for you taking the time to give your $0.02. It is all really helpful. We were stationed out there in 2001-2003 and lived in base housing down in San Pedro. Thankfully, the LA area isn't completely foreign to me!

hipcat · 02-21-2013, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marie87

The kids and I currently live north of Colorado Springs, CO where we bought a house just about a year ago. After retiring from the military and taking a job in CO the company my husband worked for shut down after 10 months. He took a position with a major defense contractor in Redondo Beach, CA where he now lives full time. Unfortunately, he doesn't get to travel back to CO as much as we had hoped.

Our kids are in 4th and 6th grade and we are trying to decide whether to move the family out there. We will continue to do the long distance thing for awhile but if he is offered the job to replace one of the directors we will have to make a decision as to whether he takes it and we move or he starts looking for a job back in CO. With the economy the way it is I don't want to turn down a good opportunity but not sure if it is the best move for the family.

We would be looking at living in El Segundo, Redondo or Torrance with schools being the most important. Anyone have any regrets about moving there from somewhere else while your kids were still in school? Thinking about this and researching the area has been driving me nuts! We are visiting over spring break so maybe that will put some of my concerns to rest!

Thanks.....

El Segundo and Redondo are great family options with good schools. The bad part about El Segundo is that it's near a gas refinery and LAX so you'll often hear planes landing. But otherwise, El Segundo has a small townish and safe feeling.

Marie87 · 02-24-2013, 07:43 PM

Thanks hipcat. I don't think the plane noise will bother me to much as I grew up on military bases and sometimes lived right near the runway. Also, I have heard that the refinery and water treatment plant occasional smell issues have gotten better over the years.

kttam186290 · 02-24-2013, 07:58 PM

Santa Clarita is nice. It's more affordable than LA proper and has great schools! The only down side would be his 45 min. to an hour commute down the 405.

Marie87 · 02-24-2013, 08:15 PM

Thanks kttam186290 for the suggestion but he has done the long commute many times during his military career, including there in CA. This time we are looking to be as close to his job as possible and still be in a good area for the kids. Willing to pay more and have less to keep the commute down.

kttam186290 · 02-24-2013, 08:16 PM

then Playa Del Rey, Marina Del Rey, Culver City or El Segundo

Tara19 · 06-20-2013, 02:22 PM

Hi Marie, My husband works for the AF, and I am looking at a position in Englewood, CO. I really liked the Monument area, I think I saw that was were you settled. We also have young children. How did the commute work out? Did you like Monument?

PS. We were at Wright Patt in 2007, enjoyed Dayton!
Kind regards,
Tara ‎