El Segundo and Santa Ana (Long Beach, Fremont: rental, credit, house)

[stodge]

Hi all,

We are moving to So. Cal. I will work in El Segundo and my wife will work in Santa Ana. Now, we are just wondering where to live for good schools and safety. And how to get good balance for us to go to work against traffic. Originally, we were thinking living in Irvine. But it seems driving from Irvine to El Segundo is a problem. We will rent for first year and maybe buy a house later. Any suggestion is welcomed. Thank you very much.

Stodge

[Charles]

Rental Budget?
Housing Price Range?

[stodge]

Rental budget is up to $2500 for 2 bedroom or 3 bedroom. Housing price range is around $1M. Thank you.

[DontH8Me]

I would gear towards Torrance or PV - the drive from there to Santa Ana or El Segundo is easily do-able under an hour. The Torrance and Palos Verdes School Districts are among the best in the area. If you go with Torrance, try to find a place in the West or South part of town. Avoid anything listed as Torrance P.O. which is not part of the district and is rather seedy. There is no wrong part of the Palos Verdes School District. If you need more details you can P.M. me.

[NaplesRes]

Belmont Shore in Long Beach. Right by the water. Great schools, close to the freeway and centrally located for both jobs, great homes with lots of character, walk to shops, eateries, etc. The market is down so you could probably get an older but nice 3br/2 bath in the 1M range..

[DontH8Me]

I'd love to know which school in Long Beach you consider "great" - I have heard a lot of negative things about LBUSD, and their SARCs prove it.

[NaplesRes]

Originally Posted by DontH8Me

I'd love to know which school in Long Beach you consider "great" - I have heard a lot of negative things about LBUSD, and their SARCs prove it.

You might want to do some more research. Since we're talking about Belmont Shore, the schools that children attend are Lowell, Rogers, and Wilson.

www.greatschools.net ranks the following schools as follows:

Naples Elementary - 10
Lowell Elementary - 10
Fremont Elementary - 9
Kettering Elementary - 9

Rogers Intermediate - 9
Stanford Intermediate - 9

Wilson High School - 7
Poly High School - 8

You can check the API scores of any of those schools and you will find that they hold up quite well against schools in coastal southern california. The elementary schools are excellent. The middle schools are great. The high schools are above average.

[TheRealAngelion]

You might also consider some north Orange County cities like Huntington Beach, Seal Beach, Fullerton and Yorba Linda among others. La Mirada and Cerritos in LA County might be worth considering too.

[JTGJR]

Do you currently have children, or plan to soon? This should be a consideration wrt commute times. Is there value in having one parent home soon after school lets out? Is there value in having one of you work very close to the school(s) to attend functions, etc.? Long Beach is a good middle point, but if you answered yes to the questions above, I'd lean toward the South Bay area as, generally, commuter traffic is headed north in the a.m. and south in the p.m. So, whomever is going to Santa Ana will have a longer commute, but will be going against the commuter traffic.

All of the school districts- El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach and parts of Torrance are all highly rated. PV Peninsula boasts the highest rated public schools in the area, but it can take upwards of 1/2-hour just to get off of the hill in the morning rush.

[DontH8Me]

Originally Posted by NaplesRes

You might want to do some more research. Since we're talking about Belmont Shore, the schools that children attend are Lowell, Rogers, and Wilson.

www.greatschools.net ranks the following schools as follows:

Naples Elementary - 10
Lowell Elementary - 10
Fremont Elementary - 9
Kettering Elementary - 9

Rogers Intermediate - 9
Stanford Intermediate - 9

Wilson High School - 7
Poly High School - 8

You can check the API scores of any of those schools and you will find that they hold up quite well against schools in coastal southern california. The elementary schools are excellent. The middle schools are great. The high schools are above average.

Perhaps I am opinionated since my son is about to enter HS, and I wouldn't allow him to attend any HS in LB if they paid me. I suppose since "average" is not exactly a finite evaluation, what one considers "above average" is open for discussion. I certainly don't wish to discredit the elementary and intermediate schools, but I will most certainly pass on enrolling my son in a high school where drugs are dealt across the street.

P.S. In the rankings you listed above from greatschools, you forgot to include:

Jordan High - 4
Cabrillo High - 4
Millikan - 6

(I am not even listing the high schools in LB that rated lower than 4)

Lest someone think that the list you presented is all-inclusive. Just out of curiousity, would you allow the LBUSD to place your teenager in whichever HS they wish?