Upper middle class neighbourhoods in LA/OC? (Long Beach, Irvine: home, transfer)

[MtnSurfer]

I grew up in Manhattan and Hermosa Beach. It went from middle class to upper middle class to astronical in terms of price. But if you can swing it, it is one of the coolest places to live in LA IMO. Torrance Beach is also very nice. We finally moved to Colorado because it was just too expensive for us. But this is still my home away from home:

[motoman]

I find it amazing that so many people looking to move to LA make $300,000+ per year.

[JTGJR]

motoman, Why? You need a $200K down payment for a $1M home leaving an 800K mortgage. So (VERY roughly) if you figure 25% of your income going into your house payments and taxes, you're not too far off of that $300K per year income requirement. That's why LA has a ridiculous <10% affordability index.

briz, PM me if you'd like more info on the South Bay. I've lived here for 35-yrs.

[motoman]

Originally Posted by JTGJR

motoman, Why? You need a $200K down payment for a $1M home leaving an 800K mortgage. So (VERY roughly) if you figure 25% of your income going into your house payments and taxes, you're not too far off of that $300K per year income requirement. That's why LA has a ridiculous <10% affordability index.

briz, PM me if you'd like more info on the South Bay. I've lived here for 35-yrs.

I was being sarcastic. That less than 10% of the population can afford the median priced house is so unsustainable it isn't funny. And you are right about the math. To live along the beach, or in the upper-middle class neighborhoods, you have to make roughly $300,000+ per year, at a minimum.

If you make that kind of money, you are in the top 1% of household incomes in the ENTIRE country, yet people talk about those kinds of prices like anyone can afford them. It's rather humorous.

[jekutz]

We lived in La Canada for two years and loved it. Very community feel with excellent schools, nice trail system and close to lots of shopping and dining.

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by motoman

I was being sarcastic. That less than 10% of the population can afford the median priced house is so unsustainable it isn't funny. And you are right about the math. To live along the beach, or in the upper-middle class neighborhoods, you have to make roughly $300,000+ per year, at a minimum.

Well it seems crazy, and it is for anybody coming to the area without a good amount of $$ in their pocket.

But there is another side to the story. A lot of middle class folks from the area bought at the right time and really hit the California Gold Rush in RE. Many of the old timers just invested wisely whether they knew it or not at the time. Now they are sitting on a substantial amount of equity. So I would say that 90% of the people who live there 'don't' earn 300K+/year. They just made some good choices.

The other 10% are truly wealthy from many different walks of life - pro athletes, film industry moguls, business owners, old money, etc...

So you get an interesting mix in the South Bay. And some of the wealthiest walk around in old shorts and tee shirts. So you never realize that that person lives in a 3 million dollar + house right on the beach!

[MtnSurfer]

Wow, under a million dollars is not too common anymore there. It could be a sweet deal.

I grew up in Hermosa and went to Mira Costa High School in Manhattan Beach. Its a fun place to grow up if you can afford it thats for sure.

MrsHB, just curious where are you moving to?

-Derek

[briz]

Thanks everyone for your input! It make my decision making process slightly easier.

I will definitely add Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach and parts of OC onto my short list.

Does anyone like Irvine? It seems to be thriving, but no one really posts too much about it.

Regards.

[MtnSurfer]

IMO, it has less character than the other OC communities. It is newer with a lot of business districts, cookie cutter townhomes and some nice suburb neighborhoods. But I would take Mission Viejo, Huntington Beach or San Clemete over Irvine any day.

[missionhome]

Irvine is a nice community. Of all the cities in Orange County, it has to be the most sterile though. It is a nice community with great schools and your right, it is thriving, especially with jobs, but is sort of the most sterile of the communities. What always makes me laugh is how serious Irvine takes safety. Ever since Mission Viejo beat them in some ranking the city has gone insane. Who cares, we're both safe! But what is really funny is to watch Irvine Police drive around on these segway things. Why on earth would a city so safe need to invest in technology like this? The average offense in Irvine is jay walking or speeding. What is this machine for, running down jay walkers. Just kind of seems like a wasteful place to have technology like this, but hey, its Irvine.