Young family moving to LA from Europe. Where to live? (Los Angeles: for rent, homes)

[romy76]

Hello dear all!

I am new on this forum as we recently decided we are moving to LA!
We are totally excited about our new life in SoCal!

We are moving september '15 from West Europe.
My husband will work in downtown LA and occasionally in the Hollywood Hills. The salary will be 200K.
We have a 2 year old child who will have to go to kindergarten and later on elementary school!
We have no clue about where to live. Until now we have been reading a lot on the internet, places like Hollywood, Pacific Palisades, Santa Monica, Pasadena, downtown LA are mentioned on the net......
Ofcourse we love the beach but don't know if that's too far to commute to downtown LA for the job.


So what is important is:
- a good commute to downtown LA (and Hollywood Hills)
- good elementary schools (we're talking public schools, but private schools could be an option if not too expensive)
- safe neighborhood

Would love to know your opinions, advice etc.
Any help is appreciated!

[BeatAngMoh]

Of those areas you mentioned only the Palisades has a decent public school. Even then its part of the El A USD. But its the demographics which make the school so its OK. The others are crap and people use private schools instead.

[nightlysparrow]

Originally Posted by BeatAngMoh

Of those areas you mentioned only the Palisades has a decent public school. Even then its part of the El A USD.

So I see now that in an attempt to promote your egotistical personal version of slang, you are willing to confuse a nice foreign person when they vainly attempt to Google "El A USD." Grow up.
_____________________________


To the OP romy76: it's LAUSD as the school system for most of the Los Angeles metro.

[jessemh431]

Do you enjoy suburban life with larger homes, quiet streets, and less dining/nightlife options? Or do you prefer a neighborhood that is still safe enough for a family, but where you can easily walk to restaurants and cafes with your family? I'm assuming that, coming from Europe, you enjoy urban life and walking places in town with your family, but I thought I would ask. Can I also where in Western Europe you will be moving from?

If you like the more suburban life, Pacific Palisades is a good option. However, the commute to Downtown LA will be very long. Santa Monica has a good public school system and is right on the beach. There is a new Expo Line opening in Santa Monica in the very near future that will take your husband all the way from (almost) the beach in Santa Monica to his work in Downtown LA. The only downside to Santa Monica is the cost of housing is very high. It is in Pacific Palisades too though. But Santa Monica is much more urban and you and your family will be able to walk to many restaurants and shops and cafes there.

If you don't NEED to be by the beach, I would recommend South Pasadena, San Marino, and Arcadia in the San Gabriel Valley also. The neighborhoods have a high population of Asian students, but as long as that's not a problem, the school districts are great. And the commute to Downtown LA is very easy on the Gold Line. Commuting to the Hollywood Hills from there will be difficult though.

Culver City has its own school district as well that is better than Los Angeles Unified School District. They have a nice small downtown also and there is a stop on the Expo Line in Culver City to get to work in Downtown LA easily. It also isn't too far from Hollywood Hills. Closer than all the others I mentioned so far.

Last would be Beverly Hills. If you can afford a home in Beverly Hills, the school district is great, the downtown has a lot of shops and restaurants and cafes to walk to. Very easy commute to the Hollywood Hills compared to the others I mentioned. Commute to Downtown LA will be a little challenging because there is no public transit option (besides buses, but they're useless). But, if you plan on staying in LA for the rest of your lives, there might be a new subway stop in Beverly Hills in about 10 yeas hopefully!

[BRinSM]

LAUSD has some great elementary schools, but you'll need to do your research. I've heard great things about Ivanhoe elementary in silver lake. studio city, which is also a reasonable distance from downtown, has some very good public schools as well. Considering your child is only 2, you've got plenty of time to figure this out. more important now is the budget you're working with and the type of neighborhood you'd prefer. Assuming you're comfortable paying about $5000/month for rent and you want to live in a nice neighborhood that is family friendly and not completely boring, i think studio city would be a good option. I would also look into silver lake and los feliz, but they are both very expensive.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by BeatAngMoh

Of those areas you mentioned only the Palisades has a decent public school. Even then its part of the El A USD. But its the demographics which make the school so its OK. The others are crap and people use private schools instead.

Santa Monica doesn't have crap schools - it has the best out of the areas mentioned, along with Beverly Hills. Although there are more families there than other affluent westside neighborhoods, the population of families is dropping due to the very high cost of living. It is the most expensive city in L.A. County and even on your salary you may have problems finding a place there.

"BeatAngMoh" is a racist troll.

[genjy]

Originally Posted by majoun

"BeatAngMoh" is a racist troll.

He and a few others are always race baiting. Just report their posts and let the mods handle them.

But sometimes it feels like the mods are asleep at the wheel.

[znlwovuhrjw]

Originally Posted by majoun

Santa Monica doesn't have crap schools - it has the best out of the areas mentioned, along with Beverly Hills. Although there are more families there than other affluent westside neighborhoods, the population of families is dropping due to the very high cost of living. It is the most expensive city in L.A. County and even on your salary you may have problems finding a place there.

"BeatAngMoh" is a racist troll.

Public School Enrollment, by Race/Ethnicity - Kidsdata.org

65% hispanic, actually just pretty much the truth in a sarcastic way of going about it. I hope your kids want to learn Spanish, it's becoming mandatory in California now.

[BeatAngMoh]

The right demographics making the school OK means more affluent families who steer their kids successfully in valuing education. That is the case in the Palisades and has been for decades. The majority population is Caucasian. How that is racist to those who accuse that comment of being racist is ridiculous.

In some cases, the school's success may also be influenced by cultural factors emphasizing education as a precursor to upward mobility as well as respect for authority, including teachers. This is despite it being an area where parents have less financial wherewithal. This would be in cities in the SGV such as Alhambra, El Monte, etc. That happen to be Asian majority but relatively much poorer than the Palisades. This is also not racist.

It is what it is. But its not racist to make such observations. Instead, to attack factual comments is racist.

[JohnG72]

Hi OP,

#1. Ignore anything Beat Ang Moh posts. His/her account should have already been banned.

#2. You can live lots of places until your child is school age. If you like big city living you can even live in DTLA(downtown LA). There are a few people with small kids. Other locations that are nice and safe are Park La Brea, Silver Lake, Los Feliz. You will have short commutes from these areas. You will probably want to live in a different area when the child is school age, mostly because all of those areas are within City of Los Angeles and therefore part of LAUSD which is mostly subpar. Nearby suburbs with good to great schools are Burbank and South Pasadena. Glendale is also really nice though I've heard the schools are not top notch. From any of those locations you are looking at a 30-45 minute morning rush hour commute to downtown.