Another Century City Employee! (Thousand Oaks, Santa Monica: apartment, to rent, hotels)

[Cvirtue1]

Hi! My husband has been transferred and will be working in CC. He works in hotels so plans to be there by 7:15am each day or so. Non traditional hours. We have a family of two daughters, middle and high schooler. We are trying to achieve the best combinations of school quality and decent commute. I was thinking Westlake Village/Thousand Oaks...he is leaving Santa Monica/West Hollywood. I am afraid after reading some posts that the SM/WH area are not as family focused. He is afraid over the SFV is a terrible commute. We are heading out to check it all out next week but wanted to get some opinion first if possible. We are also planning to rent, not buy. Thanks folks!

[socal88]

I'd say to give it a shot commuting from Westlake Village/Thousand Oaks area.

Given that his hours are early, he'll be avoiding the brunt of the major traffic in the morning. It'll still take at least 45 minutes in the morning but the afternoon commute will be pretty heavy. Probably 1 hour 20 minutes on average.

West Hollywood is not a place to raise kids. It's pretty much an area for singles with lots of nightlife. While West Hollywood is its own city, it's still part of LAUSD.

Santa Monica is a little more family friendly, but nothing like suburban areas such as Westlake Village/Thousand Oaks. Public schools are fine though.

[BRinSM]

TO/WV are excellent places for families if you don't mind the commute, but they are also not cheap. what is your housing budget?

[Cvirtue1]

Thanks all. We are thinking $3200 ish. I've looked a little on Trulia and think we could do that.
I would guess the same for Agora Hills (sp) in terms of commute too? What about Pacific Palisades?

;-)

[ryanms3030]

Culver City?

[BRinSM]

unless you don't mind an apartment/townhouse, your budget seems a bit low. pacific palisades will definitely be out, it's one of the most expensive parts in all of LA. the rest of the westside with good schools is out as well unless you don't mind fitting into a 2br apartment (culver city included). as a point of reference, my 3 bed 1600sf home near the 101/405 intersection in the SFV could rent for at least $3200 and we're zoned to a poor high school. also, the commute from my house to century city is 45-60 minutes during normal rush hour.

as for agoura hills, it will lessen the commute by a bit, but not much compared to TO/WV. lots of tough decisions to make on your side, good luck!

[Cvirtue1]

No not Culver City, husband working in Century City! We may have to go higher on the rent and maybe could. That commute 45-60 near the intersection doesn't seem bad but schools not great there? Is Brentwood, another that came recommended, good for schools/families? Is Westwood the same as West Hollywood? I'm sure the visit will be Illuminationg!

[BRinSM]

Westwood and brentwood have poor public high school options, though they are fantastic neighborhoods (and fantastically expensive as well). What kind of home are you looking for? house? townhome? apartment? # of bedrooms? sf? backyard? etc...

[socal88]

While Brentwood and Pacific Palisades are great areas, $3,200 won't cut it unless you're ok with living in an older 2 bedroom apartment.

At least in Thousand Oaks/Agoura Hills (less so in Westlake Village), you can actually find a decent home to rent for $3,200.

You can also find a few homes to rent for your price range in Woodland Hills/Tarzana, which shaves a little bit of time off the commute. However, they are zoned to LAUSD, so unless you can get your kid in a good charter school or willing to pay for private, not quite worth it.

[ryanms3030]

Originally Posted by Cvirtue1

No not Culver City, husband working in Century City! We may have to go higher on the rent and maybe could. That commute 45-60 near the intersection doesn't seem bad but schools not great there? Is Brentwood, another that came recommended, good for schools/families? Is Westwood the same as West Hollywood? I'm sure the visit will be Illuminationg!

Exactly. Culver City is a pretty easy commute to Century City, they have pretty good schools and you can get something much better for your money then in the other places you are looking. Commute would be about 20 minutes without getting on freeways as opposed to 1 hour + commuting from the other places you are looking on the 405