Moving to Los Angeles from Chicago. Where should we live?

[BGS91762]

Originally Posted by ryanms3030

with a $5k/mo budget you can almost live anywhere. Downtown rents are skyrocketing in nicer revitalized areas but you should still have no problem finding something nice within your budget.

But I would also think about the future if you intend on buying a place in a couple of years. I have no idea what your financial situation is but keep in mind that a decent 2 bedroom home in a good school district within a reasonable commute to downtown today is going to cost $700-1 million range and housing has been going up like crazy here lately so that may be more in 2 years. So you may want to save money on rent and put toward saving for downpayment unless the $5k is corporate stipen and/or you have plenty of money saved toward future purchase

Also lots of areas in the San Gabriel Valley such as Pasadena that have easy commutes on the Gold Line or Metrolink.

[ryanms3030]

Originally Posted by BGS91762

Also lots of areas in the San Gabriel Valley such as Pasadena that have easy commutes on the Gold Line or Metrolink.

True and Pasadena has a lot of great places to live for young families and young professionals

[socal88]

If the 30 minute maximum commute is a hard cap, then your best bet will be Los Feliz.

Los Feliz is a nice area that is relatively quaint but still close to the hustle and bustle with good restaurants, bars, and shops.

The next best bet would be either Silver Lake (preferably the area closer to Los Feliz) or possibly the Hollywood Hills/Beachwood Canyon area.

If you want to live on the west side such as Beverly Hills or Culver City, you have to allow for more than 30 minutes each way unless your husband works during non-peak traffic hours.

I know you mentioned you want to be west of the downtown, but if you like don't mind living in suburban areas that are close to downtown and have shopping centers, restaurants, etc. in close proximity, I'd consider house hunting in Glendale, which has some nice areas in the hills. As mentioned before, Pasadena is also a good option.

[ryanms3030]

Originally Posted by socal88

If the 30 minute maximum commute is a hard cap, then your best bet will be Los Feliz.

Los Feliz is a nice area that is relatively quaint but still close to the hustle and bustle with good restaurants, bars, and shops.

The next best bet would be either Silver Lake (preferably the area closer to Los Feliz) or possibly the Hollywood Hills/Beachwood Canyon area.

If you want to live on the west side such as Beverly Hills or Culver City, you have to allow for more than 30 minutes each way unless your husband works during non-peak traffic hours.

I know you mentioned you want to be west of the downtown, but if you like don't mind living in suburban areas that are close to downtown and have shopping centers, restaurants, etc. in close proximity, I'd consider house hunting in Glendale, which has some nice areas in the hills. As mentioned before, Pasadena is also a good option.

Nobody can have a hard cap on commute in LA unless they are walking distance to work. Even Los Feliz to downtown there are times when stuff happens. My commute is generally 30-35 min on the freeway in the morning but it's been closer to 60 minutes every day this week because of accidents.

[nightlysparrow]

Originally Posted by ryanms3030

Nobody can have a hard cap on commute in LA unless they are walking distance to work.

Exactly. The trade-off coming from Chicago's snow, ice, and freezing weather to LA is traffic and time spent in the car in traffic---rather than shoveling snow, digging out the car from the snowplow's wake, scraping ice off the windshield. Just learn to deal with it, find your alternate routes to use when needed, listen to music or recorded books.

[Nerdlord]

South Pasadena near Mission Station. Takes 17 minutes to Union Station via the gold line.

[BRinSM]

Throw Larchmont Village into your search as well. Culver City is also a decent option for a detached house, but I'd save the money until you needed decent public schools. You can rent in similarly nice (if not nicer) neighborhoods further east for less money. You could even afford a nice apartment in Santa Monica, but almost certainly not a detached house. Santa Monica is a fantastic place to live, but the commute downtown is certainly more than 30 minutes, even on the expo line. Bottom line, you have to choose between the beach and the commute. you'll get more for your money if you prefer the shorter commute.

[ryanms3030]

Originally Posted by nightlysparrow

Exactly. The trade-off coming from Chicago's snow, ice, and freezing weather to LA is traffic and time spent in the car in traffic---rather than shoveling snow, digging out the car from the snowplow's wake, scraping ice off the windshield. Just learn to deal with it, find your alternate routes to use when needed, listen to music or recorded books.

yep. I also grew up in New England and moved here 10 years ago. Snow can mess up your commute worse then anything LA has to offer. At least traffic is predictable here other then the occasional accident adding 30 minutes. Snow can add 2-3 hours. I was actually living in the DC are for a year a couple years back and we had a huge storm that started around 4pm. By 530pm there was no leaving work. People tried to leave and came back 2 hours later after barely making it a mile and turning around. I had to wait out the storm until 1am that night before the roads were cleared to drive home and drove past dozens of abandoned cars on the freeway that ran out of gas sitting in traffic. D.C. /NOVA definitely doesn't know how to deal with snow but that is much more of a nightmare then any LA traffic