Another neighborhood suggestion thread... (Los Angeles, Santa Clarita: apartment, rent, condo)

[jezyk]

Hello all. Just got a job at Cedars-Sinai in West Hollywood. Check! Next step, finding a place.

About us: Family of 3. Stay at home mom with a 1.5 year old. Looking for a 1-2BR place for about 2k.

We're not familiar with LA in general but we visited the downtown areas of Culver City and Pasadena, which we really loved. Ideally, we would love to live in those places but Culver City is too expensive for us and Pasadena will be a hellish commute.

Are there other areas that are very similar to those two? The mom doesn't drive so we would like something walkable to shops, kids parks, and clean/safe.

Again, something that's in the neighborhood of 2k and within 30min driving and/or 1hr by public transportation would be ideal.

Thanks!

[Tuscan80]

You could probably find a one bedroom apartment in culver city still for $2k ... not sure if you want only one bedroom though with a baby. You'll have to really search for this though.

Sherman Oaks/Studio City would be a great fit. You could probably find a 2 bedroom apartment in Sherman Oaks (maybe north of the freeway though for $2k) that is very family friendly.

[Astral_Weeks]

At your budget you can find a one-bedroom apartment in West Hollywood or areas very close by such as this one in Beverly Grove near the Beverly Hills/LA City border.

https://losangeles.craigslist.org/ws...085775495.html

I agree that Culver City and Pasadena are great areas....but as you noted due commute forget Pasadena.

Some additional areas to consider that are located in the city of LA and are closer to Cedars than Culver City:
-Miracle Mile neighborhood (near Wilshire and La Brea)
-Carthay Circle neighborhood
-Fairfax District

For a larger place you can consider the San Fernando Valley areas noted by Tuscan80. I would add to his/her list:
-Valley Village (a neighborhood in the valley with a laid back family vibe)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valley...e,_Los_Angeles

[Cloudwalker]

Try Palms, which is just north of Culver City, or the Pico-Robertson area (or anything in 90035).

West Hollywood can be a difficult area to commute to because for most of it there's no easy freeway access. You have to spend a lot of time on surface streets to get in and out of the area, which can take forever. If you are coming from the valley, the canyon roads (Laurel or Coldwater) are faster, but they are taking more and more traffic and if they get closed for any reason (water main breaks and slips are recent examples), then it's a long haul to get over.

What is your tolerance for commuting? For me, I would rather spend a little more and get a smaller, closer place, than spend less for a bigger place further away. There are considerably more options available at $2200 than $2000 (for 2 bedrooms).

Also, if you find a place you like, try doing the commute during rush hour to get the real picture. Lots of side streets seem quiet in the middle of the day, but turn into crowded parking lots during rush hour.

[jezyk]

Thank you all.

I may be wrong but it seems like the Miracle Mile and Fairfax district seem to be neighborhoods that are heavily congested with car traffic in all directions. Is that an accurate assessment?

I was thinking of Palms but read about some recent gang related shootings. It appears to be very infrequent but what part of Palms should I stay away from? There's an area directly north of Culver City downtown and west of the Metro line that seems nice. Anyone with any insight on that?


Also, anyone know of young families and their long term goals? Do people just accept that owning anything in LA is unattainable with decent income (<150k) and just rent until they move out of LA or California in general? I gather rents can account up to half of your take home pay. With the other paycheck covering food, utilities, car, etc... That leaves not much to save up for a decent down payment.

[saibot]

Originally Posted by jezyk

Also, anyone know of young families and their long term goals? Do people just accept that owning anything in LA is unattainable with decent income (<150k) and just rent until they move out of LA or California in general? I gather rents can account up to half of your take home pay. With the other paycheck covering food, utilities, car, etc... That leaves not much to save up for a decent down payment.

It's a real problem for young people and anyone who never managed to buy during one of the downturns of the past couple of decades, yes.

[Texamichiforniasota]

Yeah, generally it takes two good incomes to afford something. Two main groups of stay at home mom's:

1. Those married to really wealthy guys.
2. Those whose earning potential is less than the cost of childcare.

Most of the rest of us are 2 working parent families, or we accept the tradeoff of renting an apt for some more time home with the kids. There are some other variations of one spouse going 1/2 or 3/4 time after kids born, depending on circumstances.

[socal88]

If you are looking to buy a house in a good area that isn't a crap shack in the city of Los Angeles or adjacent suburbs, you're going to need to shell out at least $700K. Even then, if you have kids, you still might have to shell out money for private school if you can't get your kids in a good LAUSD charter/magnet school. Even in some marginal neighborhoods in central LA, homes are going for over $1M.

If you are willing to go to a further outlying area likes Santa Clarita, Simi Valley, or east LA county, you can find a nice home under $700K, but the commute to Cedars would be awful.

So unless you've got household income at least around $130-140K, have inherited wealth/property, or have parents willing to help out the down payment, it will be difficult to buy a decent home in a good part of core LA unless you've been saving for years.

[nightlysparrow]

Originally Posted by jezyk

Also, anyone know of young families and their long term goals? Do people just accept that owning anything in LA is unattainable with decent income (<150k) and just rent until they move out of LA or California in general?

Work at Cedars for awhile, then get a job at a hospital in an area with good public schools, low crime, and more reasonable house prices.

[ryanms3030]

Originally Posted by jezyk

Thank you all.

I may be wrong but it seems like the Miracle Mile and Fairfax district seem to be neighborhoods that are heavily congested with car traffic in all directions. Is that an accurate assessment?

I was thinking of Palms but read about some recent gang related shootings. It appears to be very infrequent but what part of Palms should I stay away from? There's an area directly north of Culver City downtown and west of the Metro line that seems nice. Anyone with any insight on that?


Also, anyone know of young families and their long term goals? Do people just accept that owning anything in LA is unattainable with decent income (<150k) and just rent until they move out of LA or California in general? I gather rents can account up to half of your take home pay. With the other paycheck covering food, utilities, car, etc... That leaves not much to save up for a decent down payment.

I make a little less then that. I settled for a 2 bed condo in Santa Clarita last year. If the market continues to go up I probably wouldn't even be able to afford that in 2 years. A lot of people are starting to move to Antelope Valley to afford houses but that is a crazy commute for most. But right now is $700k min for single family home in a neighborhood with good public schools and things are still going up quickly