Is it just me, or is most of Torrance hideous-looking? (Los Angeles: house, landscaping)

[socal88]

Torrance is generally unremarkable. Fairly old housing stock and middle of the road shopping centers, some of which could really use some sprucing. A couple nicer pockets by Redondo and PV, but otherwise nothing special.

Torrance gets recommended on the forum because it's a safe area with good schools for those who work between Santa Monica and Long Beach, but can't afford Redondo, Hermosa, Manhattan, PV, and other upscale beach communities but want to stay away from less desirable areas like Hawthorne, Gardena, and Carson.

[CaliRestoration]

In all honesty, most of the South Bay except some parts of RPV is pretty old, and gritty looking.

[Bert_from_back_East]

Originally Posted by socal88

Torrance is generally unremarkable. Fairly old housing stock and middle of the road shopping centers, some of which could really use some sprucing. A couple nicer pockets by Redondo and PV, but otherwise nothing special.

Torrance gets recommended on the forum because it's a safe area with good schools for those who work between Santa Monica and Long Beach, but can't afford Redondo, Hermosa, Manhattan, PV, and other upscale beach communities but want to stay away from less desirable areas like Hawthorne, Gardena, and Carson.

I have lot of trouble believing Torrance public schools are NOT ghetto. The area itself is just too close to unsafe, low-income communities with high minority populations (e.g., Carson, Wilmington, Lomita, Lawndale, etc.).

TBH, I really couldn't imagine putting my children in public schools in Southern California outside of south Orange County, the Conejo Valley or Palos Verdes.

[Jamesdeen]

Originally Posted by Bert_from_back_East

I have lot of trouble believing Torrance public schools are NOT ghetto. The area itself is just too close to unsafe, low-income communities with high minority populations (e.g., Carson, Wilmington, Lomita, Lawndale, etc.).

TBH, I really couldn't imagine putting my children in public schools in Southern California outside of south Orange County, the Conejo Valley or Palos Verdes.

Yeah certainly wouldn't want to touch Manhattan Beach, South Pas, La Canada, Arcadia, San Marino, Glendora, etc.

Beware: Here there be Asians.

[victorhernandez]

Originally Posted by Bert_from_back_East

I have lot of trouble believing Torrance public schools are NOT ghetto. The area itself is just too close to unsafe, low-income communities with high minority populations (e.g., Carson, Wilmington, Lomita, Lawndale, etc.).

TBH, I really couldn't imagine putting my children in public schools in Southern California outside of south Orange County, the Conejo Valley or Palos Verdes.

Nowhere in LA you're not close to "minority populations", if one considers that a con they should skip LA altogether.
Even Beverly Hills is too dangerously close to those oh so scary Persians

[NJ Brazen_3133]

Doesnt Torrance have that large Oil refinery? I remember I was driving south on Normandie Ave off I-405 on my way to Spearmint Rhino. I remember on one side was the oil refinery, and other side was neatly packed houses on the other side of a wall. It was kind of like driving through Bakersfield.

[Jamesdeen]

Originally Posted by victorhernandez

Nowhere in LA you're not close to "minority populations", if one considers that a con they should skip LA altogether.
Even Beverly Hills is too dangerously close to those oh so scary Persians

Yeah it's pretty obvious that that poster got lost on the way from stormfront or some other white nationalist community.

[Jonah K]

Originally Posted by NJ Brazen_3133

Doesnt Torrance have that large Oil refinery? I remember I was driving south on Normandie Ave off I-405 on my way to Spearmint Rhino. I remember on one side was the oil refinery, and other side was neatly packed houses on the other side of a wall. It was kind of like driving through Bakersfield.

Yep, it used to be owned by ExxonMobil, but now it's owned by PBF Energy. Unfortunately, they've been having a few issues…
'Damning' EPA report on Torrance refinery uncovers more serious safety issues

[socal88]

Originally Posted by Bert_from_back_East

I have lot of trouble believing Torrance public schools are NOT ghetto. The area itself is just too close to unsafe, low-income communities with high minority populations (e.g., Carson, Wilmington, Lomita, Lawndale, etc.).

TBH, I really couldn't imagine putting my children in public schools in Southern California outside of south Orange County, the Conejo Valley or Palos Verdes.

Torrance is far from ghetto. I wouldn't want to necessarily live on the boundaries by Lomita, Carson, and Gardena, but for the city as a whole, public schools are above average and it's generally safe.

Sure, public schools in areas like Irvine, PV, and Agoura Hills are top notch. Also, you must not be aware of top notch schools in La Canada, San Marino, and Arcadia.

But the point we're trying to make is that Torrance is probably one of the best options if you can't afford nearby expensive beach cities but need to live in or near the south bay for work.

[radiolibre99]

You know what's funny is that I used to think that there were no ghetto areas of LA but that was mostly due to the constant sunshine and palm trees that clouded my vision. One day on a stormy rainy night I went through some scuzzy areas of LA and thought good lord, this is gross! LOL.

But I would do that all the time. I'd go into the worst sections of Panorama City and Pacoima and Watts and think, this isn't all that bad, but I was mostly looking at the clear blue sky and the swaying palm trees. The weather just had me feeling good.

I did the same thing when visiting Houston on a bright beautiful spring day when it was 70 degrees, really low humidity, clear blue sky and sunshine like any SoCal day and thought some of the bad areas around town weren't so bad. When I visit again during the muggy, sweltering humid heat I'll probably change my mind.