Possible relocation to the El Segundo area... questions? (San Diego, Anaheim: affordable apartment, rental)

[sapx2]

Hello,

Thanks in advance for your help. I have used other city-data forums before, and I got some great info!

So I may have the opportunity to relocate with my company from Boston to El Segundo, CA. I've been to San Diego, Irvine, Anaheim, and Newport Beach before, but never the El Segundo area. From what I've read it seems like a quiet, nice town, with great access to LAX, beaches, etc.

If I were to move, would I be able to find a safe, affordable apartment in either El Segundo or a neighboring city? I would like to spend less than $1000 per month for a one bedroom, but will bump that up to be in a safe neighborhood.

Also, if theres anything else i should know about the general El Segundo area (good and bad), please let me know.

Thanks!

Sean

[BRinSM]

You listed the good about El Segundo, so I'll give you the bad. El Segundo neighbors LAX, which can be a good thing if you travel a lot, but it also makes the city very loud. LAX does have a sound mitigation department which has helped install double pained windows and extra thick doors in all of the nieghboring communities, but you still hear planes. I used to live on the north side of the airport and I can honestly tell you that you will get used to it and after a while you'll forget you're so close. The other bad thing is that on the western edge of El Segundo there is an oil refinery (which isn't so bad actually) and what i've heard is the world's largest waste water treatment plant where almost all of LA's sewage is sent to be treated. The smell is usually contained, but on those windy days when there is nice breeze blowing in from the ocean, its going to smell like ****! I'm sure you can get used to that too, but it must be pretty awful sometimes.

anyways, im sure you would like it there, its close to LA and Santa Monica and is of course close to the beach. You probably won't find a 1br for $1000, but i'm sure you could find a decent sized studio for that price. This holds true not only for El Segundo, but also for the surrounding communities of Weshchester, Playa Del Rey, Manhattan Beach, and Hermose Beach. Don't expect to find any crazy deals too close to the beach though.

[JTGJR]

Almost correct BRinSM . . . LAX noise can be annoying, but you do get used to it very quickly and there is a Residential Sound Insulation program for properties.

The refinery is on the the southwest edge of the city and the treatment plant is on the beach-facing side. But the treatment plant is really a non-issue when it comes to the, umm, fragrance. In most parts of the west side of ES, one rarely catches a whiff of the plan. And I'm very close to it. It's also a fallacy that this treatment plant pollutes the Santa Monica Bay and El Segundo Beach. Also, $1000 rental probably won't make it but I've not checked the apartment rental rates in awhile.

sapx2, I'll send you my boilerplate El Segundo direct message

[BRinSM]

i think you're correct in that the plant itself doesn't pollute the bay directly, but isn't there an overflow runoff pipe that goes out into the ocean a few miles that can still polllute the water after heavy rains? I used to work for the contractor that worked on the expansion of the plant a while back and thats what some of the guys were telling me. In fact, if your on the beach in that area, you can see where the swells hit the pipe and the surrounding buoys.

[JTGJR]

I could be mistaken, but I believe their outfall is something like 7-miles off the cost. I think the swells that you see are either water intake for the plant or intake/outake for the NRG Power Plant south of Hyperion.

There was an attempt, a few years ago, to build an artificial reef using huge sand bags in a "V" shape. this was to try to improve the wave structure for surfers. It was built in the area that you refer to, but never bore the results the Surfrider Foundation hoped for.

Found some info

[sapx2]

Thanks for all of your help, and for the PM with the rundown of El Segundo. I'm also looking at McLean, VA and Cincinnati, OH for a possible relocation. Or I could just stay in MA. THanks again for your help!

Sean