Where to move in LA/OC for a female in her mid 20s who wants a safe beachy community? (Long Beach: rentals, how much)

[Beachgirl334]

Hey everyone, I am hoping to move to Southern California, this Summer. I am a 25 year old woman moving from New York. I do not know anyone in CA but moving there is something I have always wanted to do so now is the time to do it. With that said, I am hoping to find a place that has friendly people and an active community to get involved in. I love the beach, going out to restaurants/shops, yoga, movies, volleyball, bars/clubs and live music. I loved Hollywood for its energy and film focus (I'm a movie nerd) but I realized that I would like to live somewhere more beachy and homey. I ideally would like to live in a town that isn't super quiet but still feels safe. Preferably walking distance to beach and restaurants/shops. I will say that I am a very down to earth person and have never really been one to wear designer labels or change my appearance with fillers/surgery. I could care less if others do but I don't want to feel extremly out of place. I am more liberal and would prefer to live in a more open minded community (or at least moderate). My rent would be about $1000-$1200 but I am looking for 2-3 roommates so it would really be more around $2,400-$3,600 a month. I am school counselor applying for jobs in SoCal so I am not considering job location yet as I do not know where I will be. I would greatly appreciate any suggestions on places to check out.

As not knowing anyone my main focus would be safety. My second priority would be a town with an active nightlife/things to do during the day. I heard Hermosa beach and south Redondo beach may be a good fit.

Thank you for any help!!

[kwong7]

My advice would be to start looking now and to find some friends/roommates. It is possible to pull this off. I know of at least two folks who rent in Corona Del Mar who pay well below market rent because the landlords do not care to maximize their income but would rather give young people a break. My wife had a similar landlord while she was in law school. As for where to live, I suggest Long Beach (Belmont Shores), Hermosa/Manhattan Beach, and Playa/Mar Vista in the Los Angeles area. For OC, Seal, Newport, and Laguna can have a small town walkable feel. Huntington Beach is a big place and each subdivision can have a different vibe, though much of the non-beach areas are more suburban...but I guess that's true of all the other beach cities.

[Kings Gambit]

I've never heard of anyone from New York referring to any city either there or here in CA as a "town". Where are you really from?

Your numbers are way off and unrealistic. Even if you do get 2-3 roommates, in the beach area you should still expect to pay at least $2000 per month as your share.

[Ruth4Truth]

OP, do you know how much your profession pays in CA? Are you moving from NYC or from elsewhere in NY? An LA job may pay more, if you're from upstate NY. Even so, most of the beach areas are very exclusive. You can afford to live there if you're a techie or someone important in the film industry, or are a higher-up in banking or whatever, but a school counselor at the beginning of her career? IDK, maybe look in Long Beach, or up the coast in Ventura, which is closer to Santa Barbara. Also: Santa Maria, farther up the highway from Santa Barbara.

Have you looked into any special certification requirements CA may have? Teachers wanting to come from out of state need to jump through some hoops before their certif.'s will be accepted in CA. I don't know about school counselors, but you should check if you haven't already, to see if it's doable in whatever your time frame is.

And yes, just to be clear, sharing a place would mean your share of the rent would be upwards of $2000, unless you shared not only a house or apartment, but also split your room rent with an actual roommate. Like bunk beds, or something.

But check those other "towns" on Craigslist under the category: "shares", i.e. shared household, just to get an idea of what your share of group rent would be.

[Cloudwalker]

Most of urban coastal California is fairly liberal, even the Republican leaning areas. Broad-minded, tolerant, live and let live attitude, mostly. Malibu down to Long Beach is all pretty casual. Sure, there's probably plenty of botox/fillers in those communities, but people don't really get dressed up that much at all. They do like their clean, shiny cars though...OC is a little more dressed up, but even then, not really.

Your numbers for rent are a little light, but not by that much if you keep your expectations realistic. E.g. Finding somewhere that is within walking distance of the beach is not really doable at the budget, but you can probably find somewhere that is a bike ride away. There are plenty of people looking for roommates on the Westside around the $1250-1500 range, often including utilities and a private bathroom. Look on roommate websites in areas like Palms, Mar Vista, Culver City, Playa Del Rey, Culver West, Santa Monica, Sawtelle. It will be much easier and cheaper for you to move in to an established residence than to try and find a place then have to set it up and find flatmates. It may also be a way to meet people, depending on your roomie. This will give you an idea https://www.roomies.com/rooms/mar-vista-los-angeles-ca.

In terms of safety, stay away from living in Venice and keep an eye on any nearby homeless encampments, but apart from that, most of the westside is probably as safe or safer than living in NYC. Follow the same precautions you would in New York.

There are plenty of people who make it work here without earning millions, especially if they have no dependents. Keep your needs simple and enjoy all the outdoor amenities to keep your costs down. At 25, if ever there was a time to have a shot at it, it's now. Fortune favors the brave.

[vincenze]

You can search for roommates here, for example: https://www.facebook.com/groups/losangeleshousing

Searching for roommates is a more complex process than finding an apartment.
You can't just select an area and find numerous compatible roommates there.
If you want to be a landlord, it's even more complex - what if one of the roommates stops paying.

[Axxlrod]

Manhattan/Redondo/Hermosa Beaches.

[TashaPosh]

Originally Posted by Racer46

The better areas will have a lot of older people, though not necessarily real old. Takes money to live there and very few young have enough.

A lot of tech, business & celebrity money is here tho. I totally disagree it takes “old ppl” to have it…especially in OC. A lot of older ppl in the area have had their homes forever….way before prices are where they are now. So IMO just the opposite…a lot of them don’t have as much money.

[saibot]

Originally Posted by TashaPosh

A lot of tech, business & celebrity money is here tho. I totally disagree it takes “old ppl” to have it…especially in OC. A lot of older ppl in the area have had their homes forever….way before prices are where they are now. So IMO just the opposite…a lot of them don’t have as much money.

Right. I can see the confusion, but no one said the older people necessarily have a lot of money, because the area and prices have changed so much. It is absolutely true that the desirable older areas will have more older people than younger people, because younger people tend not to have enough money to move in now.

[TashaPosh]

Originally Posted by saibot

It is absolutely true that the desirable older areas will have more older people than younger people, because younger people tend not to have enough money to move in now.

But you’re making it sound like areas are only desirable if they have old ppl. AND young ppl in tech, business & celebrities DO have the money to move in now. I have met several in our neighborhood…one of them is just a couple years older than me, she is in her 30s. AND I have not seen any older ppl on our stretch of the beach…at least not yet.