Tell me about Santa Monica (Culver City, Beverly Hills: hardwood floors, apartment, renters)

[lookingtorelocate]

We really don't want a long commute. We will need at least a 3 bed 2 bath. We love older homes with character not a fan of tract homes but we will do what we have too. I really have no Idea what our rent budget is going to be. I'm thinking under $3,000. a monther. If we could do something for around $2500 that would be great. I will look into schools suggested. Thanks everyone for all your input keep it coming.

[Cato the Elder]

You will have a difficult time finding a 3br/2bth house for $2500 in the west side. The best deal I saw was for $3000 in Culver City. The house was the original one on the lot and the owner built a new house for himself in the back, so you were literally on top of each other - no yard and both parking spots were used by the owner. It was downhill from this house so you can see how tough it is. I think your husband has a bad commute in his future if you stick with the 3br for $2500 goal.

[lookingtorelocate]

ok, so what is a realistic rent for that area. Do you think we could find something for $3500.00

[BRinSM]

$3500 should definitely get you a decent 3br. also, if you end up in a neighborhood with good public schools, you could probably end up saving money if you choose that route rather than sending your kids to private school.

[ParkTwain]

Read Craigslist.org and cross your fingers, as I did, or sign up with Westsiderentals.com and read about the better rental situations.

[MyKindOfTown]

Santa Monica is is very diverse. It all depends on your level of tolerance towards crumminess. To live a perfect white bread lifestyle with no hint of homeless or gang wanna bees, ect.-in other words how you probably lived on the Peninsula-7k a month might not even do it. At $3500 a month you're going to be hard pressed to find even in so-so neighborhoods a decent sized home for two adults and two children. To give you an example I know a couple who recently rented a home on Kenton in Brentwood north of Sunset. Nice view home but smallish and they're paying $5500 a month. They shopped around too! You're best bet is going to be Culver City, West L.A. or even down further in the South Bay. Keep in mind that resale prices for a modest SFH in SM north of Wilshire begin in the low 2mil range. Obviously homes in that price range are going to fetch several thousand per month as rentals.

[ParkTwain]

Look at apt vs home rental prices in SM north of Wilshire (lighter local traffic) and south of Pico to Venice line (worse local traffic). You should also consider at least some parts of Culver City for a better value, but less convenient to a job in SM, than west LA.

I always prefer to live upwind of major freeways, such as the 405 which is a north-south route. The prevailing wind in SM is from the ocean, so living west of the 405 (such as in SM) makes for less air pollution in your daily life most of the day and year. IMO. A few months ago I moved to SM from Vegas (after living there about 5 years), with 20+ yrs in Boston area before that, and I think SM is practically paradise. The daily temps are so mild, rarely above 78 degrees all summer. Haven't lived through the winter here yet, but expect it to be very mild. I'm also able to walk to work, less than 1 mi also in SM, so that's pretty unusual.

The neighborhood north of Wilshire is very family friendly with plenty of kids to be seen, with further north and east being almost totally homes rather than having some apt buildings as it is in the neighborhoods closer to the beach. That's your call. Can't comment on the schools situation in SM. The overall situation with amenities in SM is very good. Plenty of shops and restaurants of all kinds along all the major streets in the city. I've visited Manhattan Bch and Hermosa Bch, and the same can't be said for those communities. They are more truly grown-up beach towns, often with a younger population of renters, with the noise to go along with them, whereas SM is more like a true city unto itself.

I find the comments about all the homeless around SM to be surprising, probably coming from posters who have only lived in a suburban setting. The homeless are out there, mostly moving along silently every day, sleeping in some of the parks and sitting/walking along many of the major downtown SM streets, but they are a fact of life in any American city. To want to avoid them is unrealistic while also living in a city. Even given that, I rarely (maybe once or twice per day) see a homeless person north of Wilshire in the residential neighborhoods, other than in the city parks. The nation should be doing a better job of helping those people get back on their feet, IMO.

Also, consider this list of household incomes by ZIP code for the LA area:
//www.city-data.com/forum/los-a...zed-class.html

You can find lots of rental listings at westsiderentals.com (membership required) and in Craigslist.org (free).

[lookingtorelocate]

Wow!!!! lots of great advise. Thanks everyone. How far is the commute from Culver City to S.M. And how about West LA to SM.

Keep it coming. Really helping with Decision making.

[ParkTwain]

Pull up your mapquest.com and take a look. Those commutes are very minimal.

[Full-Blooded American]

In SM, north of Wilshire is good, though south of Wilshire is "diverse", everywhere from not too bad, to areas where you stay in at night and hide.