Single Mom looking for High School for the Arts/Drama safe, convenient neighborhood. (Los Angeles: fit in)

[grlnxtdr99]

Looking for a good, safe area --kind of suburban but walkable to grocery, restaurants, etc. I'm a single mom and my teenage daughter will be entering high school. We are looking for a School of the Arts or a good high school with an excellent drama program in a safe neighborhood in a walkable city/area. Most likely I'll be working somewhere on the west side of LA and would pay up to $2500 per month for (preferably) a small house to rent--need a yard for the dog. Looking at maybe Culver City, Beverly area..She auditioned at LACHSA and would want to be in the Pasadena area for that if she got in, but the competition is fierce and the odds, not so good. We need a plan B.

Don't know the area, any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by grlnxtdr99

Looking for a good, safe area --kind of suburban but walkable to grocery, restaurants, etc. I'm a single mom and my teenage daughter will be entering high school. We are looking for a School of the Arts or a good high school with an excellent drama program in a safe neighborhood in a walkable city/area. Most likely I'll be working somewhere on the west side of LA and would pay up to $2500 per month for (preferably) a small house to rent--need a yard for the dog. Looking at maybe Culver City, Beverly area..

Don't know the area, any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

The dog will make things more challenging than not having one.

Here's a start:

School Performance Maps but it doesn't breakdown competencies such as the arts. Suggest finding some candidate schools and then hit GreatSchools - Public and Private School Ratings, Reviews and Parent Community for more detailed information and parent comments.

For rentals

HousingMaps
MapsKrieg - CraigsList Apartment Listings Mashed With Google Maps

Los Angeles Apartments, Orange County Apartments, and San Diego Apartments

[timelesschild]

Have you considered Renaissance Arts Academy? Eagle Rock is a generally safe, dog-friendly area, and you can hop on the 134/101 to get to the west side.

There is another new arts school: Central High School #9: Home Page. It's located in downtown LA near Chinatown... your best bet for a place to live might be Silver Lake or Echo Park. I think you could get a small SFR within your budget. Dogs are quite common in those areas - landlords are used to them - lots of people out walking them all the time.

[bhcompy]

Is your job on the west side? The standard for arts high schools in the area is Orange County High School for the Arts, which is in Santa Ana. There are various neighborhoods around there that fit your description and the Metrolink rail goes right in to the heart of LA

[grlnxtdr99]

I'm most likely going to be working somewhere on the west side of LA. I do accounting for travel agencies and most of fthem are in that area. I grew up in a small community in New England and am kind of "white bread" and raising a girl going into the teen years so wanted to keep it in a fun area, but subdued. Heard it's a little eccentric in Echo Park and Silverlake, I don't think I would be comfortable with that. Is Eagle Rock like that too? What about Culver City? or the area north of Culver by Alexander Hamilton High School?

Thank you all for your input...this is very helpful. Hard to get the character of an area from the internet.

p.s. the dog stays.....we went to rent a small house (bungalow type) with a yard. Rents for this seem doable according to Craigslist, but I'm not sure which area they are found in.

[uptown_urbanist]

You'll be able to find small bungalows with yards all over the LA area. I'm not as familiar with Culver City or the west side. Eagle Rock is fairly family-friendly.

Have you checked out Burbank? I know the schools are decent, although I don't know about their drama program (am guessing it would be good, but am basing that assumption just on the fact that Burbank is studio central, and it would seem that there would interest in supporting a decent drama program). It sounds like it would be a good fit in terms of community, housing options, walkable, etc. The downtown is kind of mix between suburban and traditional small town. It's safe, and popular with families. My friends who live there all love it.

[neenee99]

One of the best public schools w/ a good drama program is in Rancho Palos Verdes, Peninsula High School. It is one of the highest if not the highest rated high schools for test scores in LA County. (but not part of LA Unified). It is also a very safe and family oriented area. People move to the area just so their kids can go to the school.

Here is their drama program website. Pretty impressive
http://www.penhighdrama.com/

However, I am not terribly confident you could find a SFR for 2500 a month there. It's a pretty pricey neighborhood. You could always check it out though, and you might find a townhouse w/ a small yard? and there are a couple of apt complexes that accept pets.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by grlnxtdr99

I'm most likely going to be working somewhere on the west side of LA. I do accounting for travel agencies and most of fthem are in that area. I grew up in a small community in New England and am kind of "white bread" and raising a girl going into the teen years so wanted to keep it in a fun area, but subdued. Heard it's a little eccentric in Echo Park and Silverlake, I don't think I would be comfortable with that. Is Eagle Rock like that too? What about Culver City?

Culver City would be perfect for you. Burbank would also be excellent. Don't know as much about Eagle Rock but from what I know that would be OK.

Hard to define "family-friendly" except by what is decidedly NOT family friendly. Echo Park definitely isn't, but Silver Lake would probably be OK although I'd check on the street.

or the area north of Culver by Alexander Hamilton High School?

Don't even think of sending kids there, that was the first Westside LAUSD high school to go bad. It was screwed up even in the mid-late '70s. As for the neighborhood, it's a mixed bag, some of it's good, some of it's horrible, a great deal of it is in between. Crime's definitely higher there than in Culver City. I'd pick Silver Lake over that area unless you were working on the westside.

Palos Verdes would be unworkable due to it being quite far from anything you'd be interested in, good schools though like the other South Bay beach communities. Most of the beach areas are non-LAUSD but commuting would be a problem.