where to live? (Pasadena, Vista, Brea: real estate, renter, condos) - Los Angeles - California (CA) - City-Data Forum

bunnycat · 04-12-2010, 08:27 PM

My boyfriend and I are moving from Philly to LA in June to start our medical residency at UCLA. We're considering buying, but the prices immediately surrounding the hospital have left me slack-jawed! I was hoping someone could provide some guidance as to affordable, safe areas we should consider...we've been thinking about Palms, Crestview, Mid-City, Cheriot Hills, Baldwin Hills, and around La Brea Ave/W Slauson Ave simply because we can afford to buy there and the commute won't be terrible, but honestly we don't know that much about these areas (especially about safety), and the crime statistic resources I normally use aren't proving helpful. Any rough guidelines about areas to avoid? Thanks in advance....

BRinSM · 04-12-2010, 10:12 PM

you mentioned quite an array of neighborhoods. slauson and cheviot hills are pretty much on opposite ends of spectrum. ultimately your budget will be your deciding factor though. are you willing to share how much you are willing to spend on a house?

timelesschild · 04-12-2010, 10:17 PM

Don't buy. You're here for a medical residency - housing is still on the way down - not a good investment for you. In addition, you don't want to mess with home ownership (maintenance and all that) during your residency. Medical residency has enough stress without adding home ownership in a soft, floundering market. JMHO.

Additionally, if you rent, you'll be able to afford to live closer to UCLA's hospital than you could if you tried to buy. Since UCLA is located in a good area, this is a positive.

CMacD · 04-12-2010, 11:55 PM

I work at UCLA and live in the Pasadena area. I wouldn't recommend doing that, due to the commute, but maybe the Valley would work. A lot of faculty and staff live out that way, especially around Sherman Oaks and Encino. The quality of life, IMO, is better there than the neighborhoods you listed. I'm pretty sure that the crime rate in SO and Encino are lower than any of them too. The main disadvantage is that the commute would be a little bit longer. Not too long, though.

None of the areas you mentioned are bad, and Cheviot Hills would be my first choice, but if I were buying a house, I would definitely consider the Valley neighborhoods just beyond Sepulveda pass.

As an aside, are you sure you want to buy now? I think L.A. is still in a sort of real estate bubble and has a ways to go (down). I'd be careful!

JohnG72 · 04-13-2010, 08:16 AM

Don't buy. Westside housing price is 8x+ average income. Equvalent rental properties cost 1/2 what a mortgage would cost. A very nice 2 bd/2ba house can be had for $2500-3000 a month in nearby areas. Cheaper than that in Westchester, Palms, Mar Vista, and some of West LA.

Besides, you are just doing a residency. How do you know you'll want to still be living here 5 years from now?

bunnycat · 04-13-2010, 09:23 AM

Thanks for your advice, everyone!

I also really appreciate the warnings about LA still being in a bubble...I had heard that from one guy when I visited, but he's super super risk-averse, so I had attributed his reluctance to buy to that. The points about residency being short/time-consuming are also good ones. I'm just worried that come fellowship I'll be kicking myself we didn't use these four years to build a little equity should we choose to stay in the area. I've always heard 2 years as being the cusp where buying doesn't really make sense, but I have to say I'm mostly just reluctant to go from being a home-owner to a renter since I like having the latitude to change things (tile dingy and ugly? let me trowel up some mortar!...my gusto for home improvement is a little bit of an obsession), plus I've just been raised to think of rent as throwing money out the window. My mom and I both bought our first houses in our early 20's, but she bought in Mississippi and I bought in Philly...not exactly the sky-high market of LA, so I think my attitude may require a little adjusting.

With regards to our budget, i think we could afford up to $350,000, but we'd be very, very happy not paying that much. I anticipate we'll have about $100,000 left over after we sell our current place (a shame LA real estate doesn't cost what Philly real estate does!), and we'd be comfortable with most of it going towards a down payment. Thanks to generous scholarships, we'll also both be graduating from med school without any debt, so payback won't be a concern either. And both my boyfriend and I are very comfortable putting in some elbow grease for a fixer-upper. We've done mostly cosmetic stuff, though, like putting in new floors, cabinets, lightweight drywall stuff...I definitely don't want to take one some insane abatement or structural nightmare because we're def not equipped for that with our current skill-set.

I think what I'm most enamored with right now is the Village Green & adjacent area. It seems like there are quite a few 2 bdrm condos in the are for $150-300,000. I've heard Stocker Ave is the cutoff from "Baldwin Hills" and "Baldwin Village"/The Jungle, but I know these these things can be a little arbitrary sometimes. Also wondering what people's opinions are of the Fox Hill area and Crenshaw Blvd in the Mid-City area (just N of Rosa Park Fwy)? I appreciate the suggestion of the Valley, as I had really hadn't given that area that much consideration, but I think the commute might rule that out. We won't have school-aged kids in residency, so I feel like the Valley's huge lure of good schools (at least that's what I've been told) is moot, at least for now.

Thanks again for everyone's input!

BRinSM · 04-13-2010, 10:34 AM

schools aren't much better in the valley fwiw. also, are you african american? i only ask because you keep mentioning neighborhoods that have large african american populations. i'm sure you'd be fine no matter what color you are, but it is definitely something that you would probably want to know about before moving to the area.

bunnycat · 04-13-2010, 10:47 AM

Nope, we're both crackers. But both of us have lived comfortably in neighborhoods where we're clear minorities (Baltimore, Southside Chicago, West Philly). Budget is somewhat dictating where we're looking, but I've also heard Brentwood, Westwood etc can be a little sterile/uppity. Basically, in an ideal world we could find a place in LA similar to where we currently live (in West Philly): safe, racially diverse, with a "neighborly" feel. We stayed with friends in Echo Park and loved it, but sadly, the distance from UCLA makes the commute prohibitive.

BRinSM · 04-13-2010, 10:58 AM

brentwood and westwood can be a bit sterile (lots of students and recent grads), but many of the areas you mentioned aren't exactly diverse either. also i don't own, but could afford something in your price range now if i wanted (if not a bit more) and also work somewhat close to UCLA. having said that, i wouldn't buy in most of the areas you mentioned for multiple reasons. more diverse areas with any kind of neighborhood type feel are friggin expensive around here (think $450k and up for 2br condos).

bunnycat · 04-13-2010, 11:18 AM

That's disappointing! I thought I read that both Cameo Woods and Village Green had a pretty cohesive/friendly feel. I realize our budgets are a little different, but can I ask where you would buy and why?

I think the two of us are just going to have to ferret this out in person, but I wanted to tailor the list a bit before our visit at the end of April.