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Hi, my husbands job has asked us to move to Long Beach (from Texas). We are making necessary arrangements to move this summer. I need advice on areas to look for/avoid. We will be renting and can reasonably afford around $2000 (give or take depending on area/house) a month rent. I am already talking with an agent on finding a house to rent, but I need to be able to give him some more information on what I am looking for (ie area, which school district, etc.)
Schools are my primary concern and what I need the most advice on. I have a child who will be in 11th grade next year, he is in all AP classes and is a huge band nerd (good music program is essential). My other two will be in 2nd and 4th grade and they are both currently in the GT class for their grade. I need to know which districts would serve them best. I have heard good things about Long Beach School District also ABC School District. Which schools would be best and is one of those districts better than the other? Is there a district I am not considering that I should be? Are there schools I should avoid?
I know this is a lot of questions, but it is getting closer to moving and I am starting to get very anxious! Right now we are in a VERY rural area and I have lived here for 10 years. I have never liked living here, I am from Las Vegas (and lived in California for a short time awhile ago), so I am excited about moving, but I have gotten used to a lot of little things about living here that will be an adjustment moving back to a large city (like locking my doors...ever). Most importantly my younger kids have only ever known living here so I am trying to make the transition for them as painless as possible. They are able to play outside here with little concern, there are sports, gymnastics and dance studios (that aren't crazy expensive). That sort of stuff.
Also cost of living is a factor. I have heard the horror stories about California (who hasn't). I lived there back in '99, but my situation was different then. I know rent will be a lot higher there, but I am not sure about other stuff. There are a lot of things I would think would be more affordable there or similar in price. With the raise my husband will receive he should be making around 150k a year, will this be adequate to live comfortably out there for a family of 5? I will be finding a job myself, but I am not counting on any additional income until we actually have it (especially since I know jobs in California are difficult to come by right now and while I have a degree I have no work experience so I will probably need to do some volunteering for a bit before I find something). I usually substitute teach for something to do out here, so if you have any information on qualifications to be a sub out there I'd appreciate that too (out here you just need to have graduated high school, it's very lax).
I know my questions are all over the place and I asked a lot, I am just sort of freaking out right now. I greatly appreciate any answers. Thank you so much!
In Long Beach Unified, you'll probably want to look at Wilson High School. Problem will be the rents in this area, most likely. 2000 will probably be low for the number of kids. Polytechnic High School is also great, but in a very not great area. Lakewood High School is pretty good and you may be able to rent in that area on your budget, but if you're looking for top notch it isn't(I'd give it a B+ grade. I'd have no reservations sending my child there, but if I had aspirations of Harvard or something where the school matters I'd try Wilson or Poly).
In ABC Unified, you'll want to look mainly at Cerritos High School(avoid Artesia and Gahr.. not horrible, but probably not what you want). Whitney High School is test in only and very difficult academically. Cerritos is an expensive area and probably above what you're looking to pay in rent, but if they'll let you transfer your child to Cerritos you can definitely find affordable places in district zoned for other schools(East Lakewood and Artesia, but you need to be careful when you choose a house in those areas).
Keep in mind both of those are large districts spread across many schools. If you want something a bit more smaller in scope, Los Alamitos Unified is excellent and the city borders Long Beach. You're probably looking at 2300-2700 for a 4bd house rental, but there's only 1 high school, 2 middle schools, and a half dozen elementary schools and it's a rather small tight-knit community.
You also might want to look at western Garden Grove, Cypress, and La Palma. Cypress High School, Pacifica High School, and Kennedy High School are all at least pretty good and the elementary schools mostly match or better in performance. Oxford Academy is also an option in this area(it's all Anaheim Union as far as I know), and is test in like Whitney.
Pretty much all of these schools have accelerated programs, the high schools have Honors, AP, and some have IB programs.
As far as music programs, Wilson should have a very good one. Los Alamitos does. Cerritos might. Not sure about the rest
Lastly, there's also Orange County High School of the Arts, but that's halfway across the county. It is a very respected arts school(music, drama, etc) and as far as I know you can live anywhere in the county as long as you test in
Thanks for the responses so far! bhcompy $2000 was an estimate (median) of what we could afford, I can go up at least $500, but I was giving a median rather than range. I mentioned I was working with an agent and he has been sending me links for houses available all around Long Beach and Cerritos (I know very little about the area and wasn't sure why he was sending the Cerritos links at first since I only asked for Long Beach, but I did say good schools) and they have been around 1800-2300 a month so I felt saying $2000 was reasonable (also 3 bdrm house is fine I don't mind making kids share a room, plus my oldest will be going off to college soon).
Are there nice neighborhoods around Los Alamitos? I had never heard of that and will definitely look into that school. Is that close to Long Beach? My husbands office is actually in Paramount (Somerset Blvd), but we were told we don't want to live there. The commute is the least of my concerns, my husband works out of town a majority of the time and will only work at the office when he isn't onsite, but he won't want to be stuck in traffic for hours either. How far/bad a commute would it be from Los Alamitos to Paramount?
As far as schools, Ivy league is not a concern, but my oldest is interested in USC or UCLA for college. What are IB programs? Also do you have any information about elementary schools around those high schools I should be looking for or avoiding?
DinsdalePirahna, I have no idea what part of town, that is what I am trying to narrow down.
Once again thanks for answering! I really appreciate it.
I agree with some of the previous posters to look at Los Alamitos School district. I have heard nothing but good things about the schools and music programs. I am familiar with the choir programs but do not know too much about band, so you need to check. Although the homes in the area are older they are very well kept. Cerritos is nice and schools are very good. There is a very high Asian population in Cerritos, hence the high performing schools. Not judging either way, you just need to be aware of the demographics. I personally wouldn't look into anything north of the 605 frwy, as a marker. Areas are hit or miss. I grew up in that area 30 years ago and it was only OK then. The commute to Paramount may be challenging but I haven't made it in a long time.
Wilson High is arguably the best high school in the area. It has a fantastic honors program and is a large high school so it offers a ton of extra curriculars. Wilson provides the opportunity to go to an elite college if your child has that type of capability.
For your elementary school children the best schools include Lowell, Naples, Fremont, Newcomb, and Gant. There are others but these are a few off hand.
Another thing to know is that Long Beach is "school of choice" meaning regardless of the neighborhood you can technically go to any school. However space is first available to "in neighborhood" children. Typically in high school you don't have an issue but elementary and middle schools it's probably best to live in the neighborhood of the school you want your children to attend.
Neighborhoods to look at include El Dorado Park, Los Altos, and Belmont Heights. Bixby Knolls is another neighborhood you may like (and is the easiest drive for your husband) but the houses are typically large and I don't know if you'll find something in your range. The neighorhood elementary school there is Longfellow and it is very good. You'll likely need to pay $2,500+ for a three bedroom house regardless.
Last edited by NaplesRes; 02-09-2012 at 08:35 PM..
Thanks for the responses so far! bhcompy $2000 was an estimate (median) of what we could afford, I can go up at least $500, but I was giving a median rather than range. I mentioned I was working with an agent and he has been sending me links for houses available all around Long Beach and Cerritos (I know very little about the area and wasn't sure why he was sending the Cerritos links at first since I only asked for Long Beach, but I did say good schools) and they have been around 1800-2300 a month so I felt saying $2000 was reasonable (also 3 bdrm house is fine I don't mind making kids share a room, plus my oldest will be going off to college soon).
Perfectly fair. You should be able to find housing in Cerritos, Long Beach, and Los Alamitos in a nice area with those prices. All are fair to easy commutes to Paramount(may be faster to take surface streets to Paramount from Los Alamitos, it's not very far, unsure if the traffic is that bad, it may be because of the 91/605 fwy interchange).
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Are there nice neighborhoods around Los Alamitos? I had never heard of that and will definitely look into that school. Is that close to Long Beach? My husbands office is actually in Paramount (Somerset Blvd), but we were told we don't want to live there. The commute is the least of my concerns, my husband works out of town a majority of the time and will only work at the office when he isn't onsite, but he won't want to be stuck in traffic for hours either. How far/bad a commute would it be from Los Alamitos to Paramount?
Los Alamitos is fairly small and has a few neighborhoods, all nice. There is an unincorporated neighborhood called Rossmoor that is in the city that is very nice(rentals are generally old ranch style homes, 3/4 bd at the top of your range). Also Rossmoor Highlands, Suburbia Estates, and Carrier Row among other areas that are less well defined as neighborhoods. Carrier Row may have the best housing rent prices because of the simplistic nature of the homes(closer to a standard 50s style Levittown type like those in the heart of Lakewood), but still a great area. See above for traffic(it's fine)
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As far as schools, Ivy league is not a concern, but my oldest is interested in USC or UCLA for college. What are IB programs? Also do you have any information about elementary schools around those high schools I should be looking for or avoiding?
Any of the high schools mentioned are fine for USC or UCLA. Keep in mind that many kids want to go there, so it is difficult to get in. Some of the community colleges near those schools have feeder programs setup for those that want to transfer in. You can guarantee admission to a UC school(not necessarily your choice though) by finishing within the top 9% of your class or the state in GPA.
IB is International Baccalaureate. Consider it like AP, just with a different name(semantics might be different, but the gist is the same: shiny classes for your college application[though I don't think you get college course credit]). I believe Wilson has that program, not sure of any other schools.
As far as elementary schools, it's hard to say within each district as there are so many. I can speak for the Los Alamitos district, but none other. Weaver is a year-round school and performs the best academically, it's the only one in district. Hopkinson and Rossmoor are probably next on the list, followed by Lee and Los Alamitos. McGaugh is also excellent and probably has the best elementary music program of the bunch, but it's located in Seal Beach(which is a great city to live in if you can afford it). If the young ones are in to music, most of the program centers around McGaugh(children come from the other elementary schools for band practice and such) and centered at McAuliffe Middle School afterwards before entering Los Al High
California School Performance Maps can help you identify areas to look at.. Generally, school performance trends with neighborhood quality/safety. That's just standardized test scores, though, so take with a grain of salt
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