I have been offered a job in Long Beach - unsure where to live (Santa Ana: rental, neighborhoods)

[Nee Nee in Cali?]

Hello,

I am in Kentucky considering a to take a job in Long Beach. From what I can tell, we don't want to live in Long Beach. But everywhere seems so expensive. I am originally from Vegas, so I get bigger city usually means bigger cost of living.

I am looking for somewhere safe to live, under $2,000/mo and I wouldn't necessarily mind a longer commute into LB.

Any suggestions. I have three kids - one that is out of school and might come with us...but one that is 13 and 10...so schools are important.

Thanks for your help!

[EscapeCalifornia]

The nicer parts of LB is the southeastern corner. Also look in Los Alamitos, Cypress, or the west end of Garden Grove. They're pretty close of LB.

[bhcompy]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

The nicer parts of LB is the southeastern corner. Also look in Los Alamitos, Cypress, or the west end of Garden Grove. They're pretty close of LB.

I second this. The best school district in the area is going to be Los Alamitos School district, which is the city of Seal Beach, city of Los Alamitos, and the unincorporated area of Rossmoor. A 2bed apt in Los Alamitos will run 1200-1400$ for properties not under property management and probably up to 1600 for ones under property management. (zips 90720, 90740)

Cypress, western Garden Grove, and eastern Long Beach will also be good and will have affordable rents.

I would stick to Los Alamitos or Cypress.

[OCinvestor]

Huntington Beach & Rossmoor are an easy commute to LB and have good schools. Seal Beach too, but it may be to pricey. If you are willing to commute up to 1 hour, you could stretch south to Orange, Tustin or Irvine. Again all have solid schools. Irvine has really good schools, but it may be hard to find a 3 BR for $2K. Lastly, Fullerton has good schools and you'd probably have better luck finding properties in your price range there, but not sure how long of a commute you'd be signing up for to get down to LB from there.

Avoid Garden Grove, Santa Ana, Westminister, Fountain Valley and Costa Mesa. Schools in these cities are much more hit & miss

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by OCinvestor

Avoid Garden Grove, Santa Ana, Westminister, Fountain Valley and Costa Mesa. Schools in these cities are much more hit & miss

As long as you're in Fountain Valley School District, the schools are great. Many people move to Fountain Valley specifically because of the schools. Garden Grove school district has schools within FV city limits that don't score as well. The lowest rated school run by FVSD is an 8/10 but the rest are 9/10. FVHS (run by Huntington Beach) is also a 9/10.

Check out local school scores here:

California School Performance Maps

[Nee Nee in Cali?]

Wow - that was fast..thanks so much for the advice...it is hard to really check things out online only.

[NaplesRes]

Why don't you want to live in LB? East LB is as nice as any of the places mentioned int his post. Coastal LB is nicer.

[dougnaie]

Long Beach gets a bad rap - most of which is undeserved. I have been here my entire life. I have raised my kids here up to now, and overall feel like you need to take another look at LB and not base your decision on what you've heard or read. Long Beach has a lot to offer a young family, and while some areas are pricier than others, I think you can find affordable accomodations. I would check out the Grunion Gazette, a small local paper. They have a great rental section that would provide you with what is available in areas that are worth considering such as Belmont Shore, Belmont Heights, and Naples. I also agree that Los Alamitos is worthy of consideration. Great schools, quick commute and nice "regular" neighborhoods."
Good luck!

[Nee Nee in Cali?]

What is the Los Altos area like for neighborhood and schools?

[pushkinswife]

//www.city-data.com/forum/los-a...s-live-la.html
Long Beach was discussed quite a bit in this thread