Rossmoor, San marino or New Port Beach (Orange, Compton: appointed, house)

[earthlink]

We're moving to the US and was wondering about which location would be the best for our unique family. My Husband's American but I'm from Singapore. I have 2 sons and one of them has Autism. I did some research and thought Rossmoor would be a great place but then my American friend said that its not that great a place and I wouldn't want to live near Los Alamitos. Another said San Marino or Newport Beach.
I'm pretty much confused now as I really have no idea what's it like. I've only ever been to LA as a tourist doing all the touristy bits like Universal Studios etc..
Ideally, it shouldn't be too long a commute to the Lax Int Airport as my husband works there. We may be able to afford a house that costs about 1 million or so but nothing above 1.2 million.
But I also have to take into consideration about services for my 7yr old Autistic son. He should be in a mainstream school with maybe a part-time aide. Also what services are there available for afterschool therapy. He needs to work on his cognitive understanding.
Right now he's doing ABA privately but I don't think we can afford that in the long run as it is pretty costly.
I heard that the state pays for services after school. is it true?
And then there's the need to look for a good school for my other son.
Its a big step for us and actually we're very excited.
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

[EscapeCalifornia]

For what its worth, I've never heard anything bad about Rossmoor or Los Alamitos. I'd love to know what your friend had to say about it specifically.

[earthlink]

To be honest, Rossmoor was actually my first choice. I thought that they have nice schools and tree-lined streets, and there's a park nearby. I thought it would be a nice environment. For what I can afford, I would be able to buy a bigger place as opposed to NewPort Beach. Then a mom from my son's school said that Los Alamitos is not as nice a town and told me to look at Walnut. She just said its not as nice.
So I thought I might try to get other opinion info. I really don't want to rely on one opinion.
Are you from Rossmoor?

[EscapeCalifornia]

I don't live in Rossmoor but I've lived not too far away my whole life. According to California School Performance Maps all 4 elementary schools inside Rossmoor are rated 10 out of 10 as is Los Alamitos High School and McAuliffe middle school nearby. (I'm guessing that's where Rossmoor kids go for middle and high school.) I've always had a good impression of that area. Look at the map I posted. The more blue the better as schools with good scores tend to be in good neighborhoods.

As far as commuting to LAX, even Rossmoor is pushing it distance-wise with traffic. San Marino is a little farther but probably takes much longer because the heart of LA lies between San Marino and LAX and LA traffic is hell. Newport and Walnut are about the same distance and are going to be tough drives with Walnut probably being the worse of the two.

[earthlink]

Thanks for the map. There's sure a lot of reds in Compton. Isn't that where the Williams sisters are from?
I tend to digress.
How long is the commute from Rossmoor to the airport is the worse case scenario? The good thing is that my husband would probably only need to drive to work 3 times a month.
Do you by any chance know how the community is?
Do the schools accomodate special needs children? As you know, my son is on the autistic spectrum so that would be one of our criterias.
Thanks so much for all the info. Really appreciate it.

[bhcompy]

i live in los alamitos and my son attends rossmoor elementary. i also attended the schools here when i was a child. the community is as you described it and not as your friend did. large suburban neighborhood, tree lined streets, parks, schools, etc. los alamitos has the businesses outside of the rossmoor neighborhood and there is nothing bad about it.

the community is very friendly and very involved. the citizens have a ballot measure up right now to turn rossmoor into a city and the whole community is involved(whether for or against). plenty of activities for sports and otherwise. many of the parks and rec activities are joint activities with neighboring seal beach, who also shares the school district.

for special needs children there are programs available, but it is by a school by school basis. ive heard of some schools being better than others. you need to speak directly with the principals in the schools and the administrators at the district office to find the best option for you. a friend of mine has an autistic child in 3rd grade right now.. i know he moved from one school to another because of issues at the previous school getting the care/attention he felt his child should have. ill see if i can find out for you.

commute wise, i havent made it in rush hour, but i would say an hour each way to be safe. maybe someone else can help more on that. also, if you look on a map, there is a metro train station about 15min north on the 605fwy at the 105fwy interchange that takes you directly to the airport. it runs through some less than savory areas but i never hear of issues with safety on the train itself.

[earthlink]

Bhcompy,
That sounds very encouraging. I'm glad I wrote to this forum. All the info is really very helpful. It gives me a clearer picture.
It would be great if you could find out which was the unsuitable school and which one your friend's son is in. I'd really appreciate it. I understand that where you live dictates which school you go to. I would have to look for a house in the correct catchment area then.
If I'm not wrong, there's a supermarket in Rossmoor. Is it easy to get Asian foodstuff? I sometimes cook curries and it requires certain spices.
My younger son is into Karate and swimming. He's only 5 and idolises Micheal Phelps! Is there a karate dojo and maybe a swim team he could join?
Thank you very much for the input.

[bhcompy]

they currently are running open enrollment, so you just have to live in the district and need to petition the district office and school for admission into that particular school. once you get that you are set until jr high.

there are a few supermarkets in rossmoor. sprouts is a fresh/organic food market, ralphs(kroger), rite-aid, and cvs. for asian footstuff, the nearest market i can think of is in east lakewood/hawaiian gardens. the cross streets are bloomfield and carson, which is about 5-10min north of los alamitos.

there are various martial arts centers around.
-for kenpo karate, there is a small dojo on walker in cypress north of ball rd. unsure if they have kid classes.
-they have childrens hapkido classes at the national hapkido center in los alamitos(katella and los alamitos blvd).
-the city runs childrens aikido classes through parks and rec.
-there is a gracie-barra jiu-jitsu center on valley view and lampson in west garden grove and they have childrens classes. jiu jitsu is a ground discipline though
-yongin martial arts is on ball rd and bloomfield in cypress and has popular childrens classes. i believe they do taekwondo

there also are a lot of places in cerritos. i know that the olympic taekwondo team sensai/coach has a dojo in cerritos, and he is a former gold medal winner himself.

swimming: there is an olympic size swimming pool on the joint forces base in los alamitos. the us water polo olympic team makes it their home. there are various classes and such. im not sure about a swim team. i know lakewood aquatics competes in club competitions and is a fine place to go. you may want to check there. also, the weingart lakewood ymca on carson and woodruff has a childrens swim team

[oc2nyc]

I have lived in Rossmoor for over ten years, and my husband grew up here and graduated from Los Alamitos HS. I am not sure what information your friend is giving you but this is a wonderful community to live in. I have a daughter in college, two in high school, and a son who goes to Rossmoor Elementary. All of my children have gone through this school system. I know there are a few Autistic kids at the school right now, with and without aides, so I know they will be available to you if needed. All of the schools in our school district are Blue Ribbon Schools. You would be able to send both of your kids to the same school and know they are both getting the education they need. We also have a year round school if that is something you would be interested in.
We have tree lined streets and at least 4 major grocery stores within blocks from the development of Rossmoor.
Your price range would put you in a nice home by Orange County standards. Definitely more than you would get in Newport Beach. I have lived here (So. CA) my whole life and Walnut, to me, is not a desirable area to live in.
All the elementary schools in Los AL funnel into two middle schools, Oak and McAuliffe and then all students end up at one high school. The only issue I have with the high school is its size. They now have over 3000 kids which I feel is overwhelming. There is a lot of diversity at the high school level though so that is a plus.
My dream is to live on the east coast and get out of CA because of the expense but if I have to stay here, or ever move back, I would live in Rossmoor. You should really visit and see for yourself, I don't think you will be disappointed.
As far as the commute it is probably not the best during rush hour. I am not sure what hours your husband works. In rush hour in could take over an hour or more. During off times it may only take 30-40 minutes to get to LAX. I do know many people that work there and they never have much of a problem because they usually work weird hours.
San Marino is a nice area as well but I believe more expensive because of it's proximity to LA. I have no idea what the schools are like though.
I hope this helps. You can PM me if you want any more specific info regarding Rossmoor.

[earthlink]

I am so touched by how helpful you guys are.If this is how the general community is, I wanna move right away!
How is the property maket looking in Rossmoor. Are sellers willing to negotiate? I had a look at Trulia and there were a few properties that I fell in love with right away but unfortunately is way above our budget. The prices have not reduced although its been on the market for many months, or at least the ones that I've got my eye on.
Thanks.