Help !! Norwalk , La Mirada, Beuna Park (Anaheim, Downey: apartments, rental, find a job)

[socalnewbie]

Hi !! we are a cosmopolitan, well educated, professional late 20's early 30's, couple moving to the LA area for Job reasons and need to find a place:

and were considering Norwalk , La Mirada, Beuna Park areas as they all seem accessible to downtown LA , Long beach, orange county, Anaheim etc

We want to someplace safe and friendly, preferably around our age group and want to be able to soak in the culture (enjoy the cafes, coffee places, walks, biking, beach, fun activities) and we are looking for a suburb that will allow us to do all these things. We want to someplace safe and friendly, we are looking to rent for now.

Any suggestions ? Thanks in advance for your time

[Charles]

Where are the two jobs located? What are the approximate working hours?
What is your rental budget?
Kids? Ages?

[BRinSM]

the info charles asked for is crucial to help you make a decision, but not knowing any of that i'll throw out belmont shore (or pretty much anywhere in east long beach) as a prime contender. fyi, it's hard to "enjoy the cafes, coffee places, walks, biking, beach, fun activities" in a suburban neighborhood in socal without having to drive to get there (and parking for the beach sucks!) which is why i mentioned belmont shore (read, not suburban).

[socalnewbie]

Thanks for the quick reply, one of us is in the medical field and has a job at Downey, CA and the other is looking and will probably find a job in
LA downtown or orange county area ( Technology/ business concentrated companies).

No kids..and we don't mind driving a bit to the beach , we are more interested in the urban/ chic walkable/ if they exist areas and we are looking at a rental budget of $ 1300--1500 for a 2 bedroom place preferably.

We may be completely off track here but do bear with us...and advise.

Thanks !!

[socalnewbie]

working hours are 9-5 or 6 ish...

[BRinSM]

unfortunately, your budget is much too small for a 2br anywhere near the beach or "urban/ chic walkable". if you can handle a 1br apartment you'd be okay though in many areas. 2br apartments in hip areas start closer to $2k per month.

[socalnewbie]

presuming that we are ok with the budget you mentioned for a one bedroom which areas/ locations would that lead us to...

Thanks

[bhcompy]

You can find a 2bd for that price in Los Alamitos, which is just a little south of Norwalk. It is a very walkable community, but not hipster chic(that is next door in Belmont Shore/Naples)