Job relocation to SOCAL (Los Angeles, San Diego: middle-class, sales, apartment)

[GIXXER130]

Hey everyone.Im new to this forum and am looking for some help.Iam relocating to southern california from Upstate NY and have no idea what areas are safe and which are not.I have a family and this move is huge.I travel about 50 percent of the time and need to know my family is safe while im on the road.I have a broad territory to cover and arizona and nevada are also an option.The less travel the better though.I make about 100 grand a year and am not sure of the cost of living either.Thanks everyone.

[EscapeCalifornia]

Where will you work when you're in town? You'll want to live close to that? Are you going to rent? An apartment? A house? Buy a house? What's your budget? $100k goes REAL quick out here unless you're single and rent an apartment.

[GIXXER130]

Id say 1200 to 1500.I work for LG as the District Territory Sales Manager.My territory is pretty big so any where in the socal area.I apologize for my lack of any knowledge here.

[EscapeCalifornia]

$1500/mo is pretty low end for renting an apartment in any part of LA or OC unless you enjoy the company of illegal aliens. SoCal is a huge area so its almost impossible to be centrally located and cover it all easily, largely due to the traffic. Imagine trying to be centrally located to all of New England.

Your housing budget will go a lot further inland than it will in the coastal areas. I'll assume you'll want easy access to a major airport due to your traveling. So I'm thinking you might want to look up Ontario International airport and find something out there or in far eastern LA county (Glendora, Diamond Bar, etc). You'd have easy access to air travel and I-15 can take you down the San Diego (if your territory takes you that car south). But, and this is a big BUT, getting into LA/OC during daylight hours is tough due to traffic. Lots of people live inland and drive west and south into LA/OC for work every day. But if you're able avoid the prime traffic hours of 6-10am and 3-7pm, it could work.

[katenik]

if AZ and NV are options for your move (not clear from your wording), you should strongly consider them before taking the position here. your income will go much further, particularly because you will have more middle-class communities with affordable housing and good public schools from which to choose than you will find here. many angelenos have moved to those states for those reasons, and you might get here and realize it would have been the better choice for your family as well.

[Burbankhotty]

Originally Posted by katenik

if AZ and NV are options for your move (not clear from your wording), you should strongly consider them before taking the position here. your income will go much further, particularly because you will have more middle-class communities with affordable housing and good public schools from which to choose than you will find here. many angelenos have moved to those states for those reasons, and you might get here and realize it would have been the better choice for your family as well.

Ditto, most of us are trying to get out of LA, 100,000 doesn't go very far out here. Personally, I think I would hate Neveda, but I've heard that Phoenix is a great city-except for the heat of course.
But, if you must come to LA, and need to be near an airport, Burbank is a great city. We have are own school district and police/fire dept.
It's the only nice, clean city in Socal where you needn't be super-rich.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by GIXXER130

I have a broad territory to cover and arizona and nevada are also an option.

Like others mentioned, I would strongly urge to you check these options out - especially if you have kids and are making "only $100K" - that would hardly be middle class in SoCal if you are buying now. You'll buy a 1500 sqft home for $500K next door to some dude who bought his in 1978 for $42K and he parks his cars on the lawn. Sh*t, I hate hot too but I'm sure there are places in these AZ or NV where you could have a nice home with nice schools and a more bearable commute. I think you can get to anywhere in the southwest non-stop from PHX too. Check out Scottsdale? I don't know, but I would really hit the internet hard and start looking at other options.

[fastfilm]

A couple I know, longtime L.A. residents with the exact specs you mentioned, ended up buying in Santa Clarita. Why? The wife feels safe there alone while the husband travels for half the year. I hope you can qualify for a small townhome there, as you'll want to avoid the L.A. public school system. The commute to anywhere else will be horrendous, but that's Los Angeles: when we advise "get used to it," we're not being sarcastic in the slightest, just benignly helpful! There are no easy commutes here, really.

City-data.com also has features to check on overview statistics of many locales, including housing costs, demographics, etc. for all those other cities suggested by posters here. Good luck.

[OutOfSoCal]

If AZ and NV are options I would look at those. Much cheaper adn far more affordable with your salary. I love Precott valley though haven't been for a few years but it does have seasons unlike So Cal.

BTW which division of LG. I am in the Cell biz(have my own store) and love the LG line can't wait for the Voyager.

[LaoTzuMindFu]

Originally Posted by Charles

Check out Scottsdale? I don't know, but I would really hit the internet hard and start looking at other options.

Scottsdale is NICE. Its sort of the Encino/Brentwood of Arizona. I still wouldnt live anywhere outside of LA (unless its tropical), but from what I've seen, Scottsdale is pretty nice.