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My husband may be getting a job at UCLA, which would mean relocating there next fall. What areas/neighborhoods do you recommend for:
* good school districts (we have two young kids, but they'll be school age in a couple years)
* safety
* not completely horrendous commute
* reasonable housing costs - TO BUY not rent. I realize "reasonable" is very subjective!
I understand that the cost of living is outrageous, traffic is awful, crime is on the rise (at least that's what I'm getting from the other threads on here! Yikes!), and smog is gross
Thanks for your help... obviously, quality of life factors into our decision, but if my husband were to get an offer, it would be an incredible opportunity. Suggestions from a friend included: Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, Thousand Oaks, Calabasas and Simi Valley. Now that we have kids, our priorities have changed - it used to be "where are there fun places to go out?"
The first two suggestions from your friend are on the same side of the hill (as we call the Santa Monica Mountains that bisect the L.A. basin) and the last three are in the Valley, which necessitates a nerve-wrcking commute through bottleneck freeway passes or canyons daily. Simi is already into Ventura County to the west, a even longer commute.
The communities you've mentioned are all great but fairly pricey. You might want to play with Realtordotcom and see what the going rates are there. You also should compromise and buy a smaller house in one of the better neighborhoods in L.A. for the sake of your children's innate safety as well as public education. You can always find family things to do elsewhere as trade-off for living on a small property.
The UCLA campus itself is beautiful (I'm a graduate of same), but the area immediately surrounding it is the province of the truly wealthy (Bel Air, Westwood, Holmby Hills, Pacific Palisades.) To give you some idea, home prices immediately around UCLA average a million dollars with little exception. Rentals are more easily found for those not in that category around West L.A., Culver City, Santa Monica, the closest surrounding areas commuting-wise. I'm afraid many of your requirements are mutually exclusive in L.A.
Thanks so much, fastfilm. How long do you think the commute would be from Calabasas to UCLA, for example? (what range)
Sounds like you'd be more inclined to recommend Hermosa & Redondo?
I'm not sure yet what we'll be able to afford - depends on the sequence of events, but we could probably do between $500k and 1.1m? That upper end might not be realistic.... We'd be looking for at least a 3 bedroom - and of course, the priority needs to remain on good school districts and safety.
Sounds like we'll need to make some tough choices. We're coming from Austin, Texas, which we have loved.
[I did grow up in the Bay Area and went to college in Claremont, so this wouldn't be completely foreign to me]
UCLA can be a tough commute from anywhere. Good schools around there are in quite expensive areas (Palisades, Malibu, Santa Monica). Maybe Larchmont or the South Bay. You might consider the SF Valley and take the train.
Umm, there is no train between West L.A. and the Valley. There are the Metro trains from North Hollywood/Universal City to Downtown L.A., across town to the Long Beach areas or west back across the valley from Union Station to Ventura County, but absolutely nothing that comes close to West L.A. Perhaps you're thinking of some of the express bus lines.
Calabassas was initially one the most "country"-remaining outposts of upscale living, vestigially with horse zoning, so remember that when pricing houses there. Your commute through the bottleneck of the 405 or the few canyon throughways will be an eternally aggravating one. But the schools should be okay and the ambience fine once you're home. It'll just take you quite a while to get there.
Hi! Yay I can answer this one for you... I actually WORK at UCLA myself. Let me ask you this: Is your husband getting a REALLY REALLY good job here? If he's being accepted as a faculty member or a researcher or a top level CEO executive, director etc. you should be fine. If you are moving here just to accept some admin job I would definitely NOT recommend doing it.
That said... UCLA has a number of transportation opportunities like a Van pool and carpooling. I live in Simi Valley and commute to UCLA everyday so I can tell you exactly how long it takes. It's about 26 miles and it takes about an hour both ways (in the morning and afternoon). In the LA area you are pretty much just sitting there with stop and go but once you hit the 118 Fwy (nearing Ventura County) you can easily drive 80 MPH as I do The commute is really long and painful but it helps that I ride-share with two friends so I don't have to drive every day. Let me just say this, the 405 freeway SUCKS so if you have any illusions of going to LA for fun on the weekends prepare for the 405 to ruin that for you as it does for me.
Now... UCLA is in Westwood and it's just a bunch of high-rise buildings, a lot of smog, a lot of really bitter and jaded people and stuck up 3-piece suit types, joggers etc. UCLA is a great employer, I won't lie about that. The benefits are great, the pay could be better but I get treated pretty well in my position. Anywhere else in LA is going to be scary. As long as you live outside of LA you might be okay. Just prepare for a horrible stressful commute. Expect that your husband will be angry and exhausted when he gets home after a day of work cuz that's how I feel. It makes one feel old... I feel old and I'm 25.
I don't know much about Hermosa Beach but I can tell you that Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks and Calabasas are really nice communities and great places to raise kids. They are also some of the most expensive places to live. The condo across the way from me sold for almost $500,000 so you could probably do a Condo or an older house in Simi. I love living in Simi (lifes much slower here) but the day to day commute and the LA attitudes I deal with at work are forcing me to make a huge decision and move out of state for the first time. Also in Simi Valley LA is finally reaching it. We're getting some illegal immigrants, homeless etc. Just be prepared... give yourself a couple years in LA and you'll be ready to leave again. Southern Cali is not the bay area. There's a whole different (nasty) mentality here. I hope you are ready for it.
My advice? If your husband has other job offers in other places, take those instead. If you have any other questions about UCLA or Simi Valley/Thousand Oaks I can probably answer them. You can post Q's here or PM me. Hope that helps.
Hi! Yay I can answer this one for you... I actually WORK at UCLA myself. Let me ask you this: Is your husband getting a REALLY REALLY good job here? If he's being accepted as a faculty member or a researcher or a top level CEO executive, director etc. you should be fine. If you are moving here just to accept some admin job I would definitely NOT recommend doing it.
That said... UCLA has a number of transportation opportunities like a Van pool and carpooling. I live in Simi Valley and commute to UCLA everyday so I can tell you exactly how long it takes. It's about 26 miles and it takes about an hour both ways (in the morning and afternoon). In the LA area you are pretty much just sitting there with stop and go but once you hit the 118 Fwy (nearing Ventura County) you can easily drive 80 MPH as I do The commute is really long and painful but it helps that I ride-share with two friends so I don't have to drive every day. Let me just say this, the 405 freeway SUCKS so if you have any illusions of going to LA for fun on the weekends prepare for the 405 to ruin that for you as it does for me.
Now... UCLA is in Westwood and it's just a bunch of high-rise buildings, a lot of smog, a lot of really bitter and jaded people and stuck up 3-piece suit types, joggers etc. UCLA is a great employer, I won't lie about that. The benefits are great, the pay could be better but I get treated pretty well in my position. Anywhere else in LA is going to be scary. As long as you live outside of LA you might be okay. Just prepare for a horrible stressful commute. Expect that your husband will be angry and exhausted when he gets home after a day of work cuz that's how I feel. It makes one feel old... I feel old and I'm 25.
I don't know much about Hermosa Beach but I can tell you that Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks and Calabasas are really nice communities and great places to raise kids. They are also some of the most expensive places to live. The condo across the way from me sold for almost $500,000 so you could probably do a Condo or an older house in Simi. I love living in Simi (lifes much slower here) but the day to day commute and the LA attitudes I deal with at work are forcing me to make a huge decision and move out of state for the first time. Also in Simi Valley LA is finally reaching it. We're getting some illegal immigrants, homeless etc. Just be prepared... give yourself a couple years in LA and you'll be ready to leave again. Southern Cali is not the bay area. There's a whole different (nasty) mentality here. I hope you are ready for it.
My advice? If your husband has other job offers in other places, take those instead. If you have any other questions about UCLA or Simi Valley/Thousand Oaks I can probably answer them. You can post Q's here or PM me. Hope that helps.
Thanks so much - your reply was very informative! Especially about the commute from the Valley - I know it can vary widely, but it's helpful to hear specific "on average" commute time to UCLA itself. It's a faculty position in one of the best departments in his field in the country. He's just getting out of grad school, so that's why it would be hard to turn down. Also, while the cost of living - and these threads here about how awful life in LA is! - scares me, we're weighing it against possible job opportunities in some places that sound really random to me (Fargo, ND, anyone?). Granted, this is all hypothetical at this point, since UCLA is the only place that's actually invited him to interview so far, but it's early on in the game, and since UCLA is so prestigious, it bodes well for him to get other interviews.
That said, if we spent a few years in LA, and he worked hard, he could probably get another really great job somewhere else. But we'd have to weigh professional opportunities versus quality of life, obviously.
One thing that would be really hard for me to get used to is the bitterness... we have lived in Austin, TX, for the last 4+ years, and people who live here are happy and LOVE living here. They're (we are!) in love with the city here, and it's one of the aspects I have most enjoyed about it.
I'm glad to hear that UCLA is a good employer - I'd be very interested in working there, if my husband does get an offer and accepts the job.
So many factors to weigh! Thanks again for your input - I really appreciate it.
We just started talking about the possibility of renting a house for a couple years to see what the market does and so we could have more time to figure out where we'd really want to live. Is that stupid? Are there 3-4 bedroom houses for rent at prices that would make sense versus buying? (in desirable areas, that is)
We just started talking about the possibility of renting a house for a couple years to see what the market does and so we could have more time to figure out where we'd really want to live. Is that stupid? Are there 3-4 bedroom houses for rent at prices that would make sense versus buying? (in desirable areas, that is)
Thanks!
It makes much more sense to rent right now. You can rent a house for anywhere from 1/3 to 1/2 of what it would cost to buy.
Well if it's a faculty position at UCLA they do treat faculty really well here and the pay is good. I think it would definitely be a better choice than Fargo ND! That's where they have those "Jesus Campus" for little kids I think. If he is being paid faculty wages then I don't see a problem with you guys getting a nice place out here. You might even enjoy it. The real difference is whether you make enough $$ to enjoy LA or not. I don't, so I don't. But it's always good to take whatever offer is given when it comes to faculty positions and then build on experience. If anything it would be a really interesting learning experience for him AND you. LA isn't that bad as long as it's not permanent. What keeps me going is knowing I am leaving soon.
Renting is probably your best bet but I'm not well-informed about renting houses in LA so I can't really answer that question. If you guys are making enough money you might want to look into Brentwood or Bel Aire. Those two are really close to UCLA so the commute would be practically non-existent. Plus they are very nice neighborhoods. Don't think they rent there though If you've got a few million to throw around that's the place to be.
If not, I would recommend Simi Valley. It's a small town (about 170,000 people), upper-middle class, not too crowded, not too invaded by illegal immigrants and the commute really isn't THAT bad. As long as he doesn't mind driving an hour each way (this morning it took about 1 hour and 15 min. but Thursday is always worse for whatever reason). Simi is mostly houses too, not as many apartments but I think they do rent houses occassionally. Right now they are selling really beautiful brand new houses up in the hills for about 1 million and the neighborhoods are really gorgeous. They have their own private golf course and even golf cart roads and bridges for them! They all have a unique look to them too so it's not all boring looking. I must say though, Simi Valley people can be very backwoods-acting so be prepared if you end up there to see... flannel and all kinds of things lol. Anyway, good luck on your search!
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If you've got a few million to throw around that's the place to be. 
