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Old 01-27-2008, 04:37 PM
 
Location: South Bay
327 posts, read 963,397 times
Reputation: 192

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Hello,

I'm considering a job transfer from Seattle to L.A. to see if the job opportunities will be worth the high cost of living. My company would relocate me to their sites in either El Segundo, Long Beach, or Huntington Beach. I'm not a fan of commuting, so I would probably want to live within a 40 min commute to these job locations. What kind of neighborhoods would be recommended for a young family? I'm looking for a safe and pleasant neighborhood for raising a family and also has good amenities. I'll be traveling to L.A. in March to look around. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd appreciate it! Thanks!
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Old 01-27-2008, 04:45 PM
 
Location: Las Flores, Orange County, CA
26,329 posts, read 93,805,929 times
Reputation: 17831
Quote:
Originally Posted by wsugrad03 View Post
Hello,

I'm considering a job transfer from Seattle to L.A. to see if the job opportunities will be worth the high cost of living. My company would relocate me to their sites in either El Segundo, Long Beach, or Huntington Beach. I'm not a fan of commuting, so I would probably want to live within a 40 min commute to these job locations. What kind of neighborhoods would be recommended for a young family? I'm looking for a safe and pleasant neighborhood for raising a family and also has good amenities. I'll be traveling to L.A. in March to look around. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd appreciate it! Thanks!
Sounds like Boeing.

Buying or renting? Budget or price range?
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Old 01-27-2008, 04:51 PM
 
Location: South Bay
327 posts, read 963,397 times
Reputation: 192
Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles View Post
Sounds like Boeing.

Buying or renting? Budget or price range?

LOL. I guess I made that one pretty obvious. If we're serious about buying our home price range is around 500K. Given the market conditions, I would probably feel more comfortable renting until we have a better picture of where real estate prices are going and whether the whole California thing is worth it.
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Old 01-27-2008, 05:16 PM
 
Location: Las Flores, Orange County, CA
26,329 posts, read 93,805,929 times
Reputation: 17831
Quote:
Originally Posted by wsugrad03 View Post
If we're serious about buying our home price range is around 500K.
Probably a good idea about renting at first.

Start working realtor.com
Go to California Department of Education Website and really get familiar with the downloadable data.
Because Boeing has a presence from Irvine to El Segundo (including Huntington Beach, Seal Beach, and Long Beach - beware Anaheim is closing and those jobs are moving to Huntington Beach), you will always have lots of opportunities. Your employment future is bright, plus you can move around to Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Lockheed, Aerospace Corporation, etc and get some decent salary increases.
The big question for you is do you really want to raise a family and deal with traffic in the areas that meet your 40 minute (reasonable time) commute requirements. There are some nice neighborhoods in Seal Beach near the Boeing facility there with good schools....but check out what $500K gets you. (You might want to BESS Colorado jobs. Check out homes in zips 80124 and 80920.) Another place that is outstanding is Huntsville, AL.

Be aware that salaries in SoCal are only 6.8% higher than they are in Colorado, Texas, and Alabama.

So check out:
Seal Beach
Huntington Beach

I did exactly the opposite of what you are doing. Went from SoCal to near Colorado Springs. Just couldn't take it anymore. I have four kids.

If you have more questions, don't hesitate to send me a direct message.

Last edited by Charles; 01-27-2008 at 05:26 PM..
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Old 01-27-2008, 05:19 PM
 
Location: Redondo Beach, California
71 posts, read 372,684 times
Reputation: 42
El Segundo would put you in a good place to buy or rent in El Segundo itself or in the beach cities further to the south (Manhattan, Hermosa, and Redondo) as well as Torrance. All excellent places to live although I'm not sure 500K will get you a good house. I rent so I'm not up on house pricing just rental pricing. There is a lot of variation however so it's worth looking into. Huntington Beach is a whole 'nother planet to me but still in a good area. I'd avoid Long Beach as third choice but that's just me. I hope this helps.
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Old 01-27-2008, 07:09 PM
 
Location: South Bay
327 posts, read 963,397 times
Reputation: 192
Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles View Post
Probably a good idea about renting at first.
The big question for you is do you really want to raise a family and deal with traffic in the areas that meet your 40 minute (reasonable time) commute requirements. There are some nice neighborhoods in Seal Beach near the Boeing facility there with good schools....but check out what $500K gets you. (You might want to BESS Colorado jobs. Check out homes in zips 80124 and 80920.) Another place that is outstanding is Huntsville, AL.

Be aware that salaries in SoCal are only 6.8% higher than they are in Colorado, Texas, and Alabama.

So check out:
Seal Beach
Huntington Beach

I did exactly the opposite of what you are doing. Went from SoCal to near Colorado Springs. Just couldn't take it anymore. I have four kids.
Thank you for the suggestions. Nice to get advice from a fellow Boeing employee. I will look into those areas as well as the beach communities mentioned.

I work with a guy that stared off in SoCal and jumped around between companies before ending up at Boeing and transferring to Seattle with his over bloated SoCal salary. The opportunities seem good, but I agree that living in those locations for the long term will be questionable for the family. After 5 years or so, we would probably want to move into the more family friendly neighborhoods that aren't surrounded by industrial wastelands and ATC flight paths. But then if you don't live where you work, you're probably looking at languishing commutes?

What are the commute times from Irvine or Anaheim to Huntington Beach?

I noticed some new homes in Rancho Santa Margarita that are in our price range. Do I even want to ask what the commute times are from this part of town?

I'll have a good hard look at the area when I visit in March. Thanks!
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Old 01-27-2008, 07:16 PM
 
11,715 posts, read 40,468,264 times
Reputation: 7586
Quote:
Originally Posted by wsugrad03 View Post
I noticed some new homes in Rancho Santa Margarita that are in our price range. Do I even want to ask what the commute times are from this part of town?
No, you dont.
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Old 01-28-2008, 09:04 AM
 
1,786 posts, read 6,902,510 times
Reputation: 1757
If you opt for the El Segundo location, $500K is at the low end boundary for a home/condo purchase in the following nice locations with good to very good school systems, and family-friendly. All within 30-min drive, with traffic. Roughly, in order of most to least expensive:

South Redondo Beach
El Segundo
Westchester
North Redondo Beach
South Torrance
West Torrance
Culver City
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