LGBTQ+ friendly and affordable town in SGV for family? (Los Angeles: real estate, renters)

[Rainbow1974]

Dear posters,

A few years ago I was on this forum researching a place to call home for our family in Rhode Island. We are a lesbian and non-binary couple with two elementary school age kids, one is on the autism spectrum. We bought a small house in a beach town with the "best" school district, and we hate it. While we are white, this feels like white supremacy, super conservative despite supposedly liberal, behind of the times in general. We hate it so much. It is so unfriendly and clicky, and we really tried. Not sure if it is the whiteness, wealth, or lack of education here... we need to get the f out. So I do not want to make the same mistake again now that we have our eyes on LA. At least we made a lot of money on the house.

We are academics who lived in LA and NYC previously, and we wonder if we just need to be in bigger city. We are edgy I guess. We are super worried about ending up in the same suburb hell where we are now. We need:

A max $700 k house with some kind of yard where we can grow vegetables - we can live in a very small house with the kids, we are currently doing that. Yes, we can live in 900 sq feet if we need to, but 12 - 1500 sq feet would be great. Fixer upper of course.

We would like to live not too far commute from Cal State LA. Also there are services for our kid in Pasadena.

A good public school district - or at least acceptable. One of our children is special needs and while intellectually doing well, the kid is very "young" and not street smart in any sense of the word. We can't afford private schools, and we actually found that they also don't accept special needs kids, which is very messed up.

A warm culture that is also LGBTQ friendly. We really are scared of religious people in general, sorry to offend anyone. Would be great to have people around us that are activists, artsy, people who do not teach their kids that their value is in their wealth. We are more sensitive to conservative political views than we thought, like I cannot stand the ignorance. We do research with unhoused populations, and any dehumanizing views drives us insane. Also, a non-binary and trans knowledgeable/accepting community would be great. We just don't want it to be an issue.

Safe, quiet and calm, and somewhat close to nature - that is what the kids need.

We are parents, so we do not care too much about nightlife, restaurants etc. Sure, a good food market is great but Whole Foods, we so don't care. More happy about being close to good hispanic and asian markets.

We are looking at Highland Park, El Sereno, Boyle Heights (but worried about contributing to the gentrification) Monrovia, Walnut.

Any help is so appreciated. And yes, we know that we are almost priced out, but we have been able to get houses in the lower range by going down in size, and then making money fixing it up. (It is kind of crazy that 180 k in capital and a dual academic salary makes it so hard to buy a home.)

[ccm123]

I can recommend a city for you - South Pasadena (zip 91030) but you’ll need to increase your budget significantly.

Great public schools (not sure about special needs though), safe, small town feel, liberal, educated residents, diverse and very close both to Cal State LA, Pasadena. Outstanding Hispanic & Asian restaurants nearby in Alhambra and the San Gabriel Valley.

The other areas you mention (except Walnut) don’t have good public schools and some are not what I would consider safe. FYI - commuting from Walnut to Cal State LA/Pasadena can be pretty arduous during traffic hours.

[la_ennui]

700K is going to be TOUGH. You can definitely find an open-minded, accepting community with plenty of familiies that's reasonably central (Atwater Village, Eagle Rock, Highland Park, Mt. Washington, Los Feliz, Echo Park come to mind) but you might have to rent to do it. (I'm a parent who chooses to rent in one of these communities rather than buy a house in a further-out but more conservative suburb, so I get it!) El Sereno is gentrifying and those I know who have moved there are happy - but the local schools are not great. However, Los Angeles Unified School District does overall seem to have pretty robust support for special needs. Pasadena is definitely an option too. I wish you luck!!

[BGS91762]

I would recommend Claremont. It’s a very diverse and accepting city with a large LGBTQ population. Best part is it’s on the Metrolink train line that goes right into Cal State LA. About a 40 minute ride.

[Rainbow1974]

Thank you everyone! We can maybe stretch to $750 but that is IT. It looks like Claremont is out of our price range unfortunately.Anyone who has views on Monrovia and Alhambra? Very grateful to hear views on commuting.

I lived for 5 years in Silverlake, but that was 15 years ago. Renting is not an option for us, and honestly, the kind of people who live in these highly gentrified areas are so much richer/privileged than us anyway. We worry the kids will feel strange. We are hardworking activist academic middle class. South Pasadena is great but again, we don't have that kind of wealth.

Of course I know and respect people's choice to rent to get access like this. But real estate has literally been the only way for us to make money. Really wish I had been able to start sooner but we were renters in NYC. We are not interested in a big house, we are interested in a small footprint.

We are looking for a warm culture/community with a mix of middle and lower middle class. BUT, we are worried about religious people and homo/transphobia.

[Social Democrat]

Monrovia and Alhambra are nice areas with a heavy Asian population, especially Alhambra. I doubt you can afford a SFR in Monrovia with your budget and options would be limited in Alhambra unless you're open to condo living.
I attached a listing for a SFR in Alhambra that is within your price range however, the price often rises because a bidding frenzy by potential buyers.
https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...1_M17184-14191

[apple92680]

Atwater Village ticks off all of your boxes, but the problem is that it's City of Los Angeles and therefor, under the jurisdiction of LAUSD, which is not great.

Burbank could be an option? Burbank has great schools. Glendale would be better, location-wise, but I worry about the Armenian community being homophobic? I do know a lesbian couple there, but they are not activists by any means, and keep a relatively low profile. To my knowledge, they have never had an incident.

North Hollywood is great too, but it may be a little too far from Cal State LA (?) and it's under LAUSD too. You could always have your son enroll in a charter school, as many of them are LGBT+ friendly, have LGBT staff and serve lots of students on the autism spectrum.

Other neighborhoods that come to mind are Eagle Rock and Mt. Washington, which are both adjacent to South Pasadena and near Cal State LA. They are both City of Los Angeles, so -- again -- LAUSD...but remember the charter school option!

[ccm123]

Alhambra & Monrovia, along with most cities in the western SGV (Monterey Park, San Gabriel, Temple City, etc) will have similar demographics - notable Hispanic & Asian populations. These cities are all solidly middle class and generally safe areas. You’ll definitely have no problems finding Hispanic and Asian markets and amenities.

LA County as a whole tends to lean liberal overall and the SGV is very diverse and generally accepting.

As a general rule, rush hour traffic is heaviest in the direction of east-west in the morning hours and reverse (west-east) in the afternoon hours. So, commuting from an area with a proximity far out east, such as from Pomona to Pasadena in the morning (as a example) you’ll encounter heavy traffic. It’s suggested to live as close to work as possible to minimize long commutes, which can have adverse impacts on the quality of life.

Wish you well.

[VLWH]

Originally Posted by Rainbow1974

Dear posters,

A few years ago I was on this forum researching a place to call home for our family in Rhode Island. We are a lesbian and non-binary couple with two elementary school age kids, one is on the autism spectrum. We bought a small house in a beach town with the "best" school district, and we hate it. While we are white, this feels like white supremacy, super conservative despite supposedly liberal, behind of the times in general. We hate it so much. It is so unfriendly and clicky, and we really tried. Not sure if it is the whiteness, wealth, or lack of education here... we need to get the f out. So I do not want to make the same mistake again now that we have our eyes on LA. At least we made a lot of money on the house.

We are academics who lived in LA and NYC previously, and we wonder if we just need to be in bigger city. We are edgy I guess. We are super worried about ending up in the same suburb hell where we are now. We need:

A max $700 k house with some kind of yard where we can grow vegetables - we can live in a very small house with the kids, we are currently doing that. Yes, we can live in 900 sq feet if we need to, but 12 - 1500 sq feet would be great. Fixer upper of course.

We would like to live not too far commute from Cal State LA. Also there are services for our kid in Pasadena.

A good public school district - or at least acceptable. One of our children is special needs and while intellectually doing well, the kid is very "young" and not street smart in any sense of the word. We can't afford private schools, and we actually found that they also don't accept special needs kids, which is very messed up.

A warm culture that is also LGBTQ friendly. We really are scared of religious people in general, sorry to offend anyone. Would be great to have people around us that are activists, artsy, people who do not teach their kids that their value is in their wealth. We are more sensitive to conservative political views than we thought, like I cannot stand the ignorance. We do research with unhoused populations, and any dehumanizing views drives us insane. Also, a non-binary and trans knowledgeable/accepting community would be great. We just don't want it to be an issue.

Safe, quiet and calm, and somewhat close to nature - that is what the kids need.

We are parents, so we do not care too much about nightlife, restaurants etc. Sure, a good food market is great but Whole Foods, we so don't care. More happy about being close to good hispanic and asian markets.

We are looking at Highland Park, El Sereno, Boyle Heights (but worried about contributing to the gentrification) Monrovia, Walnut.

Any help is so appreciated. And yes, we know that we are almost priced out, but we have been able to get houses in the lower range by going down in size, and then making money fixing it up. (It is kind of crazy that 180 k in capital and a dual academic salary makes it so hard to buy a home.)

Yes, most definitely the whiteness. I suggest Compton or east Los Angeles. Limited to no “whiteness” and extremely LGBTQ friendly.

[Rainbow1974]

Thank you again so much for all the information. I also worry it is the whiteness - or a particular kind of whiteness - that makes us so uncomfortable. There is a crazy movement in our town to limit education about race and gender. Weaponizing the notion of "you make us uncomfortable." LGBTQ identities and our representation as parents are seen as not age appropriate. F this.

I would love Compton, honestly, as I have a very good impression/experience with warm and honest black and hispanic communities. Anyone with experience with the LAUSD?? I wonder about the neutrality of all these school ratings TBH. Anyone who raises their kids in Compton or East LA - what are the calmer areas and strong community around schools? I worry about gang violence and drive by shootings, getting caught up in that.

Thank you for the info about commuting east/west!