OT: Best SoCal (LA/OC) communities for family relocation?

[KJMUNC]

For family and professional reasons, we're making the jump from the Boston area to my firm's L.A. office. We'll be moving as soon as our house sells, so there's no hard/fast deadline that we're abiding by but we'd like to move sooner than later (and before it snows again!).

I've spent a decent amount of time in and around L.A. and have several friends scattered around the area, but most are on the West side so there are lots of areas I'm completely unfamiliar with (the entirety of the OC, for example).

So here's our situation:
-Two kids, (2yrs and 6mo) and my wife stays home with them
-I travel every week so its gotta be within 30min drive to an airport
-We are looking to rent for at least 12mo; with a budget of $3k/mo or less for 3br
-Family friendly area with good public amenities: parks, library, recreation, etc
-Good schools are a bonus, but since we're renting and will look to buy later, schools aren't top priority for this move.
-"Walkability factor": I know LA is a car culture, but we want to at least be able to walk outside to some things, i.e., not live in a giant subdivision that requires 100% driving to get anywhere and has no mixed-used development.
-We have offices in downtown LA and in Costa Mesa, so I need to be able to get to either one (but not both) relatively easily (within 90min), so areas like Carlsbad/San Diego or the Valley are out for the time being.

Are there any smaller communities in the Greater LA/OC area that exist like this that fit our wish list and budget?

We're visiting this weekend to check out some of the following areas:
-Manhattan Beach
-Hermosa Beach
-La Brea/Olympic/West Hollywood area
-Potentially a couple areas in the OC (Newport Beach etc.) but unsure what other areas we should see.

Any other areas we're completely overlooking or should consider? Thanks in advance for the advice!

[GuyGadois]

I grew up in Palos Verdes - that is a nice place. And, don't overlook Redondo Beach. Those are two nice places. Further north look at Pacific Palisades.

-GG-

[54ny77]

if you have an office in costa mesa, i'd suggest you live in newport beach or the costa mesa/newport border (east side costa mesa). costa mesa has bad parts too, you'll find that out (gang stuff, etc). some parts of huntington beach are ok, corona del mar and laguna beach are great. all can be pricey.

anywhere outside of that you'll be in traffic hell...

oh i forgot, irvine. squeaky clean town, very central. but you'll be driving a lot unless you live near the various town centers/shopping areas.

aliso viejo is nice too, good schools. not much going on there though.

[mavic1010]

I think you have a few choices and if your firm is in Downtown LA you could always take the Metrolink to get to your office.

OC area

Brea & Yorba Linda have more of the suburbia feel (great schools).
Irvine - Planned community, very cookie cutter but clean and nice and also great school districts

Fullerton: Great schools, great community

Cerritos: Right in between Irvine and LA...

Feel free to give me an email at mavic1010@gmail.com if you need more guidance.

[Louis]

Santa Ana / JW airport (SNA) is a not too big, super-convenient airport for Irvine and other nearby areas. Not as many direct flights as LAX.

[max_powers]

I have lived in SoCal all my life including 25 years in Newport Beach area.

The roads for cycling in OC are typically wider and surface is better and bike lanes aplenty. However

The 405 freeway from OC towards LAX and W. LA on a daily basis would kill a lot of riding time.

Last time I was in Manhatten Beach for the big bike race cpl weeks ago, cops were writing stop sign tickets to out of towners.

[mgm777]

For 16 years, we lived in Newport Beach and the Turtle Rock neighborhood of Irvine. We have two small chilren, 9 & 7. In one of my community service roles, I work with the Irvine Unified School District as well as other OC districts. Even though I now reside in CO, my office is still in OC and I travel there often. Because of my visits to OC, I am able to stay involved with the OC school districts. The Irvine public school system is simply outstanding. The public high schools in Irvine are very, very solid. University HS, in Irvine, this year, had 51 National Merit Scholarship finalists. That is a phenomenal number. I moved back to my home state of CO two years ago, but would not hesitate to move back to OC if an opportunity presented itself. Like others have already stated, the John Wayne Airport (SNA), is a very convenient airport. Also, the riding scene in OC is robust. There are several classic group road rides that depart from Irvine and nearby Tustin every weekend; Foodpark (Sat am), and Como Street (Tustin - Sun am). These group rides are legendary. Good luck.

Michael

[SoCalSteve]

For family and professional reasons, we're making the jump from the Boston area to my firm's L.A. office. We'll be moving as soon as our house sells, so there's no hard/fast deadline that we're abiding by but we'd like to move sooner than later (and before it snows again!).

I've spent a decent amount of time in and around L.A. and have several friends scattered around the area, but most are on the West side so there are lots of areas I'm completely unfamiliar with (the entirety of the OC, for example).

So here's our situation:
-Two kids, (2yrs and 6mo) and my wife stays home with them
-I travel every week so its gotta be within 30min drive to an airport
-We are looking to rent for at least 12mo; with a budget of $3k/mo or less for 3br
-Family friendly area with good public amenities: parks, library, recreation, etc
-Good schools are a bonus, but since we're renting and will look to buy later, schools aren't top priority for this move.
-"Walkability factor": I know LA is a car culture, but we want to at least be able to walk outside to some things, i.e., not live in a giant subdivision that requires 100% driving to get anywhere and has no mixed-used development.
-We have offices in downtown LA and in Costa Mesa, so I need to be able to get to either one (but not both) relatively easily (within 90min), so areas like Carlsbad/San Diego or the Valley are out for the time being.

Are there any smaller communities in the Greater LA/OC area that exist like this that fit our wish list and budget?

We're visiting this weekend to check out some of the following areas:
-Manhattan Beach
-Hermosa Beach
-La Brea/Olympic/West Hollywood area
-Potentially a couple areas in the OC (Newport Beach etc.) but unsure what other areas we should see.

Any other areas we're completely overlooking or should consider? Thanks in advance for the advice!

The being close to an airport kind of leaves out La Brea/Olympic/West Hollywood....unless you travel early mornings and come back late at night..There are NO really good ways to get to LAX from this area.

What about El SEgundo and Westchester? Both have everything you are looking for...

Just a thought, not sure if its a good one.

Good luck! Let me know when you hit town and get settled...We'll go for a ride.

Steve

[Big-d]

Take a look at the Laguna Niguel, Dana Pt. area. Raised 3 kids here . good schools,safe neighborhoods, the commute to Costa Mesa isn't too bad. That said ,all the communities suggested are good .

[vqdriver]

i have the same age kids and was looking for almost the exact same thing. we ended up buying a home in the linda vista area of pasadena, right next to the rose bowl and old pas.

it has almost everything you're looking for:

great biking culture
fantastic for walking/strolling - two parks, one library, kidspace museum/tennis/swimming all within walking or jogging distance
next to 'old pasadena' so outdoor shopping/restaurants are very close
quick drive to burbank airport which is MUCH easier to deal with than LAX, if they have the flights you need...

here's an added bonus. homes here aren't cheap, and it's mostly old money, so there's not a whole lotta product coming on the market. with the market the way it is, i've seen a couple homes get taken off the sales listings and be put up for rent, some quite nice.

check it out when you're in town.

[KJMUNC]

....for all the great replies and info. We spent most of our weekend trudging all over the LA-metro area and finally decided that we really liked the Redondo Beach/Hollywood Riviera area the best.

Our house is still on the market in Salem, MA so as soon as it sells we are CA-bound. In the meantime it's nice to be able to focus our search in one area rather than trying to look at all the LA listings.

Anyone know of any good route maps and/or weekend group rides that roll out from the Riviera or surrounding area? I saw a ton of folks on bikes while we were there and I have to imagine there are some great rides up into RPV.

Cheers and hope to see some of you out on the South Bay roads soon!

Kerry

[false_Aest]

I just picked up a book called "Bicycling A Guide to Great Road Bike Rides" by Patrick Brady.

The book has about 40 rides listed: 9 in your area and a few that start as far out as the San Gabriel Mountains.


When you get out here take up SoCal's offer. He's a fun dude to ride with.

T

[SoCalSteve]

....for all the great replies and info. We spent most of our weekend trudging all over the LA-metro area and finally decided that we really liked the Redondo Beach/Hollywood Riviera area the best.

Our house is still on the market in Salem, MA so as soon as it sells we are CA-bound. In the meantime it's nice to be able to focus our search in one area rather than trying to look at all the LA listings.

Anyone know of any good route maps and/or weekend group rides that roll out from the Riviera or surrounding area? I saw a ton of folks on bikes while we were there and I have to imagine there are some great rides up into RPV.

Cheers and hope to see some of you out on the South Bay roads soon!

Kerry

Contact me when you get into town and get settled, we'll ride and I'll show you around.

Yeah, RPV is a mecca for cycling, both road and mountain. There are no flat roads in RPV...

Good luck with your sale and relocation!

Steve

[KJMUNC]

Cool, and since we both ride giant Colnagos I'll be in good company!

I'm looking forward to the Donut Ride.....I enjoy riding alone but like to push it with a fast paced group ride.

[Jeff N.]

Consider Hawthorne, El Monte, Norwalk, Rosemead, Bellflower, Arcadia and Santa Fe Springs..........NO! Just kidding. Stay clear of those.
Newport (New Porsche?) Beach is high rent. Fullerton, Brea, Huntington Beach are all OK. I grew up in Fullerton. But since moving to San Diego years ago, there's only one way I like to see LA/OC these days...in my rear-view mirror. ;) But I'd say Dana Point, San Juan Capistrano, San Clemente are VERY hard to beat for OC. Good luck with your move, and living in Southern CA in general. Jeff N.

[SoCalSteve]

Cool, and since we both ride giant Colnagos I'll be in good company!

I'm looking forward to the Donut Ride.....I enjoy riding alone but like to push it with a fast paced group ride.

Fast paced group ride WITH lots of hills...I'll catch up with you on the downhills... :beer:

I will be sure to ride the 'nago when we meet up.

Steve

[Ken Robb]

two big factors for me are climate and air quality. There is so much difference between the beach areas and inland that newcomers should really think about them before deciding on a community.

[Joellogicman]

For three years I had a long distance relationship (I live in Chicago) with a woman living in Santa Monica.

The two of us were completely wrong for each other, but I kept going out there for the lifestyle.

Santa Monica is a reasonably convenient commute to downtown LA, close to the airport, close to the canyons (biking Mulholland from the Palisades to Hollywood - almost impossible to believe you are in the #2 city), and, of course, on the beach.

Neither of us have kids, so I have no clue about schools and child activities. That said, every where you go in SM there are scads of youngsters.

[Joellogicman]

two big factors for me are climate and air quality. There is so much difference between the beach areas and inland that newcomers should really think about them before deciding on a community.

When the woman and I were getting along well, we went for a November weekend to Pasadena. After the clear cool air in Santa Monica, the hazy heat was a bit of the shock to my system.