Who lives in SoCal?

[fryjack2]

pantsparty, @misoangry,  elle, farmvillelover, thedahliharpa, steph196,wannabe, and anyone else that I'm forgetting or don't know.

I'm thisclose to being done with Boston.  I think H is finally getting there too.  

I don't know that much about SoCal other than the weather is great and its also expensive.  If we transferred to CHLA or UCLA can anyone help with towns/cities we should look into?

Some info that might help with suggestions-  We currently live in the city proper and like city life so would like somewhere that has a vibrant downtown. Maybe somewhere that has neighborhoods walkable to downtown?  Good schools would be a bonus but we could do private schools if need be.  I have a good friend in Newport Coast but H will not live there. He hates the RHOC type life she lives and doesn't want to be a part of it.  He would be more on board with a move to San Fran (love it, but too cold for me) but CHLA has the better hospital and has recruited him in the past.

PMs are welcome if anyone would rather answer that way Thanks for any insight!

[Deleted]

I don't think Los Angeles is that much more expensive than Boston.  They are pretty even.

If you transfer to UCLA, I recommend Brentwood, Cheviot Hills, and Culver City.  Culver City is probably what I'd do personally because of good public schools and affordability.

If you transfer to CHLA, I recommend Los Feliz and Silverlake.  Both have good public elementary schools, but you might have to go private after that.  If you're willing to drive a bit more, you could live in South Pasadena or San Marino, where the public schools are good through high school.

[Deleted]

And there is nothing RHOC about my life.

Although I did see Jeff Lewis from Flipping Out at dim sum today.

[Deleted]

I'm going to tag @kirkette because she will have better info for you re the West Side.

[Deleted]

MDR is Marina del Rey, in case you don't know that abbreviation.

[janegold]

Man, I feel you. If my firm had an office in LA, we'd be there in a heartbeat. I'm excited for you!

miso, I love Jeff!

[fryjack2]

Thanks @misoangry!

H really isn't fond of my friend and I think that is clouding his judgement. I think if we went out and explored without her input, he would have a different opinion. I know not all of OC is like her bubble.

[Deleted]

Mar 1, 2015 21:40:47 GMT -5 fryjack2 said:

Thanks @misoangry!

H really isn't fond of my friend and I think that is clouding his judgement. I think if we went out and explored without her input, he would have a different opinion. I know not all of OC is like her bubble.

If you go to either of these hospitals, living in OC is insane.

It is fucking far!

I really don't know how your friend in OC has anything to do with this.

It's like saying you don't want to go to Philadelphia because you hate somebody in Pittsburgh or something.

[Deleted]

Mar 1, 2015 21:40:13 GMT -5 janegold said:

Man, I feel you. If my firm had an office in LA, we'd be there in a heartbeat. I'm excited for you!

miso, I love Jeff!

I also saw a D-celeb at dim sum -- the guy on Suits who had an affair with Rachel long ago and was Mike's adversary (character's name was Logan).

I'm really good at spotting nobodies.  LOL.

I texted my good Nestie friend about these sightings, and she responded that she'd seen Greg Louganis at brunch.

So.

This is L.A.!

And this is why I always chuckle at the celebrity encounter threads.

[fryjack2]

Mar 1, 2015 21:40:13 GMT -5 janegold said:

Man, I feel you. If my firm had an office in LA, we'd be there in a heartbeat. I'm excited for you!

miso, I love Jeff!

 I'm currently typing as I watch more snow fall.  

I was blown away when I brought up moving to California again today and H told me that he would reach out to a colleague at UCLA to see what working there is really like.  He has always always always said he is not ready to leave what he has created here.  I'm trying to gather as much info as I can right now which is what I think is a moment of weakness on his part  

It seems like we could buy a nice house out there for the price of what we would be moving into here when we move to add more space.  And there are actually homes on the market unlike a certain area (you know where I am talking about, I think. basically still the city but awesome public schools really close to work) that currently has nothing that isn't under agreement in our price range.  

[fryjack2]

Mar 1, 2015 21:42:18 GMT -5 @misoangry said:

Mar 1, 2015 21:40:47 GMT -5 fryjack2 said:

Thanks @misoangry!

H really isn't fond of my friend and I think that is clouding his judgement. I think if we went out and explored without her input, he would have a different opinion. I know not all of OC is like her bubble.

If you go to either of these hospitals, living in OC is insane.

It is fucking far!

I really don't know how your friend in OC has anything to do with this.

It's like saying you don't want to go to Philadelphia because you hate somebody in Pittsburgh or something.

I think I was trying to say that I don't know a lot about the area (obviously by what I have posted and what you have posted in response, ha) but that what H and I have seen of her life in Newport Coast, it would not be an area we would probably pick.  She is the only person we know there and shouldn't base the area as a whole on one person's lifestyle.

[captainobvious]

If OC is the draw, San Diego might actually be closer. But I'm just being selfish with that.

[prettyinpink]

Nor Cal chiming in. San Fran is not Boston cold. It gets cold in the winter but its not awful.

[janegold]

Mar 1, 2015 21:50:00 GMT -5 fryjack2 said:

Mar 1, 2015 21:40:13 GMT -5 janegold said:

Man, I feel you. If my firm had an office in LA, we'd be there in a heartbeat. I'm excited for you!

miso, I love Jeff!

 I'm currently typing as I watch more snow fall.  

I was blown away when I brought up moving to California again today and H told me that he would reach out to a colleague at UCLA to see what working there is really like.  He has always always always said he is not ready to leave what he has created here.  I'm trying to gather as much info as I can right now which is what I think is a moment of weakness on his part  

It seems like we could buy a nice house out there for the price of what we would be moving into here when we move to add more space.  And there are actually homes on the market unlike a certain area (you know where I am talking about, I think. basically still the city but awesome public schools really close to work) that currently has nothing that isn't under agreement in our price range.  

Yup, I know where you're talking about.  I just saw a headline today about this winter potentially prompting people to move.  I don't hate winter but I think I could get on board with the seemingly more relaxed West Coast lifestyle.

[thedahliharpa]

I can't offer you much info about LA fryjack2 but it looks like you were given some good places to consider. My expertise is more Long Beach to Irvine but commuting to those hospitals would be unreasonable for me.

Based on the current style of your loft I'd check out
www.socalmodern.com/index.php

Keep us posted! I'm liking the sound of this move! Before you know it you'll be all beachy and relaxed and give in to local GTGs :-p

[steph196]

Mar 1, 2015 22:27:45 GMT -5 thedahliharpa said:

I can't offer you much info about LA fryjack2 but it looks like you were given some good places to consider. My expertise is more Long Beach to Irvine but commuting to those hospitals would be unreasonable for me.

Based on the current style of your loft I'd check out
www.socalmodern.com/index.php

Keep us posted! I'm liking the sound of this move! Before you know it you'll be all beachy and relaxed and give in to local GTGs :-p

This is me also. I hope you find a great place to live! I'm loving the idea of more April moms!

[dapotato]

i don't think la costs much more than boston...might even be a little cheaper. my brother lives outside of boston, and our costs of living seem pretty similar.

listen to @kirkette re: ucla & @misoangry re: chla. beachwood is another neighborhood to look at near chla in terms of smaller city/downtown & walkability vibe...although slightly less kid-inundated than silver lake and los feliz. atwater village is pretty walkable (and flat/less hilly) w/a cute main drag, just over the bridge from silver lake...ppl say still gentrifying but i'd say it's there already. there are also other cute neighborhoods near chla if you need more affordable than silver lake or los feliz that have cute pockets (aka are quickly gentrifying)--mt. washington, eagle rock (cute main drag & walkable), echo park (notorious for gangs back in the day, still has dodgy pockets), elysian park, highland park. and there is always actual downtown la & more walkable neighborhoods adjacent (arts/warehouse district, little tokyo, old bank district) if you want real urban.

if you want more suburban & san marino or south pas are too far or expensive, there's always glendale, too, although i know nothing about their schools...and it's definitely way more suburban of a feel. it sounds like you want more urban, but just throwing it out there.

i work in one of the areas miso mentioned (but commute...and a commute i wouldn't recommend), and most of my CWs with kids live in those areas. all of them that couldn't get their kids into the better public schools in the area (via lottery) are doing magnet programs or private. we're kidless thus far so i don't know much about the schools in areas mentioned above beyond this secondhand info i'm giving gleaned from CWs.

[Deleted]

I'm in San Diego, so nowhere near LA or OC, but what I can share is that there is such diversity (people, socioeconomic areas, etc) in SoCal that no one lifestyle defines what is like here. Well, except that we enjoy year round great weather! No matter what you are looking for, you should be able to find it here on the best coast!

[Deleted]

I would live in Brentwood if you work at UCLA. The only thing is houses in Brentwood, and Santa Monica, are crazy expensive (like, $2M for a fixer, $3M for anything you'd want crazy). On the upside, public school is an option. Venice is sketchy IMO and expensive, and the schools are marginal, but it might have the downtown space you want. Marina Del Rey doesn't have houses or schools as far as I know. We are in Playa, which is the city just south of Marina Del Rey, and there are nice houses there for $2M (but with tiny yards, the lots are minuscule), and the elementary school is excellent, but if your children are middle school aged you'd be looking at private for sure (don't let long term scare you, there's a master plan to either have its own district or link up with Manhattan beach, but for now I wouldn't bring a middle school aged child here). Culver City is just west of Marina Del Rey and Playa, so it is inland, but It is cheaper (I mean, still expensive, but less expensive than Santa Monica and even Playa), and the schools are supposed to be pretty good. After Playa, you're looking at South LA, which is a longer commute but better schools, less expensive houses, and a beachy vibe.

If I had an unlimited budget, I would do Santa Monica, otherwise, you are going to be giving something up (either a short commute, schools, the beach, or a backyard). It sounds like Culver City might be perfect, because you'll certainly be much closer to the beach than you are now and Culver City has an awesome and really fun downtown.

I can't speak to anything further east, I've lived in West LA since we moved here and I don't know much about the east side except . . . Don't livein Altadena. No matter how cheap it looks and how close to Pasadena it is.

ETA: I assumed from the reference to private schools you'd be looking for houses, if you are going with a condo then MDR is a great option. And there are lots of PV condos thst are very reasonably priced. PV does, however, have the most boring downtown ever. Though MDR is worse, it doesn't even have one).

[Deleted]

Don't live in Pasadena. The public schools are shit.

Look in South Pasadena. It is a different city.

[Deleted]

Mar 2, 2015 0:34:24 GMT -5 mp said:

Mar 2, 2015 0:28:07 GMT -5 @misoangry said:

Don't live in Pasadena. The public schools are shit.

Look in South Pasadena. It is a different city.

I was shocked at how awful Pasadena was - I found the cutest house there that I loved - but it was in such a sketchy neighborhood with 2-3 ratings on the schools. Eesh. 

Glendale has awesome schools, which was important to me, even though I have no children. lol.

Re-sale value!

The best parts of Pasadena are incredible.  The houses are huge and majestic and extremely expensive.

But the public schools are terrible because all the people who live in the fancy estates send their kids to private schools.

[gogadgetgo]

The schools are why I'm in Glendale instead of Pasadena

I would choose a neighborhood depending on the hospital. Ucla - stay on the westside. Chla - stay east. No need to make your commute worse than necessary.