Hey everyone, I live in NJ and I might be moving to LA in the next month or so. I figured that this would be a good place to ask you for your opinions on where I could find a decent place to live outside of LA. I would like it to be north of LA along the coast but not too far away as the job is located near LAX Airport. Its the Neutrogena plant.

I need a place where I can park my baby in a garage away from the city. I don't want to live in a place that is crowded, believe it or not I lived in NJ my whole life and I grew up in the woods.

Any suggestions on a regional place 30-45 minutes from LAX?

Thanks for you replies.......

 

with LA traffic 30-45 minutes during rush hour translates into 5-10 miles max! Sorry.

I'd suggest you stay west of the 405. Marina Del Rey is good places to stay, but not cheap. I was going to suggest Santa Monica, but with rent control, it's nearly impossible to find anything there. Any of the other beach communities would be a good pick, but parking is at a premium. Culver City would be another good pick. Try browsing the LA Times listings online and also see if you can ask a friend to mail you a copy of the local papers. Most of them have rentals listed. Good luck with the new job and welcome to LA.

 

Are you looking for apartments, condo, townhouse, single family house? Depending on what you are looking for and how much your budget is, you may be steered from one city to another.

Gardena/Torrance/Redondo Beach area is pretty much 30~45 mins away from LAX on HWY 405. It's not THAT crowded like the beach community. I have a client right by LAX and it takes me approx. 30 mins to get there from Torrance, of course, you gotta know how to weave in/out of traffic! Good luck!

 

What are you looking for in terms of price? Accomidations?

That area you can range from paying a little to an exorbitant amount of money for rent/property purchase.

 

Well depending on what I can find, I am open to renting an apartment or condo as long as I can park in a garage(my own garage). I need a place for my Z and my dirtbike. Also, my girlfriend might come out here to live with me. Right now she is in tears about the possibility of having to move, decisions, decisions. I appreciate everyones input as it would make for an easier transition if I do take the job.

As for a price range, I am open to $1000/mo give or take a few 100. Considering that it costs a sh!tload just to live in NJ, I guess it wouldn't be that different or maybe even less in LA. Also, what do you guys pay for insurance a year, full coverage. Right now I am paying 5K/yr., again NJ sucks in that regard. I only had two tickets in the past 3 years but no points, go figure, then again the cop totaling my car hurt me also but thats a different story.

To recap, an apartment or condo(single family), but definately a garage, lets say a two door for now, and an area 30 mins(+/- 15 for traffic ). from LAX.

Next on the list is the nearest 1/4 strip.

 

I am also partial to renting a townhouse.

 

I know where the Neutrogena offices are...I've had to go there on business.

My suggestion is for that price range to try Westchester (just north of LAX).

If you don't mind paying a bit more you can try MDR and SM.

Good luck...

MDR (1) Bdr Apartment: http://www.rentnet.com/apartments/fy...atchlist.jhtml

Westchester (2) Bdr: http://www.rentnet.com/apartments/fy...atchlist.jhtml

Just to give you an idea about the Townhouse market...Torrance (20-mintues south of LAX) 3-bdr townhomes are going for 400-500k. My coworker is leasing one for $2300/month.

Townhouse prices: http://www.igsbr.idxnetwork.com/3005...from=661290138

 

$1000/month will get you absolutely NOTHING in the beach cities, and pretty much everywhere else within 10-15 miles of LAX will only get you a studio or one bedroom apartment in a not-so-great area. Also, you will not have your own garage if you rent an apartment.

I live in Torrance, and even small, 1100 to 1300 square foot townhouses rent for no less than $2000/month.

As for communities, the beach cities (Redondo, Hermosa, Manhattan) are nice but expensive. Torrance is a nice, very middle-class community. You might be able to find cheaper rents further south in Long Beach, but be wary of some parts of town there and the gangs. Marina Del Rey, as someone suggested, is nice but also very expensive. All of the communities I mentioned are very accessible from LAX and even on the 405 it's not that bad of a commute (I had to commute from Torrance to UCLA Westwood for 2 years - now THAT was evil - 1.5 hours to go 20 miles).

Los Angeles is an expensive place to live. Be prepared for the shock.

 

haha, 1000$ a month in west l.a., good luck man.
hell, it's not like we need any more z's here in santa monica, but it's pretty good living and pretty close to the airport area. expect about 1300$ for a 1 bedroom.
i used to live in marina del rey, and that is really where you want to live if you're gonna work in the el segunda/lax area. it's expensive over there, but most of the apartment houses are pretty new, and they've got large underground parking structures. check out http://www.playavista.com (they have some rentals, not just sales). if you want something a little cheaper, try playa vista, el segundo, culver city, fox hills.
as for living in a not-crowded area, uh, there's none of that within 50 miles of the airport.

 

I Moved to LA from Manhattan NYC a few months ago. The prices in NYC are crazy!! and so are the prices in LA.

I live in Hermosa BEach and the Prices are the Same as NYC.

In the beach towns if your looking for a 1 bedroom with 2 parking spots your looking at 1300-1500 a month or better. I pay more than that! but Im down the block from the beach. you might get lucky if you have time to hunt for a place.

Insurance aint cheap either. Same if not slightly more than NY.
In LA everyone drives. Everyone. Just too many damn cars.
and like mentioned above the traffic is unbelievable. I work 11 miles from my apartment and it can take 45 minutes to get there.

Moving to another state is tough. I'd have my girl come with me if I were you. Mine is with me besides the issues of a long distance relationship the double income will help you out. not to mention she'll be all you really got when your a stranger in a strange town.

here is a great site everyone in LA uses to find a place.
Do not pay broker fees!

www.Westsiderentals.com

I think it's 40 bucks to join and worth every cent!

Good Luck.

 

If you've got the money and the credit score, another thing you might consider doing is buying a small condominium without putting any money down and just making the monthly payments on the interest. The monthly will be comparable to renting and with the way the housing market is going here in LA, you can sell the place and make whatever the condo appreciates in value when you're ready to buy/rent a bigger place.

 

Thanks everyone for your input, now I will be able to make a better decision when the time comes to accept the job. I just wanted to do my homework as far as the relocation process is concerned. I guess I would be in for a big shock if I move to LA with the prices involved and the traffic. I gotta tell you, when you need good advice, it seems like you can't get any better than your fellow Z people. Thanks again.

 

Here is something to consider. As someone mentioned above...distance means nothing in LA. It's all about the traffic patterns. A 5 mile drive can take an hour, and a 30 mile drive can take 20 mins. That being said...are you hours at the plant flexible? Are you an early riser? You may want to consider lving somewhere a tad further away, but possiblity a nicer area, better living conditions, and if you leave at 6am, you'll avoid most of the traffic. There are several people in my office that live more than 50miles, and do the 6am to 4pm gig....works great for them.

I live in Pasadena...which is probably about 40 mins to LAX without traffic, and about 1.5hours with traffic. In fact, i have a very large extra room in my townhouse I am willing to rent...and you can even have Z parking space in my garage. )

Regardless of what you decide, be well prepared to spend more than $1K on rent, unless you wanna leave in a really old building in a not-so-good part of town.

PM me if you are interested.

 

My most valuable advice would be to find a place where you don't have to drive on the freeway. As everyone else has said, LA is expensive, and $1000 a month will get you a small studio with MAYBE a covered spot if you're lucky. I live in Marina del Rey, and pay $2005 (split with a roommate) for a really big 2 bedroom apartment with garage parking under the building. MDR is an awesome place to live. Seperated from all the crap that is LA, but still close enough to go there if you want.

But yeah, beach cities are out of the question if you want a garage of your own. It's hard enough to even find an expensive place that will give you a garage of your own.

-Sean

 

What are the cross streets to your new job in LA?

My girlfriend lives close to where you circled.
She lives in torrance, off hawthorne and lomita. lomita is few blocks from pch.

anyway, there are lots of apartments by her, but they all have carports, or the open garages where cars just park next to each other with no wall in between.

the carports at my girlfriend's apartment are the kind built for 2 cars, but they are pretty small. i would never park my car in there.

also, some of the garages have a very steep driveway, so you need to watch for those too.

i dont have my Z yet, but i know its gonna suck if i decide to crash at her place for the weekend after i get my Z. maybe i will just ask her to pick me up instead, haha!
btw, i think her rent is 1000 or so a month. not too bad. its a pretty big place too.

 

See where it say's Pasadena in the upper right part of your map... that's where you will need to go for all your Parts and Service needs!!!