Moving to California

[jagtiger]

Hi Folks!
My wife and I finally decided to move in the L.A. area this summer and would appreciate your opinions. We plan of driving from Michigan to LA - (good 3,000 miles the third week of April. We'll be staying for 3 weeks applying/interviewing for jobs and at the same time looking for apartment.
We have narrowed down the cities where we would like to live temporarily (maybe a year or less) while searching for a new house.

Our choices are: Carson, Cerritos, and Torrance area.
In your opinion are these good areas to live in? Can you reccomend a better area?
How much are average rents (2br)?
I have 3 cars - do I need to pay taxes to register them?
How about preban firearms/pistols?

Thanks in advance!

 

[jsample]

san diego baby. to much trafic there.

 

[PoohBEAR]

You may want to look into Orange County which is short drive a way from LA and tax rate is a litttle cheaper. Furthermore, that is where most of the jobs are.....not to mention clean beaches. In regards to your contra ban weapons, I can keep them for you if you like?

any1 for duck hunting?

 

[RyRy210]

Out of the 3 I would pick Torrance.

I live in Palos Verdes so I know the area pretty well. Torrance is the nicest out of your choices IMHO.

 

[FuryNSX]

san diego baby. to much trafic there.

No, San Diego is NOT what you want!!!! Don't come here!! It's bad in this town!! We don't want anyone here!!! Go to OC/LA!!!



J/K. It's fine here.

 

[5inchfatlip]

Rent with a garage at least for the NSX could be up into the $1300-1400 range. Not to put down the other two cities but I think Cerritos is the best out of the three.

If you want to save some money move 30 miles east of that area into San Bernardino County.

 

[SilverOne]

if you had to pick 1 out of the 3, cerritos is in the center of LA, so it would be convenient to get to everywhere..

 

[JChoice]

Cerritos is one of the wealthiest cities in the state (er.. was in the past), thanks to the Cerritos Auto Square.

Cerritos is right on the edge of Orange and LA county and is more of an OC city than it is an LA city.

Cerritos has several restrictions on what colors you can paint your house, how well you keep your yard, parking on streets overnight, etc.. so the city looks clean and property values are kept up.

Cerritos has one of the nicest libraries around - a multimillion dollar complex where every kid gets an Aeron chair and a LCD monitor at their computer station. The building is made of titanium and looks amazing.

Cerritos has some great parks - Cerritos Park East and Liberty Park have great facilities - Heritage Park is a kids dream come true.

There is a very nice performing arts center here.

Cerritos is one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the world.

Cerritos has the ABC school district - one of the best - along with Whitney High, a public school for gifted kids.

Cerritos is getting city-wide wireless. One of the first cities to do so.

You can tell when you leave Cerritos into a surrounding city - it's not as clean, the streets aren't as nice, and the buildings aren't as new.

Cerritos is FWY convenient with the 91, 5, 105, and 605 all pretty close by although the 5 is usually full of traffic.

Cerritos has a pretty good mall.

There are many businesses in Cerritos including one of the best interactive agencies in the world.. my company.

Cerritos is definitely a step up from Carson or Torrance - not that those cities are bad but Cerritos is a small wealthy city - every part of it is nice.

 

[JChoice]

One problem with Cerritos:

Property values are pretty high and there is only one apartment complex.

 

[PHOEN$X]

jagtiger, you should consider going on House Hunters so we can get more NSX media coverage!

 

[ss_md]

Carson is definitely third IMO! The two others are fairly equal, except for the apartment situation. Cerritos would place you between LA and OC for NSX events and job choices!!

 

[RyRy210]

I agree that Carson is 3rd. I haven't been to Cerritos all that much which is why I placed Torrance at #1. Plus Honda headquarters is in Torrance

Kidding aside, why not explore your options when you are actually here?

You should go see the exact area and make a judgement on whether you want to live there or not.

When I 1st moved here I wanted to live in West LA. After visiting there I did not like it at all.

SD and OC are definietely areas you should consider.

 

[ChopsJazz]

First off, thanks for not calling it "Cali". Secondly, I've lived in Orange County and in Huntington Beach and then on Coronado Island in SD. For my money OC is by far the best choice in the LA area. But Coronado was by far and away the best community to love in.

Next, come to the Bay Area. It's where you'll want to stay.

 

[Joel]

I call it Cali. To each his own.

Anyway, I lived in Cerritos for the past 3 years and it's a nice neighborhood. $$$$$ though. But you pay for the convenience of being in the middle of everything.

Torrance, I don't know anything about. The only plus I could think of is being close to Acura of South Bay.

Carson....well, it more affordable housing. Nuff said.

 

[akira3d]

I grew up in Torrance and could see myself living there again at some point in the future...but there is a catch. West and south Torrance are the nicest areas in the city and feature good public high schools (I went to South) and situated very close to the beach (as a kid on summer break I walked to RAT beach daily)...but they're also far from any of the freeways. The only thing keeping me from considering the area is how long it takes to get anywhere in L.A. from there, especially my job. Figure to add at least 15 minutes just to get to the freeways.

Both of my parents still live in Torrance, so I'm down there quite often. Plus, NSX Tech Jon Martin works (at the aforementioned Acura of South Bay) and lives there.

Stay away from Carson...I consider it a bad area and don't like driving my NSX through there. I know nothing about Cerritos other than that it is far from the ocean.

I happen to like living near or in the beach communities (Palos Verdes - Redondo Beach - Hermosa Beach - Manhattan Beach - Playa del Rey - Marina del Rey - Santa Monica - Pacific Palisades). Obviously housing is a bit more costly, but some of these areas are a lot nicer. Manhattan Beach would be my first choice if I could afford it.

I'm just glad I got my place in Marina del Rey before the market took off.

 

[Joel]

I know nothing about Cerritos other than that it is far from the ocean.

Not true at all, Eric. the 605 freeway is very easily accessible from anywhere in the city and take that southbound and you're in Seal Beach in no time.

But relatively speaking from your point of view where you walked to the beach, well...life isn't always fair anyways.

 

[NSX~Kleine]

I grew up in Torrance and could see myself living there again at some point in the future...but there is a catch. West and south Torrance are the nicest areas in the city and feature good public high schools

Hey Akira3D what years were you there?

I agree!!!
I grew up in Torrance as well, although I went to West (high school). It was considered one of the best schools in the state.
BTW: R.A.T. Beach means "Redondo And Torrance” THERE ARE NO RATS THERE
I grew up in a corner of Torrance called "Tordando" if you want pizza ...call Redondo, you want Maytag.... call Redondo, you want the police.... you get the idea. Torrance zip, Redondo life.
Torrance is considered a coastal town although the city limits never meet the waters edge. That doesn’t stop the schools from offering surfing as a real class for credit. (Not that I would get in the water!)
One thing about Torrance though?:
I'm Caucasian: I was a minority. I hope you speak Japanese.
And FORGET about freeways! It takes longer to GET to a freeway, than it does to drive the way on surface streets!~
I had a normal Torrance childhood, gymnastics, ballet, and horseback lessons. Pretty standard stuff really. The neighbor kid went all state in like 5 sports, and won state ski championships. My sister went to the Olympics in swimming.
Just a standard bunch of over achievers I guess
Oh yeah don’t let me forget: OC as a standard rule of thumb give all LA people a hard time -(Torrance is in LA jurisdiction) but we know its all outta love ~ right guys!

Carson?!?!? (IMO!!!)
lets just say NO WAY JOSE!!!!!
and leave it at that.
Drive an NSX through there at night?
I wouldn’t drive alone through there in the day!
(No offence to anyone who likes the city, sorry)

Cerritos?
I like it, wouldn’t mind living there myself.
*plenty of descriptions in prior posts.

Right now I live in Fullerton.
(Kinda like 'old' Torrance moved east)

 

[akira3d]

Yes, it's all relative.

I enjoyed growing up walking distance from the beach since I was too young to drive (plus I never had to pay for parking).

I enjoyed living near USC because, by car, Monterey Park, Chinatown, West L.A., Hollywood, Santa Monica, Westwood, Pasadena were roughly 15 minutes away (assuming light traffic).

I enjoy living in the Marina because of its easy freeway access and somewhat central location between the Westside (10 minutes from where I work) and Torrance.

Hey Akira3D what years were you there?

From the mid-70's (Hermosa Beach before that) until I started living near USC in the early 90's (I graduated from South High in 1990...ran cross country and track so I've been to West High many times). My parents both live in the Hollywood Riviera area of Torrance. I get the "Tordondo" reference as their mailing address is Redondo Beach...funny that I never heard that before.

I'm Caucasian: I was a minority. I hope you speak Japanese.

It seemed to become moreso as I was growing up. West High was definitely more Asian than South during that time.

I don't speak Japanese...never learned it (I'm only half). Of course, South High did offer Japanese-school on weekends...

 

[NSX~Kleine]

Yes, it's all relative. [...]
(I graduated from South High in 1990...ran cross country and track so I've been to West High many times). [...]
I get the "Tordando" reference as our mailing address was Redondo Beach...funny that I never heard that before.

West class of 96.
(siblings: class of 92, 89 87 & 86)

The west track that you ran off course (Entradero Park) boarded by houses? Yep, you were running past my house every lap!

The 'Tordondo' thing?
The 500 (+/-) houses between 190th, DelAmo, Prospect, and Entradero; made the group. Even the houses all the way out to Anza didn’t know of it, you really had to be there.
I never went past Hawthorne, 190th & Carson.
But I lived at the pier, and DelAmo mall.

I miss the old city, especially because as I see it now, its not the same place as when we were there. They don’t even enforce the curfew anymore!

Japanese? Failed my first semester miserably! (ha ha ha)
I learned all I need to know working at the Salvation Army day care center on Spencer.
Dont ever say "Ichiban" (sp?) unless your looking to referee a fight.

 

[Joel]

My sister went to the Olympics in swimming.

What's your sister's (full) name? And which year did she attend the Olympics?

 

[Tom239]

Torrance is considered a coastal town although the city limits never meet the waters edge.

Have the lines been redrawn? I have an older AAA map of the area that shows about 2/3 of a mile along the beach (the strech adjacent to Paseo De La Playa) as being within the Torrance city limits.

See this aerial photo (but ignore the caption it supplies ). The boundary of Palos Verdes Estates is plain as day (PVE starts at the bottom, with all the trees). Above the line (without many trees) is in Torrance--or at least, it used to be.

Tom "lived in Torrance in 1981" Ace

 

[RyRy210]

Wow, cool that many have lived in Torrance. I spent most of my time in Torrance, but lived in Palos Verdes pretty much all my life.

Graduate of PV High, and attended USC for Undergrad. Working now in downtown LA and the commute from PV is a long one. Takes me awhile just to get on the 110.

 

[NSX~Kleine]

Joel,
My sisters name was Erin Francis Kelly (1971-2000), she was on the back up team in the 80's (86 I think?!?! Not sure).
I was on the same swim team but politics inerfeared and I quit before the olympic teams were selected.

Tom,
I never realized the Torrance boarder crossed PCH. I always thought that was the limit. (oh well!)

The pic is great! I love you can see PVE, duh its where all the trees are!!!
There is a really great little mexican place right off the pic (bottom left) called the Riviera, it seat about 12 people

I used to work in PVE, I was a nanny there for over 4 years.
I remember when the hill burned I was home alone with three babies~! scary times

Ryan,
Palos Verdes Drive N. or PCH to the 110?

 

[RyRy210]

Ryan,
Palos Verdes Drive N. or PCH to the 110?

I usually take PV Drive North. I sometimes take PCH to the 110 if PV Drive is really congested.

 

[akira3d]

[BThe boundary of Palos Verdes Estates is plain as day (PVE starts at the bottom, with all the trees).[/B]

That's EXACTLY where I grew up. I recognize Via Pasqual, Calle Mayor, Palos Verdes Blvd....I see my old home and all the streets I took when walking to the beach! Pretty funny that you pointed to this particular spot in all of Torrance.

I used to ride my bike along the tree-lined dirt trail that marks the boundary between Torrance and Palos Verdes.

I never realized the Torrance boarder crossed PCH. I always thought that was the limit. (oh well!)

It's confusing because this area is technically Torrance, but has a Redondo Beach mailing address.

BTW, here's an old shot of my car looking back at the stretch of R.A.T. beach that's covered in that very same aerial photo

But I lived at the pier, and DelAmo mall.

Likewise. I had a friend who used to wake me up early during my high school summers to drag me to the arcades at Del Amo and the pier. Good times!