OT- Need some advice on LA California...Fast....

[Kansas Ed]

Fellas I don't know who to ask, but need some advice on the Hawthorne CA area. I'm in the middle of negotiations with a contract company who wants me to do a 6 month stint in Hawthorne (Near LAX). I don't know the area at all. What areas should be avoided near Hawthorne for temporary residence? LA scares the bejeebers out of me, but there may be work there if this company and I can come to an agreement.

Thanks,
Ed

[jeepnik]

I can help. North and South are the cities of Inglewood and Lawndale. Avoid these. East is the city of Gardena. Both good and bad areas. The rent prices tell the story. West is El Segundo, again a good area. Pretty much anything west of the 405 freeway is pretty good till you get south down to Harbor Gateway. North of El Segundo is all pretty good. Some areas like Marina Del Rey are very upscale. Get a map of the area and if you see an area you're interested in, let me know and I'll give you a heads up.

[mikld]

Working in Hawthorne is probably OK, but I wouldn't live there again. High crime, high minority population (87%), high unemployment, high cost of living (compared to other areas of US). If I were to suggest a place to live while here for an extended time it would be Redondo Beach, Torrance, El Segundo, or Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach. I still attend church in Hawthorne, but I live 12 miles south in Lomita.

http://www.city-data.com/city/Hawthorne-California.html

As jeepnik says, don't go north or east of Hawthorne (unless it's 600 miles)

[mescalero1]

Whats the gig Ed?

[JReed]

jeepnik and mikld beat me to it.

[Kansas Ed]

Thanks guys....I been on the phone and emailing all day on this deal. I gave em my minimum, which was slightly higher than they originally offered. It's submitted for approval. Cross your fingers for me....Wichita has gone t**ts up for jobs, and I'm hoping to use this contract job to further my career. Hate to go that far away from home, but then you do what you got's to do 'eh. Job is with the Aircraft industry, so we'll see.

You've given me some good fodder for finding temp housing figures to make my requirements for wages, and I'll see if things work out.

Ed

[mescalero1]

I was just wondering if it's our old place in Torrence

[mescalero1]

Prepare yourself for some culture shock.

[stew71]

Coming from Northern California....well let's just say the entire area south of...oh...say Fresno....sucks.



Sorry bud....I'm jaded and my opinion would be of no value.

Seriously though..good luck in finding something down there. I'm sure there are pockets that are quite nice and affordable. I've always been partial to the coastal areas, but would never be able to afford it without winning the lottery.

[mikld]

Stew71, You seem to know the truth I work for the City of LA and see a LOT of it... If I didn't have such a good job I sure as hell wouldn't be here!

[jeepnik]

Coming from Northern California....well let's just say the entire area south of...oh...say Fresno....sucks.



Sorry bud....I'm jaded and my opinion would be of no value.

Seriously though..good luck in finding something down there. I'm sure there are pockets that are quite nice and affordable. I've always been partial to the coastal areas, but would never be able to afford it without winning the lottery.

Oh, don't get me started on Northern California. Talk about rednecks and err, ahh, folks of a different persuasion.

[lever-4-life]

I just love how people from out of state fear California like the plague, While us locals say the same about other parts of the state

Don't buy in to all the anti L.A. mumbo-jumbo you hear. For the most part it is a fine place to call home(as long as you don't mind people)

P.S. I have lots of family in so-cal. Lots of good people are down there if you know where to look. California also has about just the most determined gun crowd around, just stop by a few Gun shops and you will have a boatload of new shooting friends. And most important of all Welcome To California!!

[meanc]

I would get as close to the 405 freeway as possible.

Costa Mesa would be my first preference (Lived there for close to 10yrs of the 15yrs I was in Cal.)

It's right on the edge of Newport Beach/Huntington Beach which is why I moved to California in the first place.

Leaving at 6:30am, it only took 45min to get to work in Hawthorne.

Garden Grove, just north of Costa Mesa, has several nice areas . (2nd preference)

Long Beach and Torrance have nice areas close to the 405 as well.

El segundo/Manhattan beach will cost you a few more $$$ in a nice neighborhood.

[RSY]

I'd do it. Six months will blow by before you know it and you'll be done, regardless.

Scott

[El Chivo]

Culver City is a nice little pocket with history and it's its own city, not part of LA. Should be about a 15-20 minute drive to Hawthorne.

Some very picturesque streets, shopping, and an excellent gun store with lots of used treasures. I lived there a year and always felt safe. Once I set up my view camera to take a picture and immediately had the cops checking me out. Never saw gang types or loud teens or anything like that. The minorities you see are well to do and responsible. Several big movie studios are right there and they keep it nice.

I don't know about home prices but my rent was quite reasonable. I would go back there without any hesitation, I often go down on Sundays to visit.

[Buck Elliott]

87% is now considered a "minority" in California...??? Hmmmmm.

Maybe what I hear about CA schools really is true!

Problem most of you in CA seem to have, is that you have become accustomed to the rot and decay around you. And you BREED, shoving ever more expatriot Calis out into the rest of the (relatively) unspoiled West.

If it really IS such a wonderful place, why is the population bleeding out of the sate in a hemorrhagic flow?

[mikld]

Buck,

87% of the population of Hawthorne is comprised of minority status races (ie. non-caucasian).

[stew71]

Oh, don't get me started on Northern California. Talk about rednecks and err, ahh, folks of a different persuasion.

Ok OK..Uncle...Got me there Jeepnik. San FranFreakShow is a world unto itself!! Too bad it's part of NorCal. Entertaining to visit, but wouldn't be caught dead living there. As for rednecks, we got 'em!! Heck, when I talk about the hunting and fishing around here to my co-workers in Irvine, they get the impression that we're all driving monster trucks, wear flannel, and date family members...

If it really IS such a wonderful place, why is the population bleeding out of the sate in a hemorrhagic flow?

Buck, you bring up a valid point. I think the current rounds of migration from this state are due to the ongoing financial and unemployment issues in Southern California than anything else. It's getting too expensive for many people to simply make a living down there or stay in their homes. They leave for greener pastures and that brings the urban decay, illegal immigrants, gangs, and other issues that make the headlines. I'm just glad that scene is 450 miles south of here. But it's sadly working its way north, just as it's already creeping to other states.

Somewhere down the road, the tipping point is coming for this state and it's going to be interesting to watch. Sorry...didnt mean to hijack this thread.

[madman4570]

Everytime we go to California we always stay in Santa Anna.
My favorite is the Comfort Suites they always have a great deal free breakfast & dinners with room.Very reasonable.really nice staff.Then they have this little neat mexican bar/restraunt right next door that has the best Drinks(get a little tipsy and walk back to the whirlpool and relax!
Your very close to the John Wayne airport.(Newport Beach) also check out Cystal Cove State Park.unreal, just watch the rattlers.The view from there at sunset from a top those cliffs is as good as it gets!
Great freeway access and can have a blast going right down the road to Laguna Beach.My whole family is always treated very well in Orange County.Also go hike Mt.Baldy(saw a mountain lion there)
Actually I love California,Can hike the hills in San Bernardino,40 mins later swimming in the ocean.Last time there we drove Pacific Coast Highway 1 from San Diego to Eureka(OMG what scenery,also I almost wiped out (rear ended)several cars because of the tiny weenie bikini Ca girls
Boy everyone there seems to have a beemer/benz/hummer???
I always rent a Grand Marc LS(they probably think who is this yahoo?)Do Disneyland too very close by.Stay the heck out of LA/Long Beach rough--reminds me of NYC(Bronx) do Orange County.Also walk Seal beach and do Malibu! Love California!

[jeepnik]

I would get as close to the 405 freeway as possible.

Costa Mesa would be my first preference (Lived there for close to 10yrs of the 15yrs I was in Cal.)

It's right on the edge of Newport Beach/Huntington Beach which is why I moved to California in the first place.

Leaving at 6:30am, it only took 45min to get to work in Hawthorne.

Garden Grove, just north of Costa Mesa, has several nice areas . (2nd preference)

Long Beach and Torrance have nice areas close to the 405 as well.

El segundo/Manhattan beach will cost you a few more $$$ in a nice neighborhood.

Haven't driven the 405 lately, have you. I do on a regular basis. I do not reccommend it, unless you are off it by no later than 6 AM, and don't get back on until about 8 PM. There are plenty of good areas in fairly close proximity to Hawthorne. And it might be advisable for one not initiated to avoid rush hours on the freeways. Crazy southlanders will sit on a clogged up freeway because they are afraid to get "lost" on the surface streets. I have to drive from the extreme south end of LA into the downtown area with some freuquency. I find it faster on many occassions to take one of the four of five north/south surface streets than the freeway.

[Kansas Ed]

Yea, I wouldn't try LA without a good GPS anyway....now if I can just find a GPS unit with Angelina Jolie's voice telling me sweet nothings...

Ed

[jeepnik]

Yea, I wouldn't try LA without a good GPS anyway....now if I can just find a GPS unit with Angelina Jolie's voice telling me sweet nothings...

Ed

Well not a bad idea, but I'd rather have Abbey whispering in my ear. Oops, here we go again, the old question, Ginger or Mary Ann.

[mescalero1]

Mary Ann

[mikld]

Yeah, So. CA has a lot going for it; great beaches; lots to do (I too went sledding in the morning and surfing in the afternoon) and see, etc., but if you want to do ANYTHING in LA area there is at least 1,000 others wanting to do the same thing at the same time at the same place! Of course there are a lot of nice areas (islands in a cess pool) but they are getting smaller and smaller. I could go on but my blood perssure is high enough!

The problem as I see it is the whole state is run by the Big 3 (Los Angeles, San Francisco area, and Sacramento). Outside of these cities CA is a pretty good place. No. CA is amazingly beautiful (I've spent some time in Humboldt Co.). Beautiful coastline from southern end all the way to Ore. border. If we could just get The State of Jefferson movement going again!

[El Chivo]

Hunting is not in vogue, so I usually have my end of the forest to myself. Rarely see another hunter. Rarely see a deer, too, but that's another story.

[madman4570]

Of all the beaches I have been to(a lot)Newport Beach is by far the nicest.Not crowded at all when ever we go there.Just pull right up about anywhere put a few quaters in.Order a large pizza "delivered" for $14 from Als New York Style shop(though its really close anyway)
Salad is like $4 fantastic.This is the beach the Locals like best.
When I have to or want to stay in Ca---It would be Orange County or bust!

[jeepnik]

Of all the beaches I have been to(a lot)Newport Beach is by far the nicest.Not crowded at all when ever we go there.Just pull right up about anywhere put a few quaters in.Order a large pizza "delivered" for $14 from Als New York Style shop(though its really close anyway)
Salad is like $4 fantastic.This is the beach the Locals like best.
When I have to or want to stay in Ca---It would be Orange County or bust!

Right, pick one of the wealthiest cities and talk about how nice the beach is. I like the way you think.

[bogus bill]

California is huge. People think its all congested, and it is where the people are! It also has one huge dessert and a lot of brushy steep mountains. Northern california is more my style. I lived and worked in antelope valley (Lancaster) for 35 years, also in aircraft. You might well end up there as a number of companys use plant 42, maybe yours too. California has rotten politics, exspendsive to live and congested. Right now you will find houseing (to buy) is probley the CHEAPEST it has been in 40 years! That could work for you! I have a step daughter that just bought a beautifull huge new house in Lake Elsinore that was $500,000, didnt sell, and they paid right at 1/2 price! At lancaster where I retired 5 years ago, I sold my house and retired in utah. My best friend says I couldnt sell it for a 1/3 of what I did get, today! So, this could work for you! Everybody there drives over a hour to work anyway. Lancaster is about a big hour comute to hawthorn, if light traffic. Good luck!

[Griff]

I grew up in SoCal. Great place, just a little too crowded for my tastes. Ed, prepare yourself for some culture shock! I still have 2 brothers, brother-in-law and sister-in-law living there.

Traffic on the 405 is bad from about 0630 till about 0130; but that applies to most freeways in the LA basin. And in the Hawthorne area, it doesn't matter which direction.

I've lived in Long Beach, Westminster, Garden Grove, Riverside, Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, Dana Point, San Juan Capistrano, San Clemente and Santa Ana.

You're moving to one of the highest priced real estate markets in the country... I don't care how "depressed" they say it is... that's because their 1500sf, 100'x60' lot, 2-car garage track house just dropped to a ½-mil $!

You have my utmost and deepest, heartfelt sympathy. Southern California is an absolutely beautiful area, both in things to do, and in weather (except for the smog), if it weren't for some 15 million of the folks that live there!

[Modoc ED]

Whatever you do, STAY OUT of Compton!!!!

Studio City is a great area but pricy as all get out.

Both of our sons live in Long Beach. It's a nice area but gangs are slowly entrenching themselves there.

Forget flipping off someone that cuts you off in traffic. You just may find yourself being flipped back with a gun.

[El Chivo]

I would stay out of points north like the Valley/Studio City, as your commute would be 40 miles each way, and take you past downtown, with only the 405 or the 5 as ways to get there. Both get very congested, depending on the part you're on. I would look for nicer areas south like Culver City, Torrance, and Orange County, Long Beach is pretty gangy and decrepit by now.

As far as culture shock goes, I remember how it was during my first six month out here. This applies to people in the strip along the coast, not inland. They seem to have "rock star" mentality, self-centered and vain. They don't understand about waiting their turn, or considering others. It's like nothing exists but them. It's almost a childlike mentality.

However, they're less bitter and rancorous than midwestern and eastern folk, and they let things roll off their backs. And they're more tolerant and less judgemental. For example, I'm a conservative driver, and back east got a lot of honking and fingers and people wanting to fight. Out here, none of that. People just go around me and that's it.

If you can forgive/understand their self-centered approach, they're easier to deal with than people back east. It just takes a little getting used to.

Oh, and forget about telling jokes, any jokes or quips and you just get a blank stare.

[Modoc ED]

I would stay out of points north like the Valley/Studio City, as your commute would be 40 miles each way, and take you past downtown, with only the 405 or the 5 as ways to get there. Both get very congested, depending on the part you're on. I would look for nicer areas south like Culver City, Torrance, and Orange County, Long Beach is pretty gangy and decrepit by now.

The advantage to Studio City is that it is relatively safe. Many B-actors (Ed Begley Jr., Bill Nye the Science Guy, etc.) and movie types (grips, gaffers, best boys, etc.) live there and that area seems to get extra police protection.

40-miles is actually a pretty short commute in the LA area. The 405 is a parking lot quite a bit of the time but the 5 is more open and if hung up on the 405, you may be able to use the Pacific Coast Highway to avoid it or use Spring St. through Long Beach down to Harbor Blvd. and out by Disney Land and other surface streets.

[El Chivo]

The advantage to Studio City is that it is relatively safe.

Tell that to Bonnie Lee Blakely! My point is that the other areas mentioned are just as safe, and as nice, as the Valley so why drive it if you don't have to? Personally I avoid Studio City because of the congestion and parking problems.

Southern California has a lot of choke points in the freeway system and passing downtown and Santa Monica are the worst. Seriously, a short commute is good planning around here.

[Modoc ED]

Studio City ROCKS!!!! I think we ought to have a duel over it but then again we'd probably get hung up in traffic and never make the event!!