L.A. area Cathletes--relocation questions

kellymom

kellymom

Cathlete
Hi all-

So, this is very, very preliminary, but I'm looking for some frame of reference in considering a possible future move from the Nothern Virginia area to the L.A. area.

DH has been networking with some post houses in Burbank and it looks like an offer may come about at some point. What areas are great for families with school age kids who are used to the whole white picket fence/yard/pretty communities? You know, suburbia :) I know the cost of housing is higher in LA, and without knowing what the offered salary might be, I would guess 500,000 would be our upper limit unless DH gets a significant raise. From what I could see online, this may not be doable, which is what we need to figure out. Any suggestions welcome!

TIA,

Kelly
 
I relocated from Los Angeles to Tucson, AZ last year because I could not afford to live there anymore. My advice is just don't if you can avoid it.

That said, there are some nice areas tucked in Burbank, but I don't think you could get a house there for $500,000. Honestly I can't think of a whole lot of decent family areas where you could get something for under $500,000. That's the problem with LA, all the affordable housing for us normal non-millionaire types are at least an hour outside of where the jobs are so your only option is to spend hours sitting in traffic on the 405 or the 101 every day. If you haven't done so already, go to realtor.com and search for what you want in your price range and see what comes up. Good luck.

ETA: Try the Eagle Rock area.
 
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Even with the economy, the best areas in LA -- you really won't find a decent house in LA for 500K. If you can go up to 600-650K, you're options start to expand a little. Best school areas? South Pasadena, San Marino, La Canada have insane property values because their schools kick butt.

Eagle Rock is an ok place and their property values have definitely come down in the last year (we looked there too). You can get much bigger houses and bigger lots there but still, to get something of decent value in a decent area, 500K is just too much on the low side without staking the area for a while. But you may get lucky of course. Frankly, I would rent if you don't have the time to look at short sales (that's how we got our current house significantly under value but still over 500K) because the foreclosures are a joke. They're only priced low if the whole place is gutted and you're still expected to pay 400+K. Rental prices have dropped significantly in the last year...houses are harder to come by for sure but still available.

Is the job you're looking in Burbank because I have no idea why people would want to willingly live in Burbank. Burbank surely has fun places but when Pasadena/South Pas (where I live) is in the 90s, Burbank is usually 110+. It's like living in the valley but still paying more. And traffic ...ew, I mean, when you're stuck in traffic in l it does suck but my husband and I always picked places where there were multiple freeways to choose from (and we avoid the 101/405 crossing as much as possible...the 405 as much as we can!). If you're more concerned about schools but need to be in that area, I would just rent a house in La Canada. The beach cities are supposed to have some good schools but their rental prices can skyrocket too. I LOVED renting on the westside near the beaches...but not what I would say where I could afford to raise a family.

HTH.
 
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I agree with everyone above. We are in a crap area, in an old house built in the 50's and ours is valued at around $400,000. Still with all the foreclosures you might be able to find something. My co-worker lives in Santa Clarita in a very nice community. Her house was valued at over $1,000,000 at one time and is now down to around $850,000. That being said the weather is usually beautiful here, but that is about it.
 
There are some nice neighborhoods in proximity to Burbank in areas of Studio City, Sherman Oaks, Glendale, etc. but even though prices have fallen somewhat lately, a family-sized house on a lot that offers a yard with plenty of play space in an area with good schools within a reasonable commute to Burbank is going to cost more than $500K.

My advice would be to make sure the job offer includes a house-hunting trip that can be taken prior to offer acceptance. Or make the trip on your own. Get a good buyer's agent to show you what's available in the areas that fall within the commuting time/distance you and your husband are willing to consider.
 
Maybe your husband could ask for relocation costs and assitance/reccomendations with finding a home. I live in California and unfortunately if you want to live in a nice family suburban neighborhood it is really expensive. In our small town in order for us to buy a 3 bedroom home we'd need $650,000.00-$700,000.00 :( but we love California, the weather, local produce, the hiking/biking trails, the beaches and as much as I complain about the cost of living here I would never move out of state.
 
I live out in the Inland Empire and home prices here are falling a TAD but once you get out of San Bernardino County and into L.A. County, hoooly moly houses are expensive. The smallest house is more expensive than a 3,000sqft house out in the IE. I have a friend who lives in Valencia and they are beautiful houses, I don't know how much they go for but it's right by Six Flags so that's a plus! lol

But really, in L.A. be ready to pay top dollar for something that may not be worth it.
 
This is exactly what I seemed to be finding when looking around on the web yesterday. Sigh. Thanks for your help, ladies. The job offer may never materialize, but we've got to do enough research to know whether the opportunity is worth it. My husband is a sound designer for television in the D.C. area (he did Planet Earth!) and has several contacts in CA that want to help him get into movies. But I just don't know that we could sacrifice our standard of living......we'll see. Thanks again!

Kelly
 
My sister lives in Corona. The houses there are beautiful and in the last year, the values have dropped down to half of what they were.

The problem with Corona is how far it is from LA. The drive is at least an hour to an hour and a half, and that's without bad traffic. As others have said, most of the time the traffic is a nightmare. That commute would be a nightmare.

My BIL used to commute from Corona to Anaheim, which is not far mileage wise, but with traffic it took up a good part of his day just going to and coming home from work. :(

Good luck with whatever you decide to do! I love California -- just not sure I'd want to actually live there!
 
kellymom said:
This is exactly what I seemed to be finding when looking around on the web yesterday. Sigh. Thanks for your help, ladies. The job offer may never materialize, but we've got to do enough research to know whether the opportunity is worth it. My husband is a sound designer for television in the D.C. area (he did Planet Earth!) and has several contacts in CA that want to help him get into movies. But I just don't know that we could sacrifice our standard of living......we'll see. Thanks again!

Kelly
Click to expand...

Since he works in audio (I used to do that but not so lofty a gig as Planet Earth he must be awesome!) he may be able to telecommute.
 
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