Scouting trip for possible move to SoCal -- advice on itin, please
 

Hello,

I am flying into LA for a weekend in late August for a brief scouting trip to see what parts of the giant metro area I might like to re-locate to next May after some things in my life sort of tidy themselves up. I will, of course, try to shop for a job long distance, but am not counting on that working out, so will likely just have to pack up and make the leap of faith. I am comfortable with that. I work in marketing and advertising. I hear y'all do that well out there.

I am hoping for some advice on how to plan my itinerary. If you want to toss in suggestions of towns/suburbs/cities I should check out, too, that's great. I really just want to get a feel for how much of an identity some of these places have, asphalt and strip malls aside. (No judgment. Every city has that. Mine in the Midwest is no different.) I know I'll have to make a few/several of these trips, but I have to fit them in when I can, here and there.

I spent some time in Santa Barbara earlier this year (not SoCal, I know) but am guessing there aren't many jobs there. I also know I do not want to replicate my Beltway driving days from DC. One friend told me I could probably go as far north as Oxnard and Ventura and still be okay, jobfinding-wise. I am unsure about the other compass directions, though he said that once you go further inland, it gets hotter. Sounds legit, and I wouldn't have thought of it.

Anyway, I land at LAX around 6 pm on Friday and depart 6 pm on Monday. I need to be in Newport Beach Saturday night for a birthday party, but am otherwise free to drive around with my carryon suitcase all weekend. I was broadly thinking that Friday night I would go to my southern-most point on the list. Then Saturday night I would stay in at the same place, probably, after the party. Then Sunday, I would drive up and check out Oxnard and Ventura, staying in one of them. I have most of the day Monday, also, to look into something I may have missed. I realize I don't yet have the names of the individual towns identified. I'm working on it.

Too long. Sorry. But certainly appreciate any advice. I'm smack in the middle of the Midwest and really just need to escape this terrible weather after decades of it. Understandably, I would like to see the water, and so am imagining some of the towns closer to the shore, though I'm certainly no beach babe. Appreciate you you reading this far already :)

I would think the first step is looking at the salary you culd expect to get (assume higher than in the midwest) and so determine where you can afford to live (also assume a lot higher than in the midwest).

Not sure where you are from but when I bought my first apt in NYC I had a client who was a senior brand manager at THE major advertiser in Cincy who was buying a house at the same time. What I paid for a large pre-war one bedroom (3.5 rooms including dining area) they paid for a 4 BR, 5 bath house on a large lot in a gated community with a ton of amenities.

So do get your budgets set first thing.

I'll be fine with my budget. I'm asking about locations. Thank you.

nyt, do you know anything about the area the OP is relocating to?

It depends on your personality and what you like.

The area around Santa Monica (larger diversity, has own downtown and beach), Westwood (larger commercial district, mixed residential areas, UCLA), Bel Aire north of Westwood (lovely old mansions and beautifully built classic homes), Brentwod (north of Santa Monica and West of Westwood) very posh and is home to a lot of movie stars. Hollywood (which is east of Westwood & NW of Downtown, East of Beverly Hills) still a nice area, some seedy areas but some really cool residential areas, so it totally depends.

Then north of LA is "The Valley" or officially the San Fernando Valley - which is very nice. There are small communities (mostly residential & family oriented) very affluent - Encino, Sherman Oaks, Woodland Hills, Van Nuys, Northridge, etc.

Then an up and coming area is called Silver Lake (close to downtown LA) - has a gay, younger, more hip residential feel.

Then there are a bunch of beach communities up along the coast south of Santa Monica - Redondo Beach, Palos Verdes (expensive), Hermosa Beach, etc.

Continuing much further south is Long Beach (a mixed community of much diversity, poor neighborhoods, to wealthy but predominately middle class).

Then there is San Diego. You should drive down to check us out!!

Thank you, Nanabee. I will look some of these areas up. You asked what I like. Mainly, I like for it to feel like it is its own town, not just an exit off the freeway. That can take many forms, of course, but i do want an element of that to be there. When my employer moved me from NYC to DC, I was put up in some temporary housing in a suburb I won't name. If not for my GPS, I would have had no idea where it was if not for the interstate; there was no real town -- just a pop-up community built around the exit, seemingly. I know this is not the norm in big cities, but these are the obvious traps when you are not familiar with the area. IT's what I loved about Santa Barbara. It was a town unto itself. (YEs, I know it's unto itself because it is far away! But you understand.)

I'm asking lots of people, friends, co-workers and Fodorites, too,for advice on places to check out on this quick visit. You can tell a lot by hanging out in a downtown area for a few hours and driving around. But I am thinking that starting south and heading north is the way to go since the party I am going to is in Newport Beach Saturday night.

OK - I am very VERY confused. Are kit and LotsaPasta the same person? Or are they just going on the same scouting trip???? Or - did you forget who your were logged in as?

Dirty pool . . . .

Sorry, just noticed. Kit = Lotsa. Different computers. Apologies. We're actually not that interesting.

NewbE -

Yes. We have an office in SD and a couple of clients in LA so I been there quite a few times - but more importantly have several co-workers that live in the area. And I have heard many stories from two of them on finding affordable housing in an area that isn't at the end of hell and gone.

My niece loves living in the Brentwood area (where she moved after finishing at UCLA) - and Brentwood/west of the 405 - before you get out to Santa Monica - is the area made famous by OJ Simpson and his nefarious doings.

Also consider Orange County - or as noted San Diego - if you don't have to commute into central LA. I had a client/partner on a couple apartment deals - and he was always moving further south from LA (he had been an intern at UCLA?) - finally winding up on an oceanfront bluff by the Ritz Carlton in Laguna -and they would not move again for anything. :)

We luv SD but it all depends on gainful employment to be found for those who want to move here - or else - having independent means.

see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brentwood,_Los_Angeles

btw - as Gertrude Stein said about Oakland - can probably be said about Ventura and Oxnard: There is no there there. :)

Malibu is a happening place though - but quite pricey.

Hi lotsa. If and its a big if you considered San Diego there are many neighborhoods that would have the feel you want. Coronado being the best. In LA maybe some of the towns in the San Fernando Valley. Otherwise you won't truly get the contained town feel as much in LA as people drive around over greater distances.

I'm not seeing many job opportunities (marketing/ advertising/ design) listed in the Oxnard Ventura area and wouldn't expect to. I'm not sure where you got that information. Wishful thinking maybe since you'd like to be near the water? You might look at Moorpark which at least has train service into Los Angeles/Burbank. Woodland Hills/ Calabasas is closer than Oxnard but still full of people who despise their commute into work each day.
You really have a very short time to drive around and get a feel for places, you might want to stay south and concentrate on just those neighborhoods.

Are you looking strictly for LA or are you open to Orange County? If you are open to Orange County I have a lot of advice. LMK.

Just to report back for those who were interested. I liked and could see myself living in Corona del Mar, Manhattan Beach, Santa Monica and Pasadena. There are probably many other great places, too, but these are the places at the top of my list right now. My plan is to try to find a job from there first before moving out there(in which case my location will be decided for me, pretty much), but if that doesn't happen, I'll move anyway -- probably next spring. Appreciate the help, all.

LotsaPasta - we love CDM - you might consider East-side Costa Mesa/Newport Beach as well if you liked CDM. We rented a place in CDM but had issues with our dog (we have a Rottie) so we were unable to move there (owner did not want a Rottie) we ended up in East-side Costa Mesa and I was sort of bummed at first but am now SO glad. We love it - we ride our bikes to the beach still - walk to places to eat and also have easier in/out access to airport etc.

If you look on Craig's list for rentals it would be a fairly small area between the Costa Mesa Freeway (Newport Blvd) - 22 street to West Coast Highway all the way over to the Newport Back Bay - super fun area - very active/close to the beach but not as high priced as CDM and not as congested in the summer months with parking etc.

btw, you should never regret moving here... I love Southern California...it doesn't get much better than this imo. ((L))

Okay, since you don't want to say exactly. Is your budget in the
A)300,000 to 500,000 range

B) $500,000- 1,000,000?

C) sky's the limit?

Budget is important and you are asking us to give information when you are not helping us.

This weekend itinerary (which, I presume, is THIS weekend) would probably only work for an exploration of Orange County. You've named four communities that are quite far from each other (you HAVE looked them up on a map, I hope). Santa Monica and Manhattan Beach are closest to each other-- until you actually try to drive between them on a weekday.

Schlepping up to Oxnard and/or Ventura seems faintly ridiculous. Unless you plan to get a job where you can work almost exclusively from home. Which would be heaven....

Frankly, I would think about the following:

-- Friday: Land at LAX, collect car, head down to somewhere near Newport (this will take time on a holiday-weekend Friday-- you may want to grab dinner near LAX, say in Marina del Rey-- try Killer Shrimp [my secretary's fave for Happy Hour] or Café del Rey-- to wait out traffic, then hit the 405 after 8 PM), spend night there.

-- Saturday: Explore south coastal Orange County (Newport Beach/CdM, Laguna Beach, Dana Point, maybe inland to Costa Mesa and/or Irvine), enjoy the shindig in Newport.

-- Sunday: North OC, up through Huntington and Seal Beach/Los Alamitos/Rossmoor, into Long Beach (my hometown) and maybe lovely Palos Verdes/Rancho Palos Verdes ("RPV").

-- Monday: Redondo Beach/Torrance, Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach. Maybe swing up into El Segundo (some parts are quite nice) and farther up into Playa del Rey/Playa Vista, then Marina del Rey, Venice and Santa Monica. Wherever you are at 3, stop and head to LAX, drop off car, head back to the Midwest.

But that is how I'd do it.... This is a coastal tour. Save points inland for another trip.

LA Metro is, of course, huge, so you will need to take bite-sized pieces of the region in your home search.

Best of luck!