Good Places to Move too around LA?

[lakesurfer]

Hi everybody, So fiance and me are planning a move from Chicago to the LA area this upcoming May, wondering if anyone has any advice on good places to live.  Just looking for a good neighborhood close to the water and reasonably priced or as reasonable as it can be.  Just looking to rent so far any info would be appreciated thanks.  Also any info on what beaches are sup friendly around there would be great to know.

[endlessfight]

you know you're gonna miss those 5 second wave periods and 30k onshores man! 

[Old School 213]

I'm partial to Orange County personally. My recommendation though is to move to near where your jobs are/will be because the quality of life can be killed by your commute.

Where are you planning on working?

[lakesurfer]

Thanks for the quick responses. I will miss those lake swells and no crowds lol... For me personally work is not an issue since i work in Alaska but for my girl friend, she is a chef and wants to stay around LA.  When i worked in cali two years ago I loved orange but its to far from the city for her.  Just really need to be close for her to work and in a safe area since I leave for three weeks at a time for work

[hbsteve]

Los Angeles is about 469 square miles.  There are large parts that most of us probably don't want to visit.  Yes there are good parts.
Orange County has some very good resorts and restaurants.  Yes, we have some bad spots.  But, they are smaller and easier to avoid.

[SlatchJim]

What's your budget? 

A trip to Zillow.com to see what things cost is in your future.  I'd say Seal Beach, El Segundo but it sounds like she has an idea without a real plan right now.  Good luck.

[lakesurfer]

I would like to keep rent around the 1500-1600 rage minus utilities. We are only looking for a one bedroom.  What do storage spaces rage from out there?  I have quite a few toys i will need to put away I would assume I wont be getting a garage like I have here in chi

[lakesurfer]

Also thanks so much for the replies everybody.

[lakesurfer]

Another reason for moving around the LA area is because her brother lives in santa monica but price and quality dont seem to go together in that area. 

[Old School 213]

You might be hard pressed in Seal Beach for that $$. I'd add Redondo, Hermosa into the mix especially if she's Chef. The west side has lots of smaller restaurants that might be good for her.

How about South OC?

[hbsteve]

For storage prices, check out Public Storage. I picked them because there seems to be plenty on them.

[lakesurfer]

Thanks for all the great information guys I really appreciate it

[surf4food]

As far as living close to the ocean, the South Bay area (Torrance, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, El Segundo) might be to your liking.  A bit further north there's Santa Monica, Marina Del Rey (great places to paddle there), Playa Del Rey.  As far as reasonably priced?  To be bluntly honest, eliminate that out of your vocabulary.  There just isn't any such thing there.

[surfcowboy]

There are deals in LA but they are hard to come by. Stay South if you can if you want to be near the ocean.

Subscribe to Westside Rentals http://www.westsiderentals.com/ (the name is wrong, they list all over.) It's a pay service but it has the best selection. Found my house there.

The good news is that if you have a career and are a hard worker, you can easily make far more than you can just about anywhere else. Westside rentals and some google street view will tell you most of what you need to know about where you will want to live.

[adios pantalones]

I got good advice when I moved to Ca. years ago. Either live right where you work or right where you play. You don't want to have to drive to both.

I figure since we have to put up with the various socal BS. I might as well cough up the cash and live right at the beach. (I think bicycle distance to the water, MAX)

Welcome to town, you should get a good price on a UHaul into LA. They need units. Everybody here is leaving!