Hawthorne, California - anybody know it?

[StatesideMaybe]

Dh has just told me that the Uk is rubbish for his career prospects and his dream job has just come up in the USA, in Hawthorne. I know very little about it, google has not been as helpful as hoped, especially on certain topics so does anybody know it? I have some questions...

Then maybe I'll be able to have a sensible conversation with Dh, who has caught me on the hop a little bit, as I thought we were very settled here.

it's not fantastic. You can see the Wikipedia entry. It's trapped between Compton & the airport.

There's a really good site for US cities & communities to ask dumb questions, let me find it...

City data.

Is the dream job well paid? Along the coast near there is very DesRes but not necessarily stupidly expensive (e.g., Redondo). Which would be cycling distance if inclined.

Although, nobody in LA actually lives close to where they work, what would the point of that be?

I'm sure most of the people who work there would commute - that said LA traffic is killer, especially near LAX.

Redondo is a lovely area if nearby

So... Redondo then. Can you tell me a little about it? I have a toddler and we're trying for number two, so I would be doing the SAHM thing if we relocated. Is it family-friendly?

I have quite lentil-weavery tendencies, not something that seems very common across a large portion of the USA. What are my chances of finding kindred spirits?

very high chances in LA (or any surfer town, really)
I presume dream job comes with good medical insurance?
Does it allow at least $2k/month for rent?
At least rent includes council tax over there.

Eek - just had a look at the housing prices in South Redondo and it's even more expensive than here - and we're in the effing South East!

Yes, dream job would be well paid, certainly better paid than engineers over here and presumably have health insurance, but he's just started looking into all the practical stuff - we're still not sure whether he'd even get granted a green card/whether he'd get the job without a green card kind of Catch 22 situation.

I dunno - it would be a great opportunity and a super chance to live somewhere else, give our child(ren) opportunities they wouldn't get over here but it will be seriously hard to leave my family (currently an hour away) and I had kind of expected the cost of living to be lower than where we live currently, so am very shocked to see it's equivalent, if not more expensive.

Thanks for talking this through. Can't really talk to any RL friends or family as it's so nebulous currently.

Last yr I considered immigrating to where my dad lives & yes the prices are rather like SE England. That wasn't the only reason we decided not to, but couldn't ignore it.

Well Redondo is especially DesRes, if you go on that city data site they can advise about other places to live within 5-10 miles of Hawthorne but not so expensive and not dodgy either.

Petrol is cheaper but you use the car a lot more typically. household energy about the same, household internet a bit more, food is cheaper as long as you don't eat out. Check the medical package includes dental for whole family - some don't.

What about Glendale?

I live in LA. Cost of living is comparable to London but DH earns a lot more. Your DH could apply for the job and with any luck if he got it they would sort out his visa (unlikely to be a green card at this stage, most likely a H1-B which lasts 3yrs but can easily be extended for another 3

Westside and beach communities of LA are very lentil weavy - I've been here two years and am cycling fromSF for the second year running and have become mostly vegan...!

Redondo is nice and the cheapest of the beach communities. To be any cheaper you'd have to move inland but be very wary of where because of traffic hell (if he can avoid getting on a freeway during rush hour s that would be good). City Data is an excellent resource for things like that.

We spend about the same on food, much more on childcare (due to it always being free in the UK thanks to friends and family!), much more on rent - but we moved from a small 2bed flat in Streatham to a 3bed house with massive garden in Mar Vista (10mins from Venice Beach and Santa Monica), groceries generally cheaper and fresh fruit and veg sources from easily within 50-100miles all year round

They don't lie about the weather either....

Hawthorne isn't great. Don't live there, much better off commuting. There are nice parts of the San Fernado Valley, where most of LA people really live - depends on your budget. Burbank, Glendale are fine family areas, most of Pasadena.

Redondo, Santa Monica are very expensive, and not where I would ideally want to raise my children - naice areas, but I feel they're too crowded, too touristy, not somewhere nice to settle and let your kids run around. Depends on what you like though, of course many people love those areas.

Not sure I'd want to live somewhere touristy and, considering we're currently in the most landlocked part of the UK, I bet most of the places you've mentioned would be closer to the beach than we are now.

Thanks for all the help, I really appreciate it. DH has been in touch with the company and they've said that for the right person they would sponsor a Visa application, but the job he's looking at isn't a high enough grade, so I guess he'll just have to slog away here for a few more years and see if he can get 'special' enough for them to go to all that effort on his behalf!

I'm kind of relieved, I must admit. We're right in the middle of creating our family and I wouldn't fancy having a baby/ies millions of miles from my family and friends and in an unfamiliar healthcare system.

Those areas are prob closer to the sea on a map but take forever in real terms to reach it! Each to his own but I'd leave LA before moving to the Valley

Having said that I wouldn't live in SM either. Redondo is comparatively much more affordable and not in the same league. All the beaches have "tourists" but the ones in Redondo tend to be locals, SM is inundated with international tourists

If you want to spend a decent proportion of your time at the beach, you have to live West of the 405 otherwise the traffic will drive you nuts!

I know a few Brits out here who've has their babies here but agree with you - we moved when DD was newborn as I just wanted to go through pregnancy and birth in the health system I knew

you can weave lentils here in California :) I think Pasadena has its fair share of weavers, they have a Waldorf (Steiner) school.