Moving to Los Angeles

[laplayita]

DH is from California and wants to move back to be closer to his family. He is from San Diego but the only place he would be able to work is LA. Anyone have any advice on neighborhoods to look at that are a semi-reasonable commute to Downtown LA? He knows his commute may be a bit of a nightmare although he may have to go in pretty early. I know it is expensive but we don't need a mansion, just 3 bedrooms and hopefully a garden/deck. We would also like good public (state) schools, kids are 11 and 13 so we would like to move now before they are US high school age (it would be a permanent move so we aren't worried about coming back to the UK)

What kind of things do you guys enjoy doing? Do you like urban living or being in more suburban area?

Visa situation?

We are currently in Kingston, so sort of suburban but urban by US standards. My understanding of LA is that it is sprawling and all kind of suburban and you need to drive. I am fine with that. Visas are not an issue, DH and kids are all US citizens and I understand I can get a green card relatively easily.

If he's working in downtown LA, you could go for Pasadena (South Pasadena has the better schools, so you'll pay a premium in real estate for that), or Alta Dena. Check out those and surrounding areas. Some
very lovely neighborhoods.

I second South Pasadena. Its a green area compared to most areas of LA, good schools and parks with great shopping and restaurants. Eagle Rock is a very family friendly area, a little more urban but also a little more central. Alta Dena a little more rural and quiet and further out. Los Feliz, Silver Lake pricey but great areas. Echo Park also popular with families, more urban but easier downtown commute.

North Glendale/La Crescenta-it has two excellent high schools, La Crescenta High School and Clark Magnet and it is as close to Kingston in LA. www.gusd.net/clarkhs

Downtown 20-40 minute drive depending on when your husband leaves. Houses to rent 3000-4000 a month- to buy starting at 650,000 so similar to Kingston expect. Very safe family oriented area.
Eagle Rock is also great-more trendy- more diverse probably- the high school is very good also- it will score lower due to the demographics of the area but it is an excellent school. If you like a walkable area Eagle Rock is better- La Crescenta has an area of housing called Sparr Heights behind MOntrose high street which is lovely and walkable- probably you pay more to rent for this novelty I would guess.

s but there is a hot house element to them- many a tiger mom- my friend taught in one of them. Altadena has two ' progressive' schools if that is your thing-Aveson and Odyseesy- not sure if they have high school options.
We are very pleased with education system here-prefer it to the UK- less pressure and they get a broader education and sport is for everyone here. Hope some of that helps.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Crescenta-Montrose,_California

South Pasadena is also lovely- longer commute to DT. Schools excellent but more hot house/tiger moms aspect to them and rent will be higher. Pasadena town is lovely-bit like a US version of Covent Garden.

South Pasadena is a long commute to DT. I have a lot of relatives who live in Pasadena & only one of them sometimes commutes to DT (has contracts there). Most consider that commute way too far to do regularly.

If you've got money I'd say Santa Monica is place to live. Hollywood is convenient, too. Despite the famous name, it's more mixed than you expect.

It’ll take a year or more for your IR-1 to be approved unless you get your skates on and get your I-130 off to the London USCIS field office before it closes for good soon. If you do manage to get in through the London office it’ll take about 4 months. One thing they will demand is your husband’s last three tax returns (to check he has been meeting his filing obligations). If he’s behind you can start back-filing now so that you are all set when the time comes. So you have a bit of time to work it all out with where to live. I’d find the school you want first and then look for a house in that school district. You can check school performance results online.

Fellow wife-of-a-Californian here also! We have transplanted to the Washington coast though.

My cousin (lives in or nr Pasadena) married an English guy. He has been in UK 20 months awaiting his green card. She's still in CA, can't move to UK. They see each other once a year. Good luck.

20 months? Mine took 10 months 1 day from sending the I-130 to Phoenix to my interview in London. That was 2016. Did they use a lawyer? I’ve heard they really slow things down. I was lucky to be able to visit every 6 weeks as I work for an airline.

2016 was before the Trump administration. :(

Cousin (A) married the English guy; Cousin (B) is A's immigration lawyer, having imported a French wife 16 yrs ago. We're a close family & I believe immigration work is B's main source of income so he should know what he's doing. The 20 months has been only since the English guy came back to UK; the entire hold up is with DHS AFAIK. English guy phones up DHS every 4 months or so, told each time he's progressed to some next stage.

DHS originally said the wait should be max 9 months. :(

Defininity file your spouse visa paperwork in good time. OP you need to file here in the UK before you travel to the US. Don't travel until you've got that permission and don't arrange to leave either until you've got your paperwork sorted. Processing times vary hugely between the different centres, so get up to date advice from the US Embassy in London.

We are going to get the paperwork underway but nothing will happen unless we can figure out if it really will be a better quality of life. DH is not impressed by the sound of Pasadena, he says it is hot and inland and that no-one in his LA office lives inland. They all apparently commute from Pacific Palisades, Santa Monica and Manhattan Beach and go in early/leave early to avoid traffic. I took a quick look at those areas and the house prices gave me a heart attack but if it really is a long term move we will probably be aiming for a bit of a project. Anyone have any feedback on these areas and schools? DH's coworkers apparently claim the off hours commute is "easy" but they are talking LA standards so that may just mean under 2 hours!

You really should go take a look. Pacific Palisades is eyewateringly expensive, Santa Monica slightly less so. Schools in both places are suberb at the elementary level, large and a bit impersonal at the middle and high school level, but very well regarded. A lot more mixed ability and less hot-housed than South Pasadena. Santa Monica is lovely for walking around and having a "small town" feel, as is the Palisades if you're close to the Village (if your name is Michael Bay you may be able to afford it). And if I lived in the South Bay and commuted to downtown LA I would kill myself in a month. South Pasadena, La Crescenta, etc, have some of the best schools in the LA area and the "town life" of Pasadena especially is really wonderful. I don't think the commute is nearly as crazy as coming from the West Side. A trip is needed before you make any decisions really. What about Culver City? Like Santa Monica, it is its own school district, so housing can be very pricey, (less than SM and Palisades), but it's a really lovely town for families and the commuter rail goes straight to downtown. Very convenient. Tons of great restaurants and shopping and some very good schools.

We live on the Westside and it is more expensive than inland but much nicer in the summer and winter! The expo line now runs from DTLA all the way to the beach so culver city is even better located than it was - the 10 is basically always snarled but so long as you don’t have to take the 405 as well then you’re fine. With that and budget in mind I would avoid the Palisades, it’s very very expensive, very conservative and a pain to get in an out of. I’m personally not a Santa Monica fan, supremely white washed even by LA standards, overrun with tourists, just a bit superficial and very expensive.

Culver is great and there are cheaper pockets still (certainly a lot cheaper than Santa Monica or the palisades), you are well connected to other parts of the city, not far from the beach and DH can get the metro. Also schools are generally good.

Manhattan Beach while great is a pita to get anywhere else so I’d avoid for the commute reasons. Same goes for the other beach communities - if we both worked in the South Bay I’d be in Hermosa like a shot!

We live in Mar Vista which is just east of Venice but west of the 405 so always take some us Max 10mins t get to the beach. There are lots of good elementary schools but traditional middle schools haven’t been great but that’s changing - my DS is 10 so we’re now in the process of looking and there is a wide range of choices. Having said that if I could avoid being inLAUSD I would! Our area is lovely, very community orientated, generations of families live near us, but I still have to drive to the closest train station. Having said that it’s well connected which helps for me as I freelance and have to travel all over the city.