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Ask HN: Where Is the Best Place to Live in SoCal?

7 points by idontwantthis ↗ HN
SoCal is a must due to family.

I have a small family and our income is between 100k and 150k.

I was thinking about Long Beach. It has a really high walkability score and is relatively affordable.

I work remotely, so the job market isn't particularly important. The main thing is price, decent schools, and a walkable/bikeable/transit oriented environment. San Diego is great, but I don't think we could afford anything anywhere near the center, so we'd be living in a suburb surrounded by 6 lane roads and would need to drive everywhere.

14 comments

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youniverse
I don't know what is affordable for you but Simi Valley has nice neighborhoods if you're looking at a $1mm price tag. Upper right side of the city.

1 hour drive to the beach or into LA. It's not in LA County so bit less taxes, different courts and government, insurance rates are generally better to my knowledge. Very efficient highway and roads.

tesseractFI
Long Beach is nice. Outside of Santa Barbara is also lovely and affordable if you don't care about proximity to LA.
gabrielsroka
I've lived in Long Beach since 1987. It's a large city and very diverse. There are multimillion dollar mansions with ocean front views, and other parts of town which are not so nice.

In Southern California, [almost] everybody has a car. I don't know anyone who relies on public transportation. I'm not saying it's impossible. I'm just saying I don't know anyone.

My contact info is in my profile. Feel free to reach out and I'll answer any questions.

idontwantthis
I anticipate driving, but I’m hoping to not need it for everything, everyday.

Thank you for the offer of help.

egberts1
Best place to live in SoCal is invariably the closest to your primary employment location and not to commute for more than 15-20 minutes.
idontwantthis
I work remotely so that doesn’t matter right now.
egberts1
As long it doesn’t take more than 10-15 minutes to saunter over to work in your bunny flip flop, underwear, dress shirt, and tie, that’s ideal duration time.

Oh, and a coffee mug in hand too.

kurupt213
pacific palisades
tomcam
For those not in the know, this is a bit of a joke. OP has an income of $150,000, and as a point of reference, my friend just sold his house in Pacific Palisades for $14 million.
digianarchist
Carlsbad, Oceanside? I'm thinking about moving to LA from San Diego. Rent is extortionate here.
bewcin
My family had the same mindset when we moved to SoCal in 2011. Unfortunately, you may want to throw dreams of "walkable" out the window. In SoCal you will absolutely need a car.

The best schools are usually in the suburbs, but the suburbs are always the least walkable areas.

Relevant video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHlpmxLTxpw