Where Is the Best Place to Live in SoCal?

Question

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.

gabrielsroka · Accepted Answer

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.

egberts1 · Answer

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.

youniverse · Answer

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.

bewcin · Answer

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

Kaibeezy · Answer

Not an uninteresting question. Have a look at the map of LA in the Metropolitan Patterns section of this report, about halfway in. Maybe you can track down more detailed version and/or the underlying data.
https://geoffboeing.com/2016/08/craigslist-rental-housing-in...
I'd look at Ventura, maybe. Inland is cheaper, but too hot.

tesseractFI · Answer

Long Beach is nice. Outside of Santa Barbara is also lovely and affordable if you don't care about proximity to LA.

keiferski · Answer

The Claremont area has always seemed interesting to me, especially with the unique college system there.https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claremont_Colleges

digianarchist · Answer

Carlsbad, Oceanside? I'm thinking about moving to LA from San Diego. Rent is extortionate here.

kurupt213 · Answer

pacific palisades