OT- Relocating to Redondo Beach

Hi guys/gals I may be accepting an offer to move out to Cali (Redondo Beach) from Oklahoma in the next month or so. I dont have near enough funds to buy a place so I am looking to rent for a while. I am not very familiar with the area so i was hoping that you might be able to offer me some advice on good/bad aread to live. I am willing to pay up to $2500/mo, but I will need at least 2 BR 1 car garage (for the Pcar) and a back yard for the dog. TIA Jarrod

Hmm....Try Rancho Palos Verdes, its not far from Redondo and is nice....How much of a commute can you handle?

I am coming from a 25 minute commute but I am willing to commute up to an hour. Also, my wife will be most likely working in El Segundo, so I should keep her commute in mind as well.

Hmmm...if up to an hour....Newport, Laguna, and lots of Orange County is open....I commute to Hollywood everyday from Newport beach....off peak its about 45 minutes...I have actually done it in 28 minutes....Its 55 miles each way. Your commute would be about 25 miles from where I live.

Go to Manhattan Beach or Hermosa Beach - both are immediately north on the map and are nicer than most parts of Redondo. They're also an easy commute from El Segundo - alternatively, try Brentwood or West Los Angeles. If you want more details on the area, PM me and we can exchange phone numbers.

Off peak?.... would that be between 3:00 A.M. and 3:45 A.M.?

I moved to Redondo last year. We're paying $1575/mth for a 2bd apartment about 0.5 miles from the pier, with two underground parking spaces. A good source for Redondo and the other beach cities is the classifieds in the Daily Breeze ( www.dailybreeze.com ) Feel free to PM for advice or meeting up for a beverage.

Hi Jarrod, I second the recommendations for Palos Verdes (PV), Manhattan Beach (MB) and Hermosa Beach (HB). I have lived in all of those areas and commuting to El Segundo. I would also suggest an area called "Hollywood Riviera" in South Redondo. Avoid North Redondo, focus on South/West Redondo. PM if you need more info. Good luck on your move!

Welcome to the area. Anywhere on the westside is nice, bettter air quality and temperature in my opinion. Anything east of Rt. 1 is east LA to me. I really enjoy Venice beacuse my commute is only 2 miles and 7 minutes to Santa Monica, and there is always something to do. Manhattan Beach is a very nice area and is very close to El Segundo. Marina Del Rey is also a nice area thats close. I have had good luck in the past just using Craigslist.org (free) but better luck using Westsiderentals.com (pay service)

Definitely check out Westsiderentals.com (good call JC3D) - it's not expensive and I think every decent landlord and property management company lists their vacancies there.

I lived in Hermosa for several years. My $.02: Manhattan is the priciest, nicest, and the yuppiest -- lots of yuppie families. Hermosa is more down-to-earth (sort of a beach-bum history to the town) -- more singles, some families. Redondo is a bit more sterile (sorry, for those of you Redondo fans) -- a lot of single professionals, some families, a pretty big senior citizen population. Palos Verdes I know less about, but I've always thought of it as a bit more suburban (bigger houses, bigger lots) and pricier -- really wealthy families. IMO, the most critical decision is how close to the beach you want to be. On the beach, nearby, or a long walk. On the beach is ridiculously expensive but very cool. Nearby means you can spend a lot of time at the beach (volleyball, surfing, peoplewatching, etc.). Long walk means you probably won't get to the beach very often. Did you say where you will commute to? Because of the geography, the further south you get (Manhattan, then Hermosa, then Redondo, then RPV), the longer it takes to get to the freeway, so it really depends on where you need to go. BTW, nobody mentioned El Segundo as a possibility. In case you're considering it, take a look at a map. It's a small town bordered by an airport on one side, a sewage treatment plant on a second side (in between you and the ocean), a refinery/tank farm on the third side, and a military air base on the fourth side. I've always found that humorous in a sad way.