https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sun, 12 Apr 2026 00:49:17 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/los-angeles-bees-please-help-me-out#post-2540368 Wed, 04 May 2016 00:02:16 +0000 agold 2540368@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Monkey: if you are interested in long beach, I would look at Belmont Shore. It's s community within long beach and as safe as can be. Major walking community. But stay away from downtown long beach. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/los-angeles-bees-please-help-me-out#post-2540361 Tue, 03 May 2016 23:25:26 +0000 Mrs. Monkey 2540361@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@sarah.clarisse: That's a good point about asking coworkers. We have friends living in Torrance but I was worried that it would be more of a suburban feel. Looking forward to checking out some places this weekend! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/los-angeles-bees-please-help-me-out#post-2540253 Tue, 03 May 2016 20:11:57 +0000 sarah.clarisse 2540253@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>One more piece of advice is to seriously consider your husbands commute. If you narrow down areas you think work in terms of what you want in a living situation I would ask around to see what drive times are like. Also if your husband doesn't have traditional hours and can go in early and leave early or late it can help a bit. Though LA traffic is horrible most hours and 7 days a week 😡. Getting in and out of anywhere using the 405 or 10 plus if you aren't close to a freeway can easily make for an hour plus drive from the Gardena area. </p> <p>Agree with the ladies above that culver city would be a fun place to live. Probably an hour commute but maybe 45 depending on exact locations. Santa Monica is too over crowded for me! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/los-angeles-bees-please-help-me-out#post-2540225 Tue, 03 May 2016 19:41:04 +0000 Mrs. Monkey 2540225@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Meowkers: @Mrs. High Heels: Thanks so much. Super helpful:) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/los-angeles-bees-please-help-me-out#post-2540185 Tue, 03 May 2016 18:45:59 +0000 Mrs. High Heels 2540185@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would look into Culver City. It has an artsy vibe, and great little downtown area with hip restaurants popping up all over the place.</p> <p><a href="https://culvercity.lanightlife.com/" rel="nofollow">https://culvercity.lanightlife.com/</a> </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/los-angeles-bees-please-help-me-out#post-2540182 Tue, 03 May 2016 18:44:28 +0000 Meowkers 2540182@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>To echo what @sarah.clarisse: said, look at cities that are west of Gardena, like Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach. I strongly caution you against any areas immediately east of Gardena. Santa Monica is also a great option. It's a great community with walkability in a lot of pocket neighborhoods and is generally a good, but pricey, place to live. In fact the entire south bay area is somewhat pricey. Slightly further north and somewhat inland is Culver City which a lot of people love. Cheaper than Santa Monica but has great shops, restaurants, etc.</p> <p>Unfortunately, with most of LA you'll need one car per adult because it's really a sprawled out city.</p> <p>Re: Long Beach - I wouldn't want to live there. It's not the nicest city, although there are decent pockets. My friends lived in down town Long Beach in a luxury apartment but as soon as they found out they were pregnant, they moved. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/los-angeles-bees-please-help-me-out#post-2540161 Tue, 03 May 2016 18:16:45 +0000 sarah.clarisse 2540161@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Monkey: hmmm. It depends on who you ask! It has bad areas and good ones. And honesty sometimes it's a difference of a few blocks in one direction. The core downtown area has become popular place to live and work in the past 5-10 years. I lived there alone and then later with my husband and our LO and felt safe but wouldn't walk the streets alone at night except right in our area where the shops and restaurants were. There are also suburban parts of long beach (it's a huge city) that are ok but in that case I would suggest just staying in suburbs closer to Gardena to shorten your husbands commute.<br /> Feel free to email me - my email is my HB user name at gmail and I can give you more info if you want. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/los-angeles-bees-please-help-me-out#post-2540154 Tue, 03 May 2016 18:05:54 +0000 Mrs. Monkey 2540154@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@sarah.clarisse: Thats super helpful. Thanks so much :) Would you consider Long Beach to be pretty safe? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/los-angeles-bees-please-help-me-out#post-2540147 Tue, 03 May 2016 17:59:09 +0000 sarah.clarisse 2540147@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Good luck on the interview! Gardena is in what is considered the South Bay Area of LA. It's not a bad place to be and you have decent options nearby that wouldn't be a long commute.<br /> Any of the beach cities - redondo and manhattan being closest will give you walk ability but for a higher cost of course. Torrance is the suburb between the beach cities and Gardena and has decent neighborhoods but is very suburban and you'll want a car. Palos Verdes is the adjacent expensive area. Your best bet if you want an urban setting is Long Beach which is an easy 25 minute commute. It has an actual downtown (I loved living there before moving to colorado 18 months ago). I can give you more info if you need it. I worked in the southbay for 12 years. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/los-angeles-bees-please-help-me-out#post-2540141 Tue, 03 May 2016 17:37:25 +0000 Mrs. Monkey 2540141@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>DH is going for a working interview in LA this week and if all goes well, it looks like we'll be moving there. We're in Canada now and although I've been to LA for holidays, I don't know much about living there. We're joining him after his interview to stay for a few days and check out possible areas where we might want to live, so I need some recommendations. Here's some info on what we're looking for<br /> -He will be working in Gardena and he's hoping for a less than 45 min commute (one way)<br /> -We live in a high cost of living city now so we'll be renting and have no problems being in an apartment.<br /> -somewhere safe<br /> -Walking distance to coffee shops, parks, a grocery store (we're both city people). Also we're hoping to get by with one car<br /> - Proximity to beach is not so important<br /> -DD is 2, so schools are not a big concern yet</p> <p>Do you have any suggestions for good neighborhoods for a family that still enjoys city living?</p> <p>Thanks so much! </p>