In N' Out is pretty good, and a great price, but it isn't the cream of the crop. Try Fatburger, and get their shake. IT's awesome. For a nice diner type place try Fred 62 in Los Feliz. They also have amazing shakes. If you want some cool breakfast places, try Griddle House in Hollywood. The pancakes are huge and delicious with an amazing variety of things you would never even dream of. If you are ever in the valley go to Twain's on Ventura in Sherman Oaks. The pancakes are delicious but the waitstaff is very slow and kind of surly even though their average age must be 77.
i forgot the protocol: when being sarcastic, 3rd grade level spelling errors are not only acceptable, but encouraged...
I stayed at a hotel in Torrance last time I was in LA. Seems like a nice neighborhood and doesnt look like there would be alot of crime
Rampart's not really a neighborhood...it's a police district. I lived there 8 years, in Koreatown. I think it's the best place to be in the center of the city for the money, but a place to raise children it is NOT. The Valley to Westchester would be a terrible commute. I think the South Bay (as recommended) or maybe Culver City. Long Beach has a bad rap, but along the beach is nice. Westchester itself isn't so bad. I know a family that lives there and they have few complaints.
I lived in Redondo Beach for a year and have lived just north of Westchester for the past year or so. Redondo is a great place, safe and relatively affordable, just as the previous posters stated. The rest of South Bay is also nice. Heading north, the rule of thumb is to stay west of the 405 staying close to the beach - all these neighborhoods are fine. Hermosa/Manhattan, El Segundo, Westchester, Playa Vista, Playa Del Rey, Marina Del Rey...all good. And they're all an easy drive up Sepulveda so you can avoid traffic to/from work. Santa Monica/Brentwood aren't too far either, but I don't know much about pricing in those areas. Good luck! P.S. I think Luke Walton's restaurant is in Manhattan Beach - it's called Joey's Smokin' BBQ.
I don't know who told you the negative stories. I just moved to Redondo Beach in July from Houston. It's an absolutely wonderful neighborhood here and is much more affordable than the other beach towns. I don't have a family, but it seems like a great place. People are friendly and it's very safe. Everything you need is a 15 minute drive in any direction.
Good places near Westchester that are somewhat expensive (~800K for 3 bedroom): El Segundo, Redondo Beach. Good places near Westchester that are more expensive (~1000K for 3 bedroom): Manhattan Beach, Marina Del Ray, Westwood, Santa Monica. Places to avoid as it gets really ugly pretty fast as you go away from the coast: Culver City, Ingelwood, West L.A. Overall it's not cheap to live in the L.A. area. If you want a great family friendly neighborhood, you might want you consider the Valley which is like 10-40 miles away. Cities like Sherman Oaks, Thousand Oaks, or Woodland Hills. I personally live in Anaheim in Orange County, but work in Redondo Beach. The rule of thumb is that the closer you are to the coast the better the neighborhood. Good neighborhoods in Orange County are just as expensive as L.A. so good luck. I hope this helped, and I hope you have a good houshold income. Oh another rule of thumb: West of La Cienega Blvd. is good, and east of it is pretty bad.
Oh and one more thing. Ofcourse the ideal place to live for anyone who works in the South Bay area (including me) is Palos Verdes. But it is really expensive there. Excellent neighborhood though. If you're looking for a quite neighborhood that is also reasonably priced you would have to look way east to newely built cities like Riverside ~60 miles away.
I was born and lived in Redondo til I was eleven so my childhood perspective might not be of much service. From what I can remember, I loved living out there. As others said before me, the farther inland you get, the more questionable the areas can get but even places like Torrance are undergoing a city-wide clean up (so I hear). Redondo is a great place to really set some roots down. I still frequent the area since I have family throughout RB and Palos Verdes and it doesn't seem like much has changed in the 9 years since we moved out to Houston. I think you'd enjoy it.
oh i live in huntington beach! we should get together an watch some rocket games oh wait never mind...im a busy guy
Oh I love huntington beach. I used to go to Hurricanes a lot. But now-a-days I'm more of a Hermosa Beach goer.
I used to live off of bolsa chica and warner...what a great city. the people are actually half way normal compared to the rest of oc as well. to the OP, if you are moving to Redondo, just fair warning that the parking there is pretty horrible. also, most of the beaches north of there cater towards single 20 somethings than families. and as I will just reiterate, the closer to the water, the better the neighborhood.