How to maintain the stability during relocation?
When our first daughter was 2, my husband took on a 3-year fellowship in Atlanta. We knew we would have the option of returning home after the first year or after the 2-year placement in another city. So, we moved to Atlanta for the first year, then to Portland for the following two years. Obviously, we haven't looked or gone back.
We currently have friends contemplating a relocation to the SF Bay area for work, whereas they are currently unemployed here in Portland. They have found that many public alternative schools are full for the next school year. What to do?
We received an email from an urbanMama, who is facing a temporary relocation to LA and who also encountered lapsed deadlines for schools. Does you have specific tips on schools/neighborhoods in LA? Does you have general tips for maintaining the stability during a relocation?
Just found out a few weeks ago that we are moving from Portland to Los Angeles for a two year stint, while my husband goes to graduate school at the University of Southern California. Is anyone "in the know" about the L.A. school system? I'm scrambling, by way of internet and phone, to find a good kindergarten for my five year old son. We've found a few schools that may be worth looking into, but deadlines have passed and we can't apply anyway, until we actually move there in July. We're likely to live around USC, San Pedro, Lomita, Pasadena, or Culver City, but we're very open.
There is the LA Moms Blog, one of the Silicon Valley Mom Blogs: http://www.svmomblog.typepad.com/la_moms_blog/
Good luck! Less rain :-)
Posted by: LTF | March 28, 2009 at 02:24 PM
Excellent. I'll check out the LA Moms Blog.
Posted by: Sharon | March 29, 2009 at 07:28 AM
You might want to sign-up for http://www.momslikeme.com/
they are nation wide each city has its own website to join. Go to the home page and up in your zip and you'll be hooking up with Moms from the area of LA or SF you'll be living in.
Posted by: Native_Momma | March 29, 2009 at 08:47 PM
We moved to Portland two and a half years ago when our daughter was 1. Since she was so young I hadn't really given much thought to schools down there yet.
But I have friends that live in Culver City with their 3 year old, and they love it. Just recently we were talking about schools and she was telling me that the elementary schools in Culver City are quite good. And downtown Culver City has really come along where there is a really nice central area with restuarants, movie theater, farmers market, etc. And there are good parks there, too.
I don't know if I'd want to live around USC with kids. It's a little less family friendly as far as busy streets, crime, etc. (at least it was when I went to grad school there) I've always liked Pasadena. Don't know Lomita and San Pedro so much (although I think both are more industrial). I hear Long Beach is nice, too. And Santa Monica has excellent schools and parks.
Also, the more inland you are the hotter it will be. And air quality I think isn't as good.
I just heard that the Huntington Gardens (in Pasadena) have a new kids area. I'm planning on checking it out next time we're down there.
There are plenty of fun things to do in LA to make it a great adventure. Good luck!
Posted by: Ana | March 30, 2009 at 10:12 AM
We spent about two years in LA, also via relocation, and it was a wonderful experience. At the time, I had a toddler on hand who was soon to enter preschool, so we were also very keen on finding an appropriate neighborhood, with good schools.
When we first relocated, we spent several months in corporate housing in Santa Monica. We loved it there; schools were good, it was very pedestrian friendly (my car stayed parked in the apartment garage about 90% of the time), with wonderful schools, lots of young families, and lots to do. The location was extremely convenient -- with so many arteries and local streets, it was relatively easy to get around LA w/o getting on the highway.
While we were attracted to Pasadena and areas close to there, we disliked the traffic and how you really rely on one road to get in and out. Traffic really is brutal. And yes, the further inland you go, the hotter it is (and the air quality suffers).
We found it to be a bit more affordable to move and buy a house in Redondo Beach. We LOVED our time in Redondo/Manhattan/Hermosa Beach. Amazing weather, convenient location, great schools (though we had planned on either Montessori or parochial, the public schools there are considered very good), extremely family friendly. There are so many activities for young people, we were close to the aquarium at Long Beach (which, while small, is excellent and I actually prefer it to Monterey), etc. If we ever had to move back, without a doubt, we would like to return to the Beach cities.
Good luck and enjoy your time down there!
Posted by: liren | March 31, 2009 at 08:26 AM
I am a current Pasadena mom that will be moving to PDX this year as luck would have it. I would recommend finding a rental in neighboring South Pasadena. Good public schools, weekly farmers market, cute walkable little downtown area, and about a 15-30 minute drive to USC (depending on traffic).
Posted by: Future PDX Mom | March 31, 2009 at 01:32 PM
I live near Culver City and grew up in LA. Pasadena is cute and very family friendly, but you'll have to deal with pretty horrible traffic. Culver City is a bit more urban than Pasadena and much more diverse and many of the schools are very good and it's got a great family neighborhood vibe. It's also much more convenient to USC. Driving in LA is the number one worst thing about this city and so it's best to minimize it as much as possible.
Posted by: Nina | April 06, 2009 at 03:59 PM