We just found out that my husband got the fellowship he interviewed for in California. We’re moving to Santa Monica in July. He gave himself an ulcer, was losing sleep, weight and basically going nuts, but Mashallah, he was blessed with this position. He is so relieved and still in shock about it.
We have a 2 1/2 year old daughter who will have her own bedroom and start school in California. Also another baby is due at the end of April. So it will be a new beginning for us in many, many ways. Though I’ve never been to California, I’m welcoming the change from NYC. Now we just have to look for a 2 bedroom townhouse/condo close to St.Johns Hospital/John Wayne.
congratulations saima, hope all goes well with u and ur family. I am in California, plz let me know or pm me if u need any specific information. You should be able to get a decent 2 bedroom apartment in Santa Monica for under $1500/month. Santa Monica has beautiful weather and is right next to the ocean. Third street promenade in Santa Monica is like a street party almost every night, specially on the weekends, and u end up seeing a lot of people from Hollywood there.
congratulations, future-neighbour! its highly unlikely that your family wouldnt like santa monica!
you dont want to look for a place close to john wayne if your hubby is working in santa monica - that place is faaaar away. www.westsiderentals.com is a good place to find housing in SM. condos and townhouses arent cheap, but being from NYC i'm sure you'd understand.
Welcome to So Cal. Please lose the NYC accent pronto :> Besides the promenade and pier at Santa Monica, you'll find lots of quality Persian restaurants here (thats if you are into Persian food). For desi cuisine, you might still have to take a trip to Artesia/Pioneer bazar :D
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*Originally posted by Jayzee: *
congratulations saima, hope all goes well with u and ur family. I am in California, plz let me know or pm me if u need any specific information. You should be able to get a decent 2 bedroom apartment in Santa Monica for under $1500/month. Santa Monica has beautiful weather and is right next to the ocean. Third street promenade in Santa Monica is like a street party almost every night, specially on the weekends, and u end up seeing a lot of people from Hollywood there.
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Thank you everyone for your wishes. Jayzee, I've been looking up info and rental properties lately. I'm even looking at detailed maps of shopping and restaurants. I have a feeling though that we'll live closer to St.John's than to the ocean. Maybe even West LA. We're hoping to get a 2 bedroom for 1200 to 1400 if possible. With two kids (a newborn) street party is not a priority but it's good to know it's a lively place.
Saima, as I said earlier, you can easily find an apartment under $1500. One thing I would strongly recommend is that before you sign up for anything, make sure you or ur husband (or both, if possible, although like you said u are expecting) come to LA and check things out. Drive around, see the area for urself, do a reality check and then decide. Different people have different choices and preferences, and the trip will be extremely helpful. The good thing is that Santa Monica is pretty close to the Los Angeles airport (known as LAX). Its hardly 10 miles north of the airport, so very convenient. Yeah, I know about the street party thing... but the good thing is that its still very family-friendly though.
You will love each and every bit of it Saima. California is a beautiful place to be. Ppl are friendly and so laid back comparing to rest of the States of US. Wishing you the best! :)
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*Originally posted by DB: *
You will love each and every bit of it Saima. California is a beautiful place to be. Ppl are friendly and so laid back comparing to rest of the States of US. Wishing you the best! :)
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Laid back is a welcome change! After 5 years in NYC, I hate to say...most people here are annoying and rude. We're now looking into buying a condo/townhouse for around 250,000 to 300,000 in the West. LA area. I think we need a realtor to do that search for us.
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*Originally posted by Femme Fatale: *
And I thought that part of the country was expensive!!! It's the same as VA!
Congrats and good luck with all the changes in your life :)
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Actually that is the very low end of the market. I've found many condos for over 500,000 to 700,000 depending on where they're located. And buying a house is out of the question..we don't have a million dollars. We figure that if we're going to spend all that rent money for 2 years, it's better to resell and not be in debt.
saima, it sounds like u definitely need a good realtor. The prices you are quoting for a condo/apartment are more like exception, not a norm, even in the areas you are interested in. Hopefully you have already found a realtor by now, if not, let me know and I will send u some info.
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*Originally posted by Jayzee: *
saima, it sounds like u definitely need a good realtor. The prices you are quoting for a condo/apartment are more like exception, not a norm, even in the areas you are interested in. Hopefully you have already found a realtor by now, if not, let me know and I will send u some info.
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You're right. Now we've looked into it more closely and think that around $400,000 is more ideal. We're also considering the Brentwood area since it's close to the hospital and still a nice, safe area.
congrats with the great news! santa monica is a nice area as well as brentwood… prices sky rocketed in ca, during the summer, but are steadily going down now…good luck with finding a place welcome to cali
welcome to cali 