New Kids on the Block

You can map the distance to public transportation or groceries, read school ratings and crime statistics, or consider any number of "livability" rankings, but your mileage with these sources may vary when it comes to assessing a community according to your own needs and values. We asked five households of different compositions and socioeconomic circumstances what their considerations were when they chose a new place to call home.

Because asking someone in rural Alaska and someone in downtown Miami would yield wildly different results, we decided to interview people who had recently moved within the Los Angeles County area and its wide array of distinct neighborhoods. We spoke with a newlywed couple renting an apartment, twin sisters who’d just purchased a condo, a new owner of a midsize townhouse, a couple renting in an active adult community, and a family in a three-story single-family house. Their neighborhoods stretch from those close to downtown to the farthest-flung reaches of suburbia.

This is far from a scientific study. It’s five households. Five sets of values. One county. But we did find that a few considerations stood out above others: proximity to family, number of neighbors, one’s particular stomach for a commute, and access to varied kinds of fun. All these things can’t be fully gleaned from livability indexes, but they’re of great importance when you find them.

Diana Audish | Northridge Townhouse Looking for proximity to family and density—but not too much

After rejected offers on nearly 20 homes, Diana Audish, a sales manager, finally bought exactly what she wanted: a suburban townhouse in Northridge—almost turnkey, three bedrooms, with a small backyard for her dog. She had been living in a house she had bought with her sister and brother-in-law nearby, but when the pandemic struck, three people were working during the day there, and her sister and brother-in-law were growing their family, so Diana decided it was time to find a place of her own.

"I wanted to have my own space, with an office where I could sit and focus on my work versus having to be in my room on my bed on my laptop," Diana says. Location was key—she wanted to stay close to her sister and their parents, whose house had been only a few minutes’ walk away.

Diana also knew what she didn’t want: the responsibility of a big house or a major renovation, or being surrounded by tons of noisy neighbors she doesn’t know. "I used to live in an apartment complex that had hundreds of units, and there was always something going on," Diana explains. "When I’m working from home, I want to be somewhere a little quieter." Her new home is one of a collection of duplexes in a development of just under 30 units, giving Diana the close-knit feel she desires. "The thing about being smaller is we all kind of look out for each other," Diana says, "so it’s nice."

Alexis and Amanda Garcia | North Hollywood Condominium
Looking for an investment not too far from work and friends

Alexis and Amanda Garcia were climbing the ranks in their respective fields—Alexis in architecture and Amanda in behavioral analysis—when they decided to move out of their childhood home and buy a condo. Each eventually wants their own home, but neither can afford one alone yet.