Palos Verdes Coastline

It was late December 1988.  My family and I lived in a gorgeous 1920s home with a guest house and tropical pool in the Old Northeast section of St. Petersburg, Florida.  My four children were happily ensconced in a top rated private school. I was one of the founding member of the Ballet Society, and life was humming along in the happy lane.  Naturally, it was time to move.

I was a reluctant house hunter. I thought Los Angeles was a fun place to visit, not to live.  As the jet approached the Los Angeles area the night I arrived, I was struck by how immense the area is.  I wondered how I would find the right schools, the right neighborhood and the right house to begin the California chapter of our lives.

I had 3 Absolutely Must Haves:

1.  CLEAN AIR – Don’t laugh, I thought it would be impossible to find, but with a child with severe asthma it was my number one criteria.

2.  TOP RATED and RANKED SCHOOLS – As a former teacher quality education was a top priority.

3.  LOCATION – We needed to be close to freeways (to join the 405 crawl), schools, hospital, airport and for fun the ocean/beaches, mountains and desert.

Jackpot! I found them all in Palos Verdes!  They are still here waiting for you.

Ok, the desert and mountains are a couple of hours away, but they are both worth the drive and the perfect destination for a weekend getaway.