Prior to following my wife and moving out of LA, I had lived at Seacrest for nearly 2 years. Overall would give 4.5 stars (no apartment is perfect in my experience) but probably the best apartment I've lived at given location and pricing.
First a little bit of context. I grew up in/near Palos Verdes and had hopped between cities and states before finally coming back to the South Bay. During out apartment hunting, we really only wanted 2 amenities: a personal washer/dryer and A/C. You'll quickly learn that's a tall order in the South Bay (especially the A/C, since Torrance is near the beach) but Seacrest actually had both. It was the height of the COVID pandemic at that time and apartment prices were dirt cheap, so we locked in our 2 bed 2 bath (floor plan C I think?).
In general, Seacrest consists of two apartment complexes. Floors 1-2 contain covered parking while floors 3-6 are the actual apartments. Each apartment complex has 2 elevators and the community is gated.
Let's start with the negatives (there aren't a lot). Even though you're in Torrance, the apartment shoulders against a few warehouses located in the back. Depending on where your apartment is located, you can hear workers and forklifts buzzing back and forth during the day. At night, you'll periodically hear this loud bang which to this day I still don't know was due to local industrial machinery or gunfire from "straight outta" Carson. Seacrest isn't located in a sketch area, but just know you are near the border of Torrance. Also, when we first moved in there was a lot of package stealing going on, although we never experienced this personally. I think this has gotten better over time. Finally, parking in the parking garage is unfortunately tandem, not separate.
With that aside, the apartments are great. A lot of the tenants are working professionals or young families with toddlers trying to grow their roots in Torrance. We never had those annoying neighbors that liked to crank their bass at night...instead it was more like cranky babies who couldn't go back to sleep. Even though there are 2 apartment complexes, they have their own amenities. Each has a separate pool, jacuzzi, gym, balcony/grill, basketball court, and clubhouse, so you don't need to walk far. The gym itself is pretty decent and even contains a stretch/yoga room with hardwood floors and mirrors.
Lumi is a responsive manager and answered all of our questions and concerns that popped up during our time living there. Was super happy too about getting pretty much all of our security deposit back after talking with her during our move out.
And last but not least, living in Seacrest means you're living in Torrance! Torrance is a happy compromise between not living in isolated, overpriced PV but also not living in somewhat sketchy Carson (sorry Carson, I do love my Filipino food though). Seacrest is on a major street called Sepulveda, meaning you're 5 minutes from the 110 freeway or 15 minutes from Redondo Beach, the pier, and the strand (basically a long bike path on the shoreline that connects Redondo Beach all the way up to Santa Monica). You're nearby the Del Amo mall, which was recently remodeled and used to be the largest mall in America until the 1970s. You're a short drive to Long Beach, home to the Aquarium of the Pacific, the Queen Mary, and the Long Beach Grand Prix. DTLA is 30 minutes away (albeit on a good day with absolutely no traffic), but the parks and beaches in PV are great if you want to escape the city.
I also can't ignore the food scene. This is Yelp after all. Some of my favorites include:
- Jus' Poke: Hawaiian poke place in Redondo
- Coco Ichibanya: Japanese curry chain located in Torrance (RIP Curry House)
- Handel's Ice Cream: best ice cream in the South Bay
- Back Home in Lahaina: Hawaiian food in Carson
- Nick's on 2nd: American food in Long Beach, but they have one in Manhattan Beach as well
- Mitsuwa Market: Japanese market in Torrance with an awesome food court inside (Tokyo Central market in Gardena is also great)
- Silog: local Filipino joint about a 5 minute walk from Seacrest
So with the exception of some noise issues, Seacrest is overall a great choice if you're looking to getting settled in the South Bay. Just make sure to do your shopping with rent prices beforehand, as my experience was different during the pandemic. read more