Poll Analysis: Life in the ‘Burbs’ in Southern California

     The Los Angeles Times Poll conducted a survey to gauge public opinion about people's views and attitudes about living in "suburbia" and whether these views and attitudes are similar or different to people living in the city of Los Angeles. The Poll examined community satisfaction, did they move to a suburb to get away from the societal problems of a big city, are they happy where they live, do they feel safe and what they like and dislike about the community in which they live, plus many other issues. The Poll was conducted by telephone, July 10 through 16 with residents living in Ventura and Orange counties, and the San Fernando and San Gabriel Valleys. For comparison results, residents living in the city of Los Angeles excluding the San Fernando Valley (referred to as "L.A. City") were also interviewed. "Residents in all burbs," refers to residents living in each of the suburban areas (Orange, Ventura, San Fernando and San Gabriel Valleys) and not residents living in the city of Los Angeles.

     Overview
     Overall, throughout the Southland, Californians are pretty satisfied with their community, many feel the quality of life in their community is better or the same but not worse (which is different from years past where many felt it was getting worse). They believe their community is a great place to live, including a great place to rear their children.
     Residents in all of the areas surveyed are in alignment when they proclaim that the local law enforcement officers in their community are doing a good to excellent job. Yet crime, which has sunk to an all time low in many communities in the Southland (per FBI and police reports), is still considered one of the most important problems affecting their communities today. (However it has come down percentage-wise since it was asked in previous Times polls.) It is a little ironic though that on one hand, the respondents are saying that crime is the most important problem, while on the other hand, they are feeling extremely safe from the threat of crime in their neighborhoods. Perhaps this could be explained by the analogy of not liking the institution of Congress, but liking your own member of congress. Crime is bad somewhere else, but not in my community. Also, now that the economy is doing well and people are feeling more secure financially, some of the issues applicable to their area are able to rise to the top, namely overgrowth/development and the more general subject of the environment and infrastructure of cities and towns.
     Not many of the poll participants live in a gated community, but if they do, safety was the main reason why. And those who don't live in a gated community, would prefer not to live in one in the future. This could be explained by many respondents who would resent living in a community that had rules and regulations forced upon them (except for Orange County residents who were divided). No matter where they lived, they all seem to agree that living in their community is not a financial sacrifice. And they back this up by saying they would not move away from their area.
     Although most people like their community, they are not very active participants in it. This seems to funnel down to their association with their neighbors. Many are just on a casual basis with their neighbors--saying hello or having just a casual conversation. Many of them would like to live near their parents (for their children's sake) or a sibling or some relative and many in the poll say they have families that live nearby, (I would assume that was one of the reasons for choosing their community).
     Living in the burbs is different for many people. Again, it might be so that they are closer to their families, or better schools, or open space. And it is assumed that the reason for moving/living in the burbs was to get away from the societal problems that are part of city living. Surprisingly, this is not the overwhelming reason, or on the surface the reason why people are living outside the city of Los Angeles. Residents living in "all burbs" are split when asked if the main reason they live in their community was to get away from the societal problems associated with living in big cities or urban centers. However, depending on how close one lives to the city, the views on this issue are quite disparate. For example, when talking to residents in Ventura County they agree strongly about the reason for their living where they do is to get away from big city problems, while those living in the San Fernando Valley strongly disagree.
     The ethnic or racial makeup of the communities are also somewhat dissimilar depending on what part of the Southland you are in. In Ventura and Orange counties most of the residents live in mostly white or mixed communities, while residents in the San Fernando Valley live in mixed, mostly Latino or mostly white communities and the San Gabriel Valley residents say they live in mixed, mostly Latinos, mostly white, or mostly Asian communities. San Gabriel Valley is the next steppingstone for immigrants, especially Asians. When they first arrive, they go where they have friends or relatives or a like racial or ethnic group like themselves. When they move up the economic ladder, they leave that area and go to the suburbs or what they consider a better neighborhood. There are many such places in the San Gabriel Valley. In Orange County, the same would be true for the Vietnamese. There are virtually no mostly-black communities in the suburbs. Given the different areas surveyed--some more racially and ethnically diverse than others--large majorities of respondents are denying there is any racial tension in their communities, or that "hate" crimes are a serious problem.
     As I said when the economy is good and crime is down, other issues surface and one of them is growth or overgrowth and over-development. It is abundantly clear that those living in the burbs are in favor of slowing down growth and limiting development. And this is dramatically apparent in Ventura County where there has been initiatives limiting development and the grassroots efforts of SOAR (Save Openspace and Agricultural Resources) from limiting farmland from being overdeveloped. The residents in Ventura moved there for the rural atmosphere and it shows up in many of their answers to the poll questions. Even city dwellers are slightly more in favor of limiting growth.
     When going to work, a majority of the burb residents drive alone, hardly anyone carpools, takes a bus or train to their destination. Their average commute is about a half hour (except for the San Gabriel Valley--which is about 40 minutes--and the city--45 minutes).
     On a personal level, they are committed to their children (eating dinner with their family almost nightly and supervising their children on the internet) and when defining success for themselves, they define it not as having all the material wealth at their fingertips, but as having a loving family or their own personal happiness and financial security for themselves and their family. They say they are not caught in the trap of keeping up with the Joneses, either. This is amplified by the fact that most of those interviewed say they clean their own home. Many of the residents, whether in burbs or the city have a fair amount of amenities. Many people say they have air conditioning, a pool, deck or patio, garden, home office, family room and fireplace. (Not many have jacuzzis.) Not surprisingly, virtually all San Fernando Valley residents have air conditioning (which is a necessity and not a luxury in the Valley). More than 7 out of 10 respondents in all areas say they have between one and three television sets in their home and pagers (beepers) and cell phones seem to be popular as well. About a tenth of the kids their parents say also have pagers or beepers. The survey respondents are definitely plugged into technology. Less than half say they have more than one phone line. A large plurality of burb residents say they have access to a computer. But more than half of children between the ages of 5 and 17 have access to a computer either at home or at school. Parents say they supervise their child's access to the Internet some of the time or always. And they also say that they are spending about 25 hours a week with their family in such activities as watching TV, or going to a movie, or shopping, or visiting relatives or whatever they think family time is.
     A small plurality say they pay their credit cards in full each month, but of those who don't, a fifth say their monthly debt is less than $500.

     Personal Beliefs About Oneself
     Success is defined in so many ways. For every person you ask, you will probably get as many answers. Some may define it in terms of a successful career or financial security and others may define success as having a loving family or personal happiness. The poll was interested in how the respondents would define success for themselves. By far, the single most popular answer to this question is having a loving family, followed by personal happiness and financial security and a well-paying job. It was interesting to note that material possessions were in low single digits or hardly any big ticket items came up.
     And to their credit, they are not trying to keep up with the Joneses. They feel that they don't have any pressure to follow their neighbors and friends to the ends of the earth.
     Spending Time With Family: Since the tragedy at Columbine, people want to know how this could have happened. Did the families spend enough time together, did the parents of the two boys who shot the students and a teacher know what their children were doing. There have been many articles and television shows since that tragedy talking about family values and sharing time with your children. So how did the poll respondents stack up in terms of spending time with their family? The poll tried to get at this by asking three questions--eating dinner with your family, how much time do you spend with your children and do they supervise their children while they are on the Internet? Roughly half of the parents in each sample say they eat at least 5 nights a week with their family. As mentioned earlier, parents say they spend on average about 25 hours a week with their family doing different kinds of activities. Very few parents say they spend no time with their family (for example, 6% in the city, 4% in Ventura and 2% in Orange).
     Those who are not working tend to eat dinner with their family more often than those who are not working. For instance, in Ventura, 35% of working residents say they eat dinner with their family every night, compared to 49% who are not working. The same holds true for Orange residents, 35% say they eat dinner every night with their family, compared to 42% who do not work. And 42% of non-working residents living in the city eat dinner every night with their family, compared to 39% who are working.
     Computers are no longer considered a luxury item or an item than only the wealthy can afford. The poll reflects that many Southlanders have home computers and use online services, such as America Online. There is basically no difference between the city and the other suburban areas (except for Ventura). Nearly half of Orange County residents (47%), 46% of San Gabriel Valley residents and 45% of San Fernando Valley residents have access to computers compared to virtually the same for 46% of city dwellers. Ventura County respondents have slightly more access to computers at home--with 54% saying they have a computer.
     But parents with children between the ages of 5 and 17 say their children have more access to computers than they do. Not surprising, since many children now have access at school. Yet the poll also shows that more city kids do not have access to computers than suburban kids. Nearly three out of five city residents (57%) say their children do not have access to a computer at home or at school, compared to 39% of Ventura parents and 36% of Orange parents. Only one third of parents of school age children in the San Gabriel Valley said their kids do not have access to the Internet either at home or at school. Over half of parents in the San Fernando Valley said the same of their own children. And most kids with computers are supervised by their parents some of the time or always.
     Religion: Religion is an important part of the respondents life. At least three-quarters of each group feel that religion is important in their life (including 46% of Ventura residents, 47% of Orange residents, 51% of San Gabriel Valley residents, 37% of San Fernando Valley residents and 44% of L.A. city residents saying "very" important.) Roughly a third of residents in each of these samples say they attend religious services one time a week or more, while about a fifth say they never attend. About half of these residents also say that their children attend services the same amount of time as they do. About roughly a fifth say their children attend more than they do.

     Education
     Hardly any respondent gave failing grades to the public schools in their community. Five percent each of Ventura and Orange respondents gave a D or an F to their public schools. About one in ten of the residents living in the San Gabriel Valley gave their schools a failing grade. The L.A, city residents, (18%) and San Fernando Valley dwellers (20%) were roughly three times more likely to give their public schools a failing grade. (Most of the children in L.A. and the San Fernando Valley are in schools that lie within the L.A. Unified School District domain.) Ventura residents are pretty satisfied with their schools--18% gave them an A and 41% gave them a B. About a fifth gave them average marks, a C. Orange residents were also approving--with 24% giving their schools an A, and 35% a B. Seventeen percent thought they were just average. In the San Gabriel Valley, residents gave their community's public schools an above-average grade for the job they are doing (60% gave them an A or a B). San Fernando Valley residents rate their schools much lower. Only 30% gave schools an A or B, 28% gave their schools a passing grade of C. In L.A., residents were not as satisfied--12% gave their schools an A, 23% a B and 21% gave them just a passing grade of C.
     Separation of Church and State: Even though our Constitution has firmly established the division between church and state, it doesn't mean that people don't want prayer in school or some religious values taught to their children. Republicans in Congress were not far off in their pushing for the posting of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms. At least 3 out of 5 each of the residents living in these areas approve of allowing the Ten Commandments posted in classrooms (58% in the city, 64% in Ventura, 68% in Orange, 74% in the San Gabriel and 61% of the San Fernando Valley). Jewish respondents are strongly opposed to this, while Protestants and Catholics strongly approve. Also, all racial groups and ethnic minorities are in favor of posting the Commandments in public classrooms.
     School Problems: In Ventura, 28% of the parents say their children face no problems each day while attending school. But the two top mentions are crowded classrooms (14%) and peer pressure (12%). In Orange, 25% of the parents say their children don't have any problems in school, But the top two mentions that these parents cite are peer pressure (18%) and crowded classrooms (7%). Different problems came up in the city. Thirty-six percent of city parents say their children don't have any problems in school. But their top two mentions are bad teachers (13%) and gangs (7%). In the San Gabriel Valley, parents named peer pressure (23%) as the biggest problem facing their children, while 11% of San Fernando Valley parents mentioned that item. Bad teachers were cited by 9% of the San Gabriel Valley parents and 20% of the San Fernando Valley parents.
     Parents in most of the suburban areas (except for the San Gabriel Valley) think their children are safer in school than parents of children who go to school in L.A. city. In Ventura, 46% of parents think their children are very safe, 47% somewhat safe (for a combined 93% who think their children are safe from crime and violence). In Orange, 44% of parents say very safe and 45% say somewhat safe (for a combined 88%). In the San Fernando Valley, 60% of parents say their children are very safe and 28% say somewhat safe (for a combined 86% who say their children are safe in school). In the San Gabriel Valley, 30% of parents think their children are very safe, but 51% say somewhat safe (for a combined 81%). And In L.A. city, just 23% say their children are very safe from crime and violence and 62% say somewhat safe (for a combined 85%). Alcohol, Drugs and Weapons in School: A lot of parents don't know if there is drinking or illegal drug use in school or if kids are carrying weapons of any sort. And perhaps wanting to believe that none of these things happen on their children's school campus, many parents believe that very few children do any of these illegal activities.
     Ethnic Makeup of Child's School: In the suburban schools, the schools are mostly white or mixed with some schools mostly Latino. In the city schools, it is mostly mixed, mostly Latino or mostly black. Only 7% of the city school parents say their school is mostly white.
     Racial Tension in School: Parents don't think there is any racial tension in their child's school. However, 18% of San Gabriel parents and 16% of Orange parents believe there is some racial tension in their kid's school.

     How the Poll Was Conducted
     The Times Poll contacted 2,069 adults living in the "Burbs," which included 533 adults living in Ventura county, 533 in Orange county, 502 in the San Gabriel Valley and 501 in the San Fernando Valley, by telephone July 10 through July 16. In addition to the suburban respondents, for comparison analysis, the poll contacted 316 residents living in the city of Los Angeles (not including the city portion of the San Fernando Valley). Telephone numbers were chosen from a list of all exchanges in these areas. Random-digit dialing techniques were used so that listed and non-listed numbers could be contacted. The entire sample was weighted slightly for each geographic subgroup to conform with census figures for sex, race, age, education and area. The margin of sampling error for all "Burbs" is plus or minus three percentage points; for each suburban subgroup it is 4 points and for L.A. city it is 5 points. Poll results can also be affected by other factors such as question wording and the order in which questions are presented. The survey was conducted in English and Spanish.