Most 'un-LA' part of LA (Los Angeles, Glendale: school district, to live, zoned)

[sweettea1]

Is Monrovia part of South Pasadena? Is the commute to LA similar to the Valley commute?
Great advice on all...thanks again!

[3tulips]

Monrovia is it's own city and is east of Pasadena. So, the commute is longer to downtown than it would be from So. Pas. (And FYI, South Pasadena is a separate city from Pasadena). I used to commute to the heart of downtown from Monrovia and it took me 45 minutes average. A light day was 30 minutes door to door and a heavy day, meaning an accident of some sort it would take a hour and the worst days an hour and a half (those were fewest). Of course, that is during the heaviest rush hour, as my office hours were 8:30 to 5.
I just re-read my first post and I must have been really tired because I don't think I articulated my thoughts well. Even so, I think you get the jist.
Let me know if you have any further questions.

[Sorcerer68]

Originally Posted by sweettea1

Don't know much about South Pasadena at all. How far is this from say, Beverly Hills or Brentwood? What is the average price for a single family home (3-4 BR)?

South Pas isn't close to BH or Brentwood. It's an easy drive to much of the life in L.A. It's also just south of Old Pasadena which has everything from upscale restarants, bars, clubs and boutiques to Porsches and Bentley (for purchase). S. Pas north of Downtown. SFR in S. Pas are much, much cheaper the west side. I haven't done my S. Pas availability check in about a month so I'll have to revisit this regarding exact prices. To me one thing the area has to offer above most all other areas in L.A. is the asthetic beauty and jaw-dropping architecture. Google "pasadena city hall" for example.

[sweettea1]

All sounds really interesting, thanks. I'll definitely make it a priority to get to South Pas next trip to LA.

[mommabear2]

Santa Clarita is the nicest area for families by far. I've lived in the city of L.A., Redondo Beach, Huntington Beach, and nothing I've seen compares. The parks are very well kept - no homeless guy sleeping on the benches, the shopping is decent, downtown L.A. is 30-40 minutes (if traffic is flowing), it's 2006 Money Magazines top places to live in the U.S. (for it's size of 150,000 +). Housing is slightly cheaper but still expensive but you'll have a yard, paseos to walk with your kids, and great (GREAT) public schools K-12.

[3tulips]

When you get to South Pas...please make time for a jaunt over to Monrovia. And please post after you've been to town, we'd love to hear your thoughts and what you decide to do.

[proteus]

This is a tough one. For $350k, you can get a large, tasteful home in upscale Dunwoody... for $500k, a nice place closer in. What you get for $500k in LA is a nice condo in an average neighborhood. Places on the outskirts may be slower and not necessarily as pretentious, but they can be 'more LA' in terms of commuting traffic. Not sure what your budget is, but if you're looking for family-friendly and decent schools, you will be paying a premium price. Rancho Palos Verdes and Rolling Hills Estates are safe, family neighborhoods, away from the celebrity lifestyle of similarly nice, coastal and hilly Pacific Palisades, but you'll be hard-pressed to find a family home for under 1 million. Pasadena is a good bet and slightly more affordable (generally) if you avoid Linda Vista & Oak Knoll areas. Better yet, in terms of price - South Pasadena and Arcadia... Chatsworth and Northridge.

[hummingbird12]

Hello!
I live in Valencia, in the city of Santa Clarita. I live on a cul-de-sac, we hold block parties every year on the 4th of July and Halloween. Many of my neighbors attend the same church. All of the kids play together on our street on a daily basis. Santa Clarita is currently the 5th safest city in America with a population over 100,000 (I think that we're 160,000). The schools are excellent. In Valencia, there are no billboards allowed, and no graffiti that I have ever seen. It's a master-planned community, incredibly landscaped, and always improving. We're only 35 miles from downtown Los Angeles, yet a world apart. Many celebrities with children live here because of the schools and safety. You can buy a house here starting in the $500,000.00 range. Good Luck!

[c00kies]

Originally Posted by TheRealAngelion

My list of family friendly communities with good public schools or private schools that, as you said, you would actually have a chance of getting into:

La Canada Flintridge, Pasadena, San Marino, Calabasas, Agoura, Agoura Hills, Westlake Village, Oak Park, North Ranch, Thousand Oaks, Newbury Park, Manhattan Beach, Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills, Malibu, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills.

There are other family friendly neigborhoods in LA city limits like Pacific Palisades and Brentwood, among several others, but they are in LAUSD territory (to be avoided) and the private schools for kids who live in such areas are very to extremely competitive to get into.

Manhattan Beach, Pasadena, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills: if I have kids, I wouldn't live in these areas. They might be expensive areas, but the school district isn't that good. Many families in Pasadena send their children to private schools or try to go to San Marino or Arcadia's schools (I think if you live in certain areas of Pasadena, you are allow to do that, but not sure). Manhattan Beach or Santa Monica are definitely not good areas to raise kids. There's too much going there.

My picks would be Los Feliz, Arcadia, La Canada/Glendale.

[sweettea1]

proteus...it's funny you made the Dunwoody comparison. That's exactly where we're looking should we stay in Atlanta! Very hard to compare cost of living in both cities since it's so incredibly different.
But I'll check out all of these places. Thanks again everyone for your great input.