What makes Pasadena so desirable? (Los Angeles, East Los Angeles: apartment complex, renting, condos)

[drshang]

Originally Posted by True Freedom

The schools here would have to improve dramatically to have any effect on housing prices. We have Arcadia, La Canada, and San Marino all next door with high performing districts. Additionally, if PUSD improves, I think it would only improve the low to mid-range house values. Folks that live in, or would buy houses in the upper end of the market (say $1.2M and up) already make enough to send their kids to private school... so PUSD's performance is not a factor in a home purchase. If they could afford that much house, but were not able to go to private, I contend they'd choose one of the neighboring cities.

Definitely. If you want to buy an equivalent house and have one kid, I think the premium to live in Arcadia/South Pas is higher than the tuition for private schools, in many cases, once you hit the 700-800k price and higher. If you have two it's of course probably more expensive to send kids to private school, but the gap in home prices certainly offsets a lot of that cost, especially if you believe the private schools are better than South Pas/Arcadia schools, which they almost certainly are IMO. San Marino/La Canada are better school districts though, than Arcadia/South Pas, if you ask me.

I agree with you on the home values too, I think the most significant impact would be in the bottom 50% of homes in Pasadena. The bigger impact, IMO, is that house prices in Arcadia/South Pas would drop substantially, especially South Pas. The Asian population in Arcadia will probably hold prices there more than South Pas but I think a similar segment that buys in South Pas would be interested in Pasadena if the schools improved. I don't think that better Pasadena schools would impact La Canada or San Marino prices materially, though.

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by drshang

A lot of the housing stock in South Pas is pretty run down, small houses, small lots, etc. Given equivalent schools, I would argue Pasadena would actually cost more than South Pasadena for equivalent sized house/lot/etc..

I don't agree about South Pas. My sister and her family have lived there for years in a beautiful neighborhood. Not a run down house in any of the surrounding blocks. Pasadena USD has never had to improve their ranking since residents who are unhappy with it just send their kids to private schools.

[ccm123]

Lots of shops, restaurants and generally a nice town to live in. A top notch university (Cal Tech), good recreational activities (Old Town, Rose Bowl, etc) and some nice neighborhoods to live in.

[Alamedan]

Originally Posted by JohnG72

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Keep in mind that most people consider the Northwest area of Pasadena to be ghetto and unsafe.

Speaking as someone who lives in the "unsafe" area of Pasadena, we've been here years, have never had anything bad happen and know all of our neighbors.

We got a great deal on an amazing Craftsman house with a third of an acre in Pasadena for much less than we would have paid for a tiny little shoebox fixer-upper in other areas of LA. filled with traffic and people who don't know each other.

My "unsafe" neighborhood is filled with firemen, teachers, lawyers and other professionals living in it, and more and more of them are people moving from Silver Lake and Los Feliz. Most of the areas around here are designated historical districts and aren't going to get filled with monster homes...

I'll take my "unsafe" neighborhood ANY time.

[Tex?Il?]

Originally Posted by Alamedan

Speaking as someone who lives in the "unsafe" area of Pasadena, we've been here years, have never had anything bad happen and know all of our neighbors.

We got a great deal on an amazing Craftsman house with a third of an acre in Pasadena for much less than we would have paid for a tiny little shoebox fixer-upper in other areas of LA. filled with traffic and people who don't know each other.

My "unsafe" neighborhood is filled with firemen, teachers, lawyers and other professionals living in it, and more and more of them are people moving from Silver Lake and Los Feliz. Most of the areas around here are designated historical districts and aren't going to get filled with monster homes...

I'll take my "unsafe" neighborhood ANY time.

I'm looking at Pasadena a year from now when my lease is up.

I'm 31 and recently moved to LA. I chose an area on Sepulveda near the 405 and the 10 to be centrally located my first year here to be close to attractions, employment, but Pasadena seems more of my community. I moved from Oak Park, IL 8 miles west of Chicago, which is a charming historic suburb where you have a balance of diverse/cosmopolitan and cozy, community oriented, and Pasadena seems similar to that.

[SalParadise]

Pasadena used to be called the "Indiana colony" as it was initially founded/settled by settlers from Indiana.

Another interesting twist on Pasadena history, Jackie Robinson grew up in Pasadena. He attended John Muir High School and Pasadena City College before transferring to UCLA.

I know there is a Jackie Robinson Park in Pasadena but I don't know why there isn't anything more....like a statue in Old Town or by City Hall?

[MIKEETC]

Originally Posted by SalParadise

Pasadena used to be called the "Indiana colony" as it was initially founded/settled by settlers from Indiana.

Another interesting twist on Pasadena history, Jackie Robinson grew up in Pasadena. He attended John Muir High School and Pasadena City College before transferring to UCLA.

I know there is a Jackie Robinson Park in Pasadena but I don't know why there isn't anything more....like a statue in Old Town or by City Hall?

There is:



Pasadena’s Jackie Robinson Center and Park

[SalParadise]

Cool.....now I know!

[A1Lexo]

Those statues are actually near city hall. The park and community center named after Jaciei Robinson is located on Fair Oaks in Northwest Pasadena. I played basketball there as a kid.

[True Freedom]

Originally Posted by Alamedan

Speaking as someone who lives in the "unsafe" area of Pasadena, we've been here years, have never had anything bad happen and know all of our neighbors.

We got a great deal on an amazing Craftsman house with a third of an acre in Pasadena for much less than we would have paid for a tiny little shoebox fixer-upper in other areas of LA. filled with traffic and people who don't know each other.

My "unsafe" neighborhood is filled with firemen, teachers, lawyers and other professionals living in it, and more and more of them are people moving from Silver Lake and Los Feliz. Most of the areas around here are designated historical districts and aren't going to get filled with monster homes...

I'll take my "unsafe" neighborhood ANY time.

More power to you! Glad to hear the area is gentrifying a bit. However, still looks like your set of teachers, lawyers, and firemen are a pretty aggressive bunch.

According to Crime Mapping - Building Safer Communities! , violent crimes.. such as assaults and strong arm crimes happen at a much higher rate in that part of town.

Here's a plot of assaults for the last six months... for me, I'll take the eastern part of the city. Thanks.