What's life like West of the 405? (Thousand Oaks, Calabasas: apartment, low crime, houses)

[abcnbccbs]

What's life like to live west of the 405? The overall feel and how are the people in general. Older, younger, etc. Areas such as Topanga, Calabasas, Augora, Thousand Oaks, West Hills, Canoga Park, Tarzana, etc?

Cost of living, crime, feel of the areas? How far to get into the city - LA, traffic, etc? Thanks, Etc.

[nightlysparrow]

Speaking just for Agoura, Westlake Village and Thousand Oaks---extremely low crime with excellent police response, surrounded by (mandated) greenspace areas, with hiking trails, wildlife, streams. Only 12 miles over Kanan Rd. to Malibu and public beaches along PCH. No highrise buildings. Thousand Oaks forbids billboards. T.O. sits midway between the 101 and the 23 freeways for alternate commuting routes. It's 15-20 minutes to the Valley on the 101 from T.O.

Agoura and Westlake have more singles, T.O. more families. Nightlife in Westlake is classy. T.O. has all the best shopping. The schools are CA award-winning. There's a very good hospital in T.O. The architecture is boring, tract houses and apartment-wise, but are well-maintained. Not a lot of racial or ethnic diversity. The people are friendly and remember you in stores and say hi.

Some people call them bedroom communities or even suburban, but with L.A. sprawl, those terms are meaningless. You don't usually need to leave these cities for anything except an airport or national entertainment. And the Valley and L.A. are doable for that. The areas have a relaxing, semi-rural feel. Lots of coyotes, some deer, owls and other cool creatures are very close in to the neighborhoods.

[disgruntled la native]

You should clarify that to west of the 405 and north of the 101. I was about to give you a ten page answer when I realized you meant the west sfv.

[BRinSM]

the 405 is a long freeway, but it sounds like you are referring to the area west of the 405 and north of the santa monica mountains along the 101 (the western san fernando valley and conejo valley). except for canoga park, all of the places you mentioned would be considered desirable by most. generally speaking the neighborhoods nearest the 405 are the oldest and slowly get newer the further west you go. the valley neighborhoods tend to be more diverse (latinos, persians, russians, etc.) and closer to job centers in LA. the closer to the 405 you are, the easier it will be to 'get into the city'. LA city neighborhoods are served by LA city services, which are generally par at best. schools are spotty, but they can be top notch where housing is most expensive. calabasas and cities west have much better schools as a whole. having said that, there are lots of families and safety is generally not an issue across the whole area, especially when compared to the westside and more central areas of LA. there are also lots of old people who raised their families in the area and never moved out after becoming empty nesters. if you can afford a home (which generally range from $500k to multi-millions), you'll have prioritize schools, commute, and home size/newness to determine which specific area is best for you.

[ccm123]

Worked in Calabasas for a number of years and it's a nice place to live and work. Only disadvantage is that it gets hot in the summer and is a bit of a commute, if you had to commute into, say Downtown LA.

[West of Encino]

Originally Posted by BRinSM

the 405 is a long freeway, but it sounds like you are referring to the area west of the 405 and north of the santa monica mountains along the 101 (the western san fernando valley and conejo valley). except for canoga park, all of the places you mentioned would be considered desirable by most. generally speaking the neighborhoods nearest the 405 are the oldest and slowly get newer the further west you go. the valley neighborhoods tend to be more diverse (latinos, persians, russians, etc.) and closer to job centers in LA. the closer to the 405 you are, the easier it will be to 'get into the city'. LA city neighborhoods are served by LA city services, which are generally par at best. schools are spotty, but they can be top notch where housing is most expensive. calabasas and cities west have much better schools as a whole. having said that, there are lots of families and safety is generally not an issue across the whole area, especially when compared to the westside and more central areas of LA. there are also lots of old people who raised their families in the area and never moved out after becoming empty nesters. if you can afford a home (which generally range from $500k to multi-millions), you'll have prioritize schools, commute, and home size/newness to determine which specific area is best for you.

Yeah, I can't wait to retire in the northwest valley.

[abcnbccbs]

Originally Posted by disgruntled la native

You should clarify that to west of the 405 and north of the 101. I was about to give you a ten page answer when I realized you meant the west sfv.

LOL, I'm sorry, still learning the areas of California. Yes I meant the West SFV area.

[nightlysparrow]

Speaking for Topanga, well, it's really different from the other places you've listed, because it's a canyon. Canyon life in SoCal is a specialized thing.

In Topanga, there's a main road running through it, from the Valley to the ocean, which, although slow, is used as a commuting route. Driving through Topanga, you won't see much; most of the houses are in the trees (warning: canyon has not had a good burn in 40-50 years) and up tiny roads. It was hippie paradise in the 60's and 70's, and retains a surprising amount of that energy today. They have festivals that are tie-dye extravaganzas still.

However, that doesn't mean it doesn't have some very expensive housing along with the ramshackle places. The few botique-type businesses, bars, and eateries are lined along the main road. Some have been there since the 60's. There's a post office. There is an elementary school. There is an outdoor summer theatre. That's pretty much it.

But it's special. In a good way.