Suburb in LA that has culture and amenities, but is also family friendly (Long Beach: rent, condo)

[Glassmuseum]

And also affordable.. My wife and I are thinking about moving to LA area in a year or two and we're looking for a suburb that still has a bit of culture (cool bars, restaurants, shopping, music, etc), but is also safe, and family friendly. We don't currently have kids, but are planning to in the future. Obviously we would like to have the option of good schools too. We're coming from Williamsburg, Brooklyn so that's where the culture part comes from.. We just want a happy medium. We want to be able to have a yard in the great climate but still have some stuff to do if we want to, or at least accessible. I know that we will never find a suburban version of Williamsburg, just a good mix would be great!

I have done quite a bit if research and some areas that have popped up are Santa Clarita, Woodland Hills, Pasadena, Van Nuys, North Hollywood. Just to give an idea, we are looking to eventually buy a house in a neighborhood in the 450k'ish range someday. We will probably rent first when we move out there, but we would like to in a neighborhood we can afford to buy in. Anyone have any suggestions? We are staying in LA in May for a week and would love to scout some areas or stay to get some ideas.

[cypresstree]

Santa Clarita and Woodland Hills is as boring, big-box suburbia as they come. Avoid. Van Nuys is a sad wasteland. Pasadena is awesome but a house in that range limits you to Northwest Pasadena...which is definitely fine in some parts. We bought a home in that area and we love it. Random mix of artists, professionals, working class, and huge multigenerational families. It is definitely gentrifying. Pasadena school district has open enrollment and there are ways to get into the good schools...but you might have to relocate or go private for high school unless they're able to get their act together. If you love Williamsburg, you'd probably love Silverlake and South Pasadena, but those cities are extremely expensive. Silverlake is not really walkable.

[Bartleby9]

I was in Williamsburg a couple years ago. There's nothing like Williamsburg in LA. I think Williamsburg has more hipsters per capita than any place in the world. I'm not saying thats a bad thing. It was an interesting and fun place.

The closest thing to Wiliamsburg in LA would be Silverlake.

Pasadena is a great city. The nightlife is much more mature. Good ale houses and bars. No club scene which is good for those that want to avoid that kind of thing. It's also very walkable.

[Glassmuseum]

Thanks so much guys for the input! We love Williamsburg, but I guess we're actually not looking for the Williamsburg of LA, since we've "been there and done that". I guess we're open to having a more suburban experience - a more grownup version. We're aware that to get culture is really just a car ride away. We are just curious if there are any suburban areas in the LA area that have even just a hint of things like you would find in Silverlake or Williamsburg (non cheesy bars, art, music) things like that.. Sounds like Pasadena is one of the closest options so far. It seems like it might be hard to find a house in our price range though (preferably a 3br 2ba under 450k)

Basically at this point of our lives, we're looking for lots of space for less money. Does anyone know anything about Alhambra? any other suggestions are welcome and appreciated!

[jamills21]

Long Beach

[LABornandRaised]

Originally Posted by Glassmuseum

And also affordable.. My wife and I are thinking about moving to LA area in a year or two and we're looking for a suburb that still has a bit of culture (cool bars, restaurants, shopping, music, etc), but is also safe, and family friendly. We don't currently have kids, but are planning to in the future. Obviously we would like to have the option of good schools too. We're coming from Williamsburg, Brooklyn so that's where the culture part comes from.. We just want a happy medium. We want to be able to have a yard in the great climate but still have some stuff to do if we want to, or at least accessible. I know that we will never find a suburban version of Williamsburg, just a good mix would be great!

I have done quite a bit if research and some areas that have popped up are Santa Clarita, Woodland Hills, Pasadena, Van Nuys, North Hollywood. Just to give an idea, we are looking to eventually buy a house in a neighborhood in the 450k'ish range someday. We will probably rent first when we move out there, but we would like to in a neighborhood we can afford to buy in. Anyone have any suggestions? We are staying in LA in May for a week and would love to scout some areas or stay to get some ideas.

Of the places you've listed, I've lived in Santa Clarita, Woodland Hills, and North Hollywood. I've also lived in Sherman Oaks, which is near Van Nuys.

With a $450K budget, you can probably get into all of these neighborhoods as long as you're willing to have around a 1000 square foot house. There will be exceptions of course. Van Nuys will the be cheapest of the bunch since it's the least desirable area of the options you gave.

Santa Clarita is pretty plain jane. I lived there for three years and I haven't looked back. There is zero culture up there, plus it's a desert. It's very conservative up there politically, so I'm not sure if that strikes your fancy. One of the main reasons I had to get the hell out of there. The houses are all cookie cutter homes and new construction if that appeals to you.

Woodland Hills consists of 60's-era ranch homes, just about everywhere. It has a lot of amenities, especially your franchises galore. There's a large mall (largest in the Western US), so that should satisfy the shopping aspect you want. Not really the cool bar or music scene. The area has great schools if that's your priority.

North Hollywood has an eclectic mix of homes ranging from the 20's (love this era) to mid-century. This area is quite large stretching from Riverside Dr to the south all the way up to Saticoy to the north. Living in NoHo now, I recommend the best bang for your buck, where you get the amenities (music, cool bars, cafes), the safety, close to the action and still affordable is the 91601 zip code. I don't think this zip code is any longer a secret though as the prices continue to creep up.

Hope that helps

[majoun]

Originally Posted by Glassmuseum

And also affordable.. My wife and I are thinking about moving to LA area in a year or two and we're looking for a suburb that still has a bit of culture (cool bars, restaurants, shopping, music, etc), but is also safe, and family friendly. We don't currently have kids, but are planning to in the future. Obviously we would like to have the option of good schools too. We're coming from Williamsburg, Brooklyn so that's where the culture part comes from.. We just want a happy medium. We want to be able to have a yard in the great climate but still have some stuff to do if we want to, or at least accessible. I know that we will never find a suburban version of Williamsburg, just a good mix would be great!

I have done quite a bit if research and some areas that have popped up are Santa Clarita, Woodland Hills, Pasadena, Van Nuys, North Hollywood. Just to give an idea, we are looking to eventually buy a house in a neighborhood in the 450k'ish range someday. We will probably rent first when we move out there, but we would like to in a neighborhood we can afford to buy in. Anyone have any suggestions? We are staying in LA in May for a week and would love to scout some areas or stay to get some ideas.

In that price range you'd be looking for a condo not an SFR. An SFR in that price range is going to be in a neighborhood you really don't want to be in especially if you have kids. I hope you realize that. Coming from an expensive city you should have some concept of what living in an expensive city is like.

[thelopez2]

Alhambra is too large to gerneralize. There is an unusual amont of traffic generated due to the 710 freeway ending there. The people of Pasadena fought to prevent its completion to the 210 freeway. Alhambra and Monterey are well know for having good Asian food places. Homes are more on the affordable side, there is a lot of places within a 5-10 minute drive. Areas with a lot of SFR are typically not as walkable.

May I suggest renting in Hermosa, if you like it, do what many others do, move to Redondo, Lomita, Torrance, Hawthorne and save your money until you have kids.

[Glassmuseum]

Originally Posted by LABornandRaised

Of the places you've listed, I've lived in Santa Clarita, Woodland Hills, and North Hollywood. I've also lived in Sherman Oaks, which is near Van Nuys.

With a $450K budget, you can probably get into all of these neighborhoods as long as you're willing to have around a 1000 square foot house. There will be exceptions of course. Van Nuys will the be cheapest of the bunch since it's the least desirable area of the options you gave.

Santa Clarita is pretty plain jane. I lived there for three years and I haven't looked back. There is zero culture up there, plus it's a desert. It's very conservative up there politically, so I'm not sure if that strikes your fancy. One of the main reasons I had to get the hell out of there. The houses are all cookie cutter homes and new construction if that appeals to you.

Woodland Hills consists of 60's-era ranch homes, just about everywhere. It has a lot of amenities, especially your franchises galore. There's a large mall (largest in the Western US), so that should satisfy the shopping aspect you want. Not really the cool bar or music scene. The area has great schools if that's your priority.

North Hollywood has an eclectic mix of homes ranging from the 20's (love this era) to mid-century. This area is quite large stretching from Riverside Dr to the south all the way up to Saticoy to the north. Living in NoHo now, I recommend the best bang for your buck, where you get the amenities (music, cool bars, cafes), the safety, close to the action and still affordable is the 91601 zip code. I don't think this zip code is any longer a secret though as the prices continue to creep up.

Hope that helps

This is incredibly helpful! I think that we're going to pick 2 places to stay while we're there scouting.. One closer to the city and one farther out. It sounds like we should maybe rule out Santa Clarita. It seemed like there were some good deals there, but not quite our scene (maybe when we're in our 40's). But otherwise, North Hollywood seems interesting. Thanks again!

[BRinSM]

keep in mind that north hollywood is still in transition, the gentrification hasn't really spread too far beyond the arts district. by the time you have kids, the schools may be better, but the public schools in that area appear to be decent at best at this point. unfortunately, 450k for a detached house won't really get you into any desirable areas in LA unless you don't mind a small 2 bedroom or severely outdated home.