Moving to LA Area - Burbank or Cerritos? (Riverside, Glendale: travel, job)

[NY2CA]

Hello All,

I'm planning to move to CA. I've narrowed it down to two cities I would like to live in, but I can't decide which is better. Which city do you think is better to live in, Burbank or Cerritos? Both in LA, but it's either San Fernando Valley or borderline Orange County. I've heard great things about both places. I'm looking for place that is safe(better police/fire), no gangs, has good schools, great wireless signal(cell and internet), utility friendly, travel friendly by car and walking, friendly neighbors, up-to-date neighborhood, nightlife, near beaches, and convenient shops and restaurants. I want a place that would be great to raise a family later on. Also, how's traffic going to LA from both places?

So what do you all think...

Thanks!

[Charles]

Originally Posted by NY2CA

Hello All,

I'm planning to move to CA. I've narrowed it down to two cities I would like to live in, but I can't decide which is better. Which city do you think is better to live in, Burbank or Cerritos? Both in LA, but it's either San Fernando Valley or borderline Orange County. I've heard great things about both places. I'm looking for place that is safe(better police/fire), no gangs, has good schools, great wireless signal(cell and internet), utility friendly, travel friendly by car and walking, friendly neighbors, up-to-date neighborhood, nightlife, near beaches, and convenient shops and restaurants. I want a place that would be great to raise a family later on. Also, how's traffic going to LA from both places?

So what do you all think...

Thanks!

Where are you going to work? Downtown? If so, I would think Burbank would be better especially considering the public transit.

Most of the other things (distance from the beach, shops, restaurants) you can find out on your own using the internet.

[NY2CA]

Thanks Charles.

I'm currently going into the entertainment industry, but I don't mind travelling if I have to. I haven't found a job quite yet, but I've applied for some in West Hollywood. I need a location that's not too high in rent either ($1,000 or less).

[dereistic01]

if you're going to work in west hollywood, then id say burbank, save you a lot of driving time.

[straight outta camden]

Originally Posted by NY2CA

Hello All,

I'm planning to move to CA. I've narrowed it down to two cities I would like to live in, but I can't decide which is better. Which city do you think is better to live in, Burbank or Cerritos? Both in LA, but it's either San Fernando Valley or borderline Orange County. I've heard great things about both places. I'm looking for place that is safe(better police/fire), no gangs, has good schools, great wireless signal(cell and internet), utility friendly, travel friendly by car and walking, friendly neighbors, up-to-date neighborhood, nightlife, near beaches, and convenient shops and restaurants. I want a place that would be great to raise a family later on. Also, how's traffic going to LA from both places?

So what do you all think...

Thanks!

I can see the problem. Your demands are somewhat contradictory (aren't all our demands, when it comes to a place to live?) Cerritos wins hands-down when it comes to utilities and public services, including schools. On the other hand it is a tough commute to West Hollywood (Burbank to W. Hollywood is no picnic, either) and there is not much nightlife to speak of. Burbank has much more of an urban feel--in a good way.

[canibeyou]

Wow... do I know Burbank. Lived there for 31 years. If you don't live near the mall, there's really nothing within "walking distance" in Burbank. Meaning, Burbank isn't like, say, NY where every little neighborhood has resturants, stores, etc. So plan on driving in Burbank. With that said, the way they've re-signaled the lights in that town, it'll take you 20+ minutes to drive from one end to the other.
And don't be fooled by thinking the BPD is gonna be any more help than LAPD. Numerous times we called for help with gang fights at Jordan Jr.High School (near the nice equstrian center neighborhood, to give you perspective), only to be asked by the officer if we could go outside (we were at work) and tell them how big the knives and guns were. No... I'm not joking. Any mention of a weapon and the BPD would never show up to help. But they're really good about profiling and pulling people over to give 'em a hard time.

Don't get me wrong, not everything is bad about Burbank. When I lived there, it was nice to be close to things. You know, a short hour drive on the 405 to get to Santa Monica; go over Barham to party in Hollywood, close to the Glendale Galleria (sorry, but the Burbank mall is a joke), and things like that. But the priorities in my life have changed and since we moved out of there 4 years ago, there isn't one thing I miss about that town.

I never had reson to venture into Cerritos for anything, so I can't give my 2 pennies about that town.

[the one]

burbank would be closer to the industry and closer to downtown, cerritos would just be too far. far from anything in LA. it is more like the OC. its really nice tho, closer to the clean OC beaches, but farther from LA. depends on what you want. if you want the night life and diversity of LA live in brbnk so you can party in hlywd. if you want to raise a family and live a clean suburban life then live in cerritos, altho burbank also offers that. as for utilities and such... beats me. good luck

[jzt83]

Check out pasadena while you are at it. It's fairly close to the industry and is quite walkable with a highly gentrified old town section.

[UB50]

Originally Posted by canibeyou

Wow... do I know Burbank. Lived there for 31 years. If you don't live near the mall, there's really nothing within "walking distance" in Burbank. Meaning, Burbank isn't like, say, NY where every little neighborhood has resturants, stores, etc. So plan on driving in Burbank. With that said, the way they've re-signaled the lights in that town, it'll take you 20+ minutes to drive from one end to the other.
And don't be fooled by thinking the BPD is gonna be any more help than LAPD. Numerous times we called for help with gang fights at Jordan Jr.High School (near the nice equstrian center neighborhood, to give you perspective), only to be asked by the officer if we could go outside (we were at work) and tell them how big the knives and guns were. No... I'm not joking. Any mention of a weapon and the BPD would never show up to help. But they're really good about profiling and pulling people over to give 'em a hard time.

Don't get me wrong, not everything is bad about Burbank. When I lived there, it was nice to be close to things. You know, a short hour drive on the 405 to get to Santa Monica; go over Barham to party in Hollywood, close to the Glendale Galleria (sorry, but the Burbank mall is a joke), and things like that. But the priorities in my life have changed and since we moved out of there 4 years ago, there isn't one thing I miss about that town.

I never had reson to venture into Cerritos for anything, so I can't give my 2 pennies about that town.

Give me a break! I've lived in Burbank almost 25 years and never had these problems! I've had to call the police exactly twice -- once because we had a loud neighbor (they sent over 8 patrol cars) and once for a peeping tom (they increased patrols in our neighborhood -- it turned out to be a 14 year old kid). I lived near the mall and down near Hollywood Way. The Burbank police department was super-responsive!

The only time I ever called the LAPD (about a guy who was breaking into every car on the street and stealing the stereo equipment -- and this was during the daytime) they asked me "Is anyone hurt?" When I said "no," they said "We aren't coming."

I have to question this too: How could you call about gang fights in your neighborhood if you weren't at home? Did someone else call to let you know about them? What you posted makes no sense to me. If you called about a gang fight in your neighborhood, you should have been able to see who was there and what was involved. How could you be at work and know what was going on in your neighborhood? I really don't get this.

Secondly, if you are within certain areas (other than the mall) you can walk to a lot of things. Almost all of the main streets have a host of businesses. This is not to say that the grocery store is going to be right next door to where you live, but Burbank has grocery stores in a lot of places. There are also several main "commercial" drag areas like Magnolia Blvd., Victory Blvd., Pass Ave., Hollywood Way, Alameda, Olive -- I don't believe being "walkable" means you need to be able to walk to everything -- just some of the essential things, like groceries, drugs, restaurants, dry cleaners, etc. Anyway, Burbank isn't like a modern suburb where all the houses are together and all the retail shopping is all in one place (usually too far to walk to). Burbank also has sidewalks on most streets. If you compare Burbank to a newer subdivision in Phoenix or Las Vegas, you'll find Burbank extremely walkable.

I liked Burbank a lot. I'm now living in Glendale (which isn't much different from Burbank) but I like these areas.

[canibeyou]

Originally Posted by UB50

Give me a break! I've lived in Burbank almost 25 years and never had these problems! I've had to call the police exactly twice -- once because we had a loud neighbor (they sent over 8 patrol cars) and once for a peeping tom (they increased patrols in our neighborhood -- it turned out to be a 14 year old kid). I lived near the mall and down near Hollywood Way. The Burbank police department was super-responsive!

Um.. did you miss the part where I said, if the call involves weapons, they never responded? I've called them for petty things and they were there right away (and more than one would show up ). When it was a life threatining situation, they never showed. And we called from work (never said I lived at work, BTW; I actually lived on the other side of Burbank... hence how I also know the "commute" down Buena Vista and how long it will take you with the new lighting system they have timed.)... which was located in a regualr neighboorhood (Oak Street) and right next to a Jr.High School (guess you missed that also). Since you don't know that neighborhood apparently, there is a one square block right smack in the middle of a residential neighborhood, that is industrial (meaning manufacturing items, etc.). And this is where the "kids", getting out of school and walking home would get mad at others and begin fighting right in the middle of Oak Street. Oak Street is located near Main and Alameda (in case you want to drive by). For fun, go drive around that area, you'll be really suprised how it's 2 blocks from the expensive equestrian center area (read: high priced homes) Sorry, I was born and raised in Burbank (31 years; moved 7 miles away, yet continued working in Burbank for 4 more year... totaling 35 years in the area). I don't just post up things to make places look bad. Just stating my experiences there. Good or bad as they may be. And I don't lead people to believe that, just because Burbank has their own police, means they're gonna be way better than, say LAPD.

And I guess you can walk to many things... let's see... if you live near Hollywood Way and Victory, you can walk to KFC to eat and then Petco to shop. Or you could walk over a mile down to Buena Vista to grocery shop (that'll be fun walknig home). Hmmm... what else is in that area? Nothing to shop at really. Okay, let's move down to Hollywood Way and Burbank Blvd. Guess you could eat at that crazy pizza place (Dino's) and then go across the street to shop at 7-11 or the opposite corner and shop at the car wash (they have a handy mart inside). Wonder where you'd walk to shop and have coffee if you lived near Buena Vista and Alameda?

Again, not every area of Burbank has places like up near the mall or even down near Riverside Drive & Alameda, where there are coffee houses, resturants, etc. that are really within walking distance. I'd hate to be the one to mislead someone into thinking you can walk, no matter where you live in Burbank, and do things like that.

And just in case you also missed what I said in my original post, not everything in Burbank is bad. It is "centrally located" to be able to get in your car and go do things and not have a super long drive to do them. That's always a plus!

There's a lot of good Burbank has to offer. Perhaps walking and crimes with weapons (not a daily problem like some areas of Cali.) isnt their strongest points!