Pros and Cons of moving to LA (from the east)? (Glendale: rent, high school)

[NOIGUY]

Originally Posted by ryanms3030

Good news!! I just bought a condo in Santa Clarita.. I'm finally getting out

Congratulations. My cousin works at Boston Scientific in SCV and lives in Glendale and she says her commute isn't bad at all. Not sure what the reverse is like.

[SpaceMonkyPunks]

Originally Posted by ryanms3030

Van Nuys is probably equivalent of living in Jersey City 20 years ago. Not really a place you want to live if you can help it. Much of Hollywood is the same way.

Downtown, Koreatown, Silver Lake, Echo Park, Los Feliz are all better options depending on what type of entertainment you want. All have nightlife of some sort.

Sherman Oaks, Studio City and North Hollywood are all popular ares in the valley that have lot's of bars, restaurants and young singles and couples. North Hollywood does get very sketchy in some areas closer to Panorama City.

Pasadena, Burbank, Glendale are worth looking at depending on lifestyle you want

West side is getting very expensive

Seconding this, also consider SGV if you really want to cut costs.

[Big-Bucks]

Originally Posted by newjerseycouple

how is the San Fernando Valley in terms of diversity, entertainment, etc? Does it compare to more vibrant places like West Hollywood? Sorry for the stupid questions. I've never been to LA myself. I only know what I heard from friends that have visited there before.

House hunting in LA is a completely different topic in general.. For now, I'm just worried about moving there in the first place.

SFValley gets better and better as you get closer to Ventura Blvd. Studio City, Sherman Oaks and Encino are the nicest cities. The valley also gets about 15 degrees hotter during the summer. Most people want to live on the "West side" (Santa Monica, Beverly hills, West Hollywood, Pacific Palisades) but if you're budget conscious then you settle for the SFV.

Also take a look at the Conejo Valley (Calabasas, Agoura Hills, Westlake Village). Super nice, new, safe and clean but way off the beaten path. I would only live there if you will be working there.

[newjerseycouple]

Originally Posted by Big-Bucks

SFValley gets better and better as you get closer to Ventura Blvd. Studio City, Sherman Oaks and Encino are the nicest cities. The valley also gets about 15 degrees hotter during the summer. Most people want to live on the "West side" (Santa Monica, Beverly hills, West Hollywood, Pacific Palisades) but if you're budget conscious then you settle for the SFV.

Also take a look at the Conejo Valley (Calabasas, Agoura Hills, Westlake Village). Super nice, new, safe and clean but way off the beaten path. I would only live there if you will be working there.

Thanks for the tips! We were thinking about living & working in the Calabasas area too but we heard that it's pretty snobby and not so diverse. Since my husband and I are a biracial couple and we are so accustomed to a racially diverse area, I don't think we would feel comfortable in Calabasas. I would also hate to stick my future kids in a public school where they feel they don't belong. I personally grew up in a 80%+ white neighborhood and the racial taunting was not fun! Is that the case there?

[ryanms3030]

Originally Posted by newjerseycouple

Thanks for the tips! We were thinking about living & working in the Calabasas area too but we heard that it's pretty snobby and not so diverse. Since my husband and I are a biracial couple and we are so accustomed to a racially diverse area, I don't think we would feel comfortable in Calabasas. I would also hate to stick my future kids in a public school where they feel they don't belong. I personally grew up in a 80%+ white neighborhood and the racial taunting was not fun! Is that the case there?

Will and Jada Smith live there so it's diverse.. But this comes up a lot and I think it's been decided that LA is not that racist.. I grew up in Boston and racism was much more overt there..

[nightlysparrow]

Originally Posted by newjerseycouple

Thanks for the tips! We were thinking about living & working in the Calabasas area too but we heard that it's pretty snobby and not so diverse. Since my husband and I are a biracial couple and we are so accustomed to a racially diverse area, I don't think we would feel comfortable in Calabasas. I would also hate to stick my future kids in a public school where they feel they don't belong. I personally grew up in a 80%+ white neighborhood and the racial taunting was not fun! Is that the case there?

No, really nobody will look twice. People have pretty much seen every possible type of couples and kids in SoCal. Most of SoCal is ethnically, more than racially, diverse (depending on what one calls a "race") but people are very tolerant.
Calabasas is a neighborhood more than a city. But Las Virgenes USD and adjacent Conejo Valley USD and Oak Park USD are top-notch school systems. Check out those areas as poster Big-Bucks suggested. Your kids could hardly do better. The areas are generally affluent and as long as your kids have the nicer accoutrements kids have, they will be fine at school.

[newjerseycouple]

Originally Posted by ryanms3030

Will and Jada Smith live there so it's diverse.. But this comes up a lot and I think it's been decided that LA is not that racist.. I grew up in Boston and racism was much more overt there..

I know LA is not racist, but Calabasas isn't a part of LA. I thought it was technically the suburbs. Also, Will Smith is obviously really famous and rich so it's not really realistic to just assume things from a couple celebrities. It would just make us uncomfortable to be in a neighborhood that's overwhelmingly white.

[jamills21]

Originally Posted by newjerseycouple

I know LA is not racist, but Calabasas isn't a part of LA. I thought it was technically the suburbs. Also, Will Smith is obviously really famous and rich so it's not really realistic to just assume things from a couple celebrities. It would just make us uncomfortable to be in a neighborhood that's overwhelmingly white.

That's also where the Kardasians live. they love black people.

I actually think Drake lives there too.

[newjerseycouple]

Originally Posted by nightlysparrow

No, really nobody will look twice. People have pretty much seen every possible type of couples and kids in SoCal. Most of SoCal is ethnically, more than racially, diverse (depending on what one calls a "race") but people are very tolerant.
Calabasas is a neighborhood more than a city. But Las Virgenes USD and adjacent Conejo Valley USD and Oak Park USD are top-notch school systems. Check out those areas as poster Big-Bucks suggested. Your kids could hardly do better. The areas are generally affluent and as long as your kids have the nicer accoutrements kids have, they will be fine at school.

Tolerant is the key word here. In the more suburban, secluded areas of the east coast, all races are "tolerated" but they're still given a nasty side eye and a snarky comment. Minorities often get stared at in majority white east coast areas. I've heard a cashier say, "they don't have these back home, do they?" to a poor old Asian lady at the local grocery store once. My mom used to get verbally taunted by immature college kids too. As long as things like that don't happen in Calabasas, I'll give it a go!

[ryanms3030]

Originally Posted by jamills21

That's also where the Kardasians live. they love black people.

I actually think Drake lives there too.

And Justin Beiber, the Ozzbornes, NJ native Richie Sambora and dozens of other celebs.. It's a pretty affluent area