Moving to Reseda, CA (Woodland, Moorpark: houses, condos, rental)

[ammas]

Hi, I have been renting in Woodland Hills for the last 3 years. The rental prices as well as home prices are too high for me to afford. Since I work in Woodland Hills, I wanted to buy a house somewhere closer in the valley. After much research, I decided to buy a house in Reseda. I read a lot in this forum that Reseda is not the safest to live. Is it very bad? The house that I am buying is in a gated community. I have 2 young kids. Any information will be appreciated.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by ammas

After much research, I decided to buy a house in Reseda.




I read a lot in this forum that Reseda is not the safest to live. Is it very bad? The house that I am buying is in a gated community. I have 2 young kids. Any information will be appreciated.

You wrote "After much research, I decided to buy a house in Reseda."

and you also wrote " read a lot in this forum that Reseda is not the safest to live. Is it very bad?"

It almost reads that you haven't performed a lot of research.

Your questions are relative. When you drove around Reseda, how did it feel to you? What vibe did you get? Where you comfortable with the people on the street (the people your kids will encounter for the next several years)? What are the kids like in your new neighborhood?

What other places did you check out? Did you check out anything in the Conejo Valley? Simi? Moorpark? West Hills? Chatsworth?

What schools are your kids going to attend? Are you happy with them?

Is someone responsible with the kids after school?

Reseda has changed a lot since I used to visit the Reseda Theater on Sherman Way and Reseda and bought boxes of Milk Duds at Sav-On there for seven cents. (You can see both in the 1963 photo below.)

[ammas]

Thanks for the reply. Nice picture.
My kids go to a great school in West Hills and they are in a program where they can go to the same west hills school and live anywhere within the LAUSD. They don't have to attend their home school. Conejo, simi, moorpark are too far for me.
As for driving around, I drove around Tampa avenue and the cross streets (several times) and actually liked it. Didn't see many people on the streets, both during the day as well as at night. Friends, who have been living in the valley advised me to stay off east of 405 and that any place west of 405 is fine. Is that so?

[VLWH]

Not true about the 405. It depends on what are you move into. Some parts of Reseda (west of the 405 are not good). How far north (cross street) to Tampa are you looking at?

Originally Posted by ammas

Thanks for the reply. Nice picture.
My kids go to a great school in West Hills and they are in a program where they can go to the same west hills school and live anywhere within the LAUSD. They don't have to attend their home school. Conejo, simi, moorpark are too far for me.
As for driving around, I drove around Tampa avenue and the cross streets (several times) and actually liked it. Didn't see many people on the streets, both during the day as well as at night. Friends, who have been living in the valley advised me to stay off east of 405 and that any place west of 405 is fine. Is that so?

[jerblaine]

I have lived in Reseda for 1.5 years. The grocery store is the only place where whites work. Everywhere else is employed by latins and other cultures. The grocery store customers are more mixed but dominated by latin.

There are alot of gangs that do the grafitti on the corners at night....and they will take stuff from your car if you leave it unlocked......and one time they took my blinker light....that was because i parked on the other side of the street.

Tampa has some nice condos that have just been built. Some just south of Roscoe and some further south on Tampa.

Reseda is the most affordable part of the valley because it is the flattest I think.

The house lots are big where I am at. Actually the biggest in the valley. Look at Tampa and Saticoy area. In the neighborhoods to the northeast of that intersection. There you will be some of the biggest lots in the entire SFV. They even have horses!! Horseriders ride by my place alot.

The houses on Ingomar/Vanalden and in that neighborhood are huge. Id say they would be million dollar lots anywhere else.....but in Reseda maybe 800K.......I know the lot im on was estimated at 550K but now the landlord has done more remodeling and it is really nice so i imagine it is pushing 1 million.



Reseda is a nice place to live I think......if you dont mind gangs which dont do alot of harm except maybe steal every once in a while and grafitti the walls. There arent drive bys like in south central lol The cops keep it pretty tame around here I think.

[Fleet]

Originally Posted by Charles

Reseda has changed a lot since I used to visit the Reseda Theater on Sherman Way and Reseda and bought boxes of Milk Duds at Sav-On there for seven cents. (You can see both in the 1963 photo below.)

I sure wish Reseda looked like that now!

I, too, used to go to that theatre. With my brothers. My mom would drop us off and return in a few hours. I certainly remember that.

[jerblaine]

Originally Posted by Fleet

I sure wish Reseda looked like that now!

I, too, used to go to that theatre. With my brothers. My mom would drop us off and return in a few hours. I certainly remember that.

yeah when i drive around now I can tell that it used to be nice in the 50' and 60s :-)) The theater is shut down now I think. Is this photo on Sherman Way and Reseda? I am sure I have seen that Reseda Theater marquee.....but it is all old now :-((

[Charles]

Was it the Reseda Theater that turned into the Country Club? We used to go see punk bands and a Doors tribute band there back in the 1980s. I think I saw Chuck Mangione there too. U2 played there once.

[ammas]

Thank you all.
I think the 'Tampa Avenue' part of Reseda does not look like a bad area. At least that's what I feel after driving around there at night. There seems to be a lot of new construction going on, especially gated communities. I believe Tampa Ave, north of Roscoe would be Northridge, correct? I am looking to buy south of Roscoe, which is Reseda.

[jerblaine]

Well the Reseda theater is boarded up now. I just checked tonight. It could have been a concert hall in the 80s but now it is definitely boarded up to the max :-(

I hate to see historical sites out of use like that.

Tampa south of Roscoe is Reseda. I dont think Reseda goes too far north of Roscoe. Maybe a little bit but not much. Maybe to Parthenia?

Yeah theres alot of construction going on around Tampa. Theyre condos I think. They usually have signs that say from the 500s or from the 800s.