City vs. Suburbs and School Info (Los Angeles, Pasadena: hotel, homes, safe neighborhood)

[RPV2NC]

Originally Posted by Nysee53

My top concerns are safety, extracurriculars, test scores, college placement, and class size. I would like to send my child to a school with no safety issues, like we have now. I want a school with great extracurriculars like a CAD program and academic programs like Introduction to Business or Business education. Right now I am looking for class sizes of hopefully around 18-20 but under 25 is a requirement. I am pretty confident in both La Canada High School and San Marino High School, based on what I have read and heard from locals. Do La Canada and San Marino offer a CAD program, business education, and a La Crosse team? Those are some things that we require.

I I am going to look at Brentwood, because it seems to be similar to Hancock Park.

Have you ruled out private school? Brentwood is very accessible to great private schools, but only west Brentwood would feed into Palisades High School, which is one of the better schools. Do you have sons, daughters, or both?

[katenik]

Originally Posted by Nysee53

I have been looking at schooling options and I came across Hollywood High School, which I believe is a magnet school. I think if we lived in Los Feliz or the Hollywood Hills, correct me if I am wrong, we could get into the school because we are in the Los Angeles school district. I looked at the greatschools.net profile, which are really helpful, and I was not too impressed by the rank of 4/10. I know some people say that the rankings are affected by demographics and other factors, so I read some of the reviews, which most seem to be fairly possitive of the school, but then there are some that say that the school is not safe and offers little. My top concerns are safety, extracurriculars, test scores, college placement, and class size. I would like to send my child to a school with no safety issues, like we have now. I want a school with great extracurriculars like a CAD program and academic programs like Introduction to Business or Business education. Right now I am looking for class sizes of hopefully around 18-20 but under 25 is a requirement. I am pretty confident in both La Canada High School and San Marino High School, based on what I have read and heard from locals. Do La Canada and San Marino offer a CAD program, business education, and a La Crosse team? Those are some things that we require.

I looked at Bel-Air and Holmby Hills for housing and most of the stuff in our price range looks like stuff from the 1980's or 1990's, but in the Hollywood Hills, Los Feliz, and La Canada Flintridge we can get either brand-new or gut-rehabbed. I did a search on the forum for Encino and came up with interesting things like there has been a lot of development and it is very glitzy, glitzier than neighbor Sherman Oaks, is what I heard most often. I am going to look at Brentwood, because it seems to be similar to Hancock Park.

stay far, far away from hollywood high. i don't know if it has a magnet program, but it doesn't matter, because LAUSD magnets are, for the most part, a joke. (ditto, pasadena.) most are on the same campus as the comprehensive high school, and there is no separation of students, except in certain classes. you've given the impression that you can afford the best education available for your children, so there's no reason you should even consider public magnet schools. put it this way: most parents who send their kids to magnet schools, do so to get them out of dangerous neighborhood schools, not because they'll receive a superior education.

[Nysee53]

Thanks for the information on Hollywood High School. I will stay far away from it. I still have a lot more time and a lot more research to do. I found some nice houses in Sherman Oak/Encino, but what are the public or private schools in that area? I will definitely look at Thousand Oaks and all of that. I took a look at Brentwood and found some nice stuff around there that I will show my family.

My husband and I really like Los Feliz and the Hollywood Hills, so what would all of our private school options be? Is that area safe for children? I have heard from some that it isn't a great area to live in because there is a lot of traffic and no peace because of the paparazzi and movie shoots.

I have a fourteen year old son, who if we move in 2009 or 2010 will be going into 10th grade.

[missionhome]

Sherman Oaks attends either Van Nuys High School which is a 4/10 in API or Grant High School which is a 2/10 in API. Both of those scores are horrible and basically most of the students have learned nothing. You must go with private school in Sherman Oaks.

Enicno attends either Birmingham High School which is a 3/10 or Reseda High School which is a 3/10 in API. Again, very bad scores. These schools are in LAUSD which in general has horrible schools. Encino would be a private school also.

Try privateschoolreview.com to search private schools in the area. I'm not familiar with them. I have heard Oaks Chiristian is very good in Thousand Oaks.

[Nysee53]

Thanks for that information on Encino/Sherman Oaks. Do homes in La Canada Flintridge have good views? It seems to me that places that are further west and closer to the city have better views. Also, is air quality a concern in La Canada Flintridge?

My husband yesterday said that he did not want to move to California and then get hit in the head with a brick and die in an earthquake. Where I am living now in the midwest we also have earthquakes frequently, but not like you guys do in SoCal.

[missionhome]

Originally Posted by Nysee53

Thanks for that information on Encino/Sherman Oaks. Do homes in La Canada Flintridge have good views? It seems to me that places that are further west and closer to the city have better views. Also, is air quality a concern in La Canada Flintridge?

My husband yesterday said that he did not want to move to California and then get hit in the head with a brick and die in an earthquake. Where I am living now in the midwest we also have earthquakes frequently, but not like you guys do in SoCal.

La Canada Flintridge mainly looks in on itself, but I think some homes at the top of the ridge may have views. The ridge keeps most homes looking down into La Canada though and not with the huge view of the LA basin.


Earthquakes are a concern and I'm sure our recent one wasn't reassuring for you. If you buy a newer home, you will get the best construction to last through an earthquake. Stuff like brick will fall down in a big earthquake so that is something to consider. Also, I have never cared for homes built on stilts or hanging over cliffs due to earthquakes. You may see this in hilly areas like the Hollywood Hills. Earthquakes are something you just learn to deal with, but when a really Big One happens, I'm sure we will all be surprised.

[Nysee53]

I noticed some homes built into the hills in the Hollywood Hills. So your saying that new homes are the best for withstanding an earthquake? Are remodeled homes retrofitted and is it best to buy something closer to the bottom of a hill or closer to the top?

[missionhome]

Originally Posted by Nysee53

I noticed some homes built into the hills in the Hollywood Hills. So your saying that new homes are the best for withstanding an earthquake? Are remodeled homes retrofitted and is it best to buy something closer to the bottom of a hill or closer to the top?

New homes are most certainly the best. More rules and regulations were put in place for newer homes, especially after the 1994 Northridge earthquake. With hill homes, nothing necessarily is better. The bottom or tops of the hills are dangerous. At the top, you can slide down, while at the bottom the top homes can slide into you.
Homes that have a fairly level lot in hills can do ok. For example, a home can be set among the hills, but if the home has a solid flat foundation and doesn't have a sharp drop off nearby, then I wouldn't be concerned.

Here is a sample photo:


The homes on the right side on the large road are built into the slope of the hill, which is especially steep. As you can imagine, in a megaquake, these homes are more likely to slide down off the hill and into the road. Then, look at the left side. Some of those homes are also built on the hill, but across the street from those are some homes with flat lots and foundations. These homes are still among the hills, but have a better foundation than the homes built right up on the edge of slopes. I don't want to scare you. Most people are fine in earthquakes.

Only a few homes in the hills actually slid down in the Northridge quake. Newer homes in the hills are built especially well to last through an earthquake and can be just as structurally sound.

[laysayfair]

Originally Posted by RPV2NC

I second Palos Verdes if you get the Harbor City position. Chadwick is well-regarded, but the public schools are also top notch. IMO Palos Verdes is the best place to live in Los Angeles. Hancock Park, while nice, is in the City of Los Angeles. Anything dealing with the City of Los Angeles is a nightmare. La Canada is also lovely and has amazing schools. I'd be concerned about air quality that far east. Also, I don't know how far it is from West Hills. If you do get the West Hills job, then I would definitely consider La Canada/San Marino.

If it's West Hills then maybe you could try "Oaks Christian" school in Thousand Oaks. Will Smith and Wayne Gretzsky have kids there.

[katenik]

Originally Posted by Nysee53

Thanks for that information on Encino/Sherman Oaks. Do homes in La Canada Flintridge have good views? It seems to me that places that are further west and closer to the city have better views. Also, is air quality a concern in La Canada Flintridge?

My husband yesterday said that he did not want to move to California and then get hit in the head with a brick and die in an earthquake. Where I am living now in the midwest we also have earthquakes frequently, but not like you guys do in SoCal.

this (formerly) hillside home in studio city survived the 1994 northridge earthquake, the epicenter of which was about ten miles away. it collapsed after freakish torrential rains in 2004/05, which was the second wettest season in LA since they started keeping records in the 19th century. prior to that winter, we had been in a drought for nearly a decade (the year before was the driest ever recorded!), and we've been in a drought ever since.

tell your husband that the thing that gets you isn't always the one you expect. you have to live somewhere.