Information on Northern Los Angeles County (Thousand Oaks, Woodland: brokers, homes, school district)

[Nysee53]

Is the area around Texhoma Avenue and Ventura Blvd in Encino nice? I am looking at a fixer-upper just south of Ventura on Texhoma and the area looks relatively nice and clean. Does it happen to be family friendly and safe? I read that Sherman Oaks and Encino are around an iffy area, what might that area be for furture reference?

[hsw]

Originally Posted by Nysee53

I thought that the San Fernando Valley was supposed to have cleaner air than the Los Angeles basin. I don't like extreme heat I like the temperature to stay in the mid 70's to mid 80's. I have looked at Calabasas and it seems to be a very nice area. Where is the shopping in Encino, Sherman Oaks, and Calabasas?

I have also been recommended Toluca Lake. Is Toluca Lake separate from Los Angeles or is it still a city neighborhood with poor school quality? I found some nice homes around that area and from what I have read it seems to be rather upscale.

What is the difference between Beverly Hills Post Office and Beverly Hills? I noticed that you get more for your money in Beverly Hills Post Office, and that would be more what we want.

My husband likes the Pacific Palisades because of the location near the Pacific Ocean. He thinks we should look into Santa Monica, but doesn't Santa Monica have serious traffic and crime issues?

Do people raise children in Los Feliz or Hollywood Hills? I am asking because we were told that it was not family friendly but in Chicago many families raise kids in the city, but of course we have good urban schools, unlike Los Angeles.

What is the difference between La Canada Flintridge and La Crescenta? How far is San Marino from West Hills?

LA (and CA generally) is land of micro-climates.....inland LA and Valleys become rather desert-like quickly....e.g., on a day when Brentwood is 75F, Calabasas/Encino, etc can be 100F....SFV is often in high 90s in Summer....

Air quality notably worsens as one moves inland/into any Valleys; best air is W of 405 in Palisades/Brentwood; BevHills air is tolerable (LA air is much, much cleaner than it was even 15yrs ago)....and Valleys tend to have worst air, as the mtns trap the smog as it slowly moves Eastward twd San Marino/LCF, etc....

SFV's upscale areas are often chosen b/c they are much cheaper than desirable Westside areas; education levels/priorities in areas like Calabasas tend to dismal...Encino (in the hills) has a few more educ-oriented professional families than anywhere else in SFV....

Areas like HollywoodHills, etc tend to be for singles/entertainment industry/wkend rental houses for SiliconValley guys, etc....

BHPO (area N of City of BH in the canyons up to Mulholland) is much less desirable/cheaper than City of BH....City of BH just N of Sunset (nr BH Hotel) is most desirable part of BH....full BH police protection, city svcs, etc....BH schools are solid public schools (as LA goes)...City of BH is perhaps closest version LA region (or CA) has to a "Leave It to Beaver" suburb like LF/Winnetka....many police officers know the residents by name, etc etc...arguably the best-run, safest, most civilized (LA's best casual&fine dining is in/within 10 mins of BH), most capitalist suburb in the world....(many rather affluent people from SF/SiliconValley who are fed-up w/irritating socialism&related QOL issues in SF/SV region have wkend homes in BH)

SM is LA's version of socialist SF....all kinds of annoying issues w/homeless, taxes, crime, inept police, etc...

[katenik]

Originally Posted by Nysee53

It is funny you say that about Chicago, because most wouldn't let their kids take the train or walk unless they live in like the Gold Coast or Lincoln Park.

Is there a way I can get someone to answer my questions from the posts above?

ungrateful, much? not everyone has a dissertation to offer you; we answer what we can.

[BRinSM]

Regarding Beverly Hills and Beverly Hills Post Office, Beverly Hills is its own incorporated city surrounded almost completely by the city of LA. Beverly Hills Post Office is a neighborhood within the city of LA that shares a zipcode/post office with the actualy city of Beverly Hills, which is probably why you get more for your dollar there (you'll have to do deal with LA city services rather than those of BH).

Regarding Santa Monica, from my experiences, crime is pretty limited here. There are plenty of homeless people wandering the streets and parks and there were a couple of murders earlier this year, but I would say that SM is atleast as safe, if not safer, than any comparable neighborhood anywhere else in the country. As far as traffic, it is only bad if you don't live in SM but work there. SM is not a very big city geographically, but there are a lot of jobs here, so thousands of people are forced to commute into SM everyday. For me, working in LA and living in SM, I experience almost no traffic, but can see how bad it is everyday going the opposite direction. However, commuting to West Hills would be a decent trek, one that I would not be interested in doing, but that is just me.

[Nysee53]

Thanks for the input. I think the Pacific Palisades/Brentwood may be the way to go, because it sounds like it gets really hot in Encino. We think La Canada might be a little too far based on the traffic levels, you guys say there is in Los Angeles. We can afford Beverly Hills and we found some very nice property there, and a community that is similar to Winnetka would be interesting as we live in Glencoe. My real estate agent has recommended Westwood and Hancock Park again. I wanted to be somewhere more tranquil than Hancock Park, but apparently it is fairly nice. Is upper Bel Air considered to be nice and upscale?

[BRinSM]

Originally Posted by Nysee53

Is upper Bel Air considered to be nice and upscale?

I would say that lavish and rich would be better adjectives to describe Bel-Air, it is probably the most expensive area to live in all of LA.

[Nysee53]

I think I may look more into upper Bel Air. I thought that upper Bel Air was not considered to be as nice as other areas in Los Angeles.

[Nysee53]

So, I have been talking to my realtor and he has been very informative. We are actually using a "celebrity agent". We are looking at fixer-uppers, because I have a background in home renovations and home building. I found a lot of property in Hancock Park, which he feels is a great area and a stable investment given it's location in the middle of everything. He previewed several homes for me yesterday and one was on the corner of Beverly Blvd and Lucerne Avenue, which he felt would hurt resale a lot. It is a "mini-estate", it is fully gated and has several entrances apparently. In the end I agreed with him, because we live on a major street in Chicago, but we have lakefront property and set-back far from the street. He looked at two other homes, both on Highland Avenue in Hancock Park. He said they both had a lot of potential, but Highland Avenue again is a very busy street. When I was in Los Angeles, I drove on Highland Avenue and I thought the houses there were very nice, but it was busy. Then he looked at two properties for me in Los Feliz. One was on Franklin Avenue, and didn't need a lot of work and had a lot of square footage and character. Is Franklin Avenue a nice street? How is that area of Los Feliz, its not in the hills? The other home in Los Feliz he looked at was on Woking Way and he said that it is a great location in the Los Feliz Hills area, but it is owned by an agent and it all depends on her motivation, but it could be a great deal. He also talked to me about a home on Stradella in Bel-Air and he said it might need work to the point where we should by a new construction or rehabbed home on Stradella instead. He also said that the Pacific Palisades was not a great place to find a bargain right now, and the home I had picked out was no good. He recommended two homes in Studio City. He told me that it is a great area, especially south of Ventura, but he did warn me that a big negative of the San Fernando Valley and Studio City is that they get very VERY warm in the Summer months, which I can have here in Chicago if I want. He lives in Westwood and he is going to try to find something nice in that area. He already recommended a home on Warner Avenue. How is that street?

[nanannie]

Originally Posted by Nysee53

It is funny you say that about Chicago, because most wouldn't let their kids take the train or walk unless they live in like the Gold Coast or Lincoln Park.

Absolute BOLOGNEY

[majoun]

Originally Posted by Nysee53

My husband likes the Pacific Palisades because of the location near the Pacific Ocean. He thinks we should look into Santa Monica, but doesn't Santa Monica have serious traffic and crime issues?

Serious traffic issues, yes. Serious crime issues, no. Violent crime in SM is pretty low (there were two killings earlier this year, but related to domestic violence) albeit higher than Beverly Hills and Culver City. Plenty of auto burglary but that's true in the Palisades and Brentwood as well - this is a problem virtually everywhere in L.A. County as it is a problem worldwide. (I've had cars broken into in gated communities in Ventura County, so this is a ubiquitous problem). The homeless problems do contribute to the high rate of auto break ins. Note that SM's homeless problems do spill into the neighboring areas of the West Side including the Palisades.