Sherman Oaks... living and working. (Los Angeles, Orange: apartments, rentals, condo)

[LA Curious]

Hello there

My husband and I are looking at a possible move to LA. He would be based in Sherman Oaks for his job.

How is Sherman Oaks for living in? Our needs are fairly simple... halfway decent store for supplies and pubs/restaurants/cinema. No kids so no worries about schools or such. Would we still need a car in Sherman Oaks as that seems to be the main point most folks are making?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[dusesean1986]

Sherman Oaks is a great location to live in. The cities in the surrounding area are very nice as well, Encino, Tarzana, and Studio City are all great locations. The area is one of the best in the San Fernando Valley. I'm not sure where your coming from. Go to weather.com and check the average temperatures for these cities, not to mention the heat is dry and not humid. It's currently 56 degrees in Sherman Oaks. The area can be a little pricey depending on what your looking for, but extremely nice. Don't forget to look into Brentwood if you have the money, it's about five miles away, on the other side of the Sepulveda Pass.

[LA Curious]

Hi dusesean

We are a couple, one English the other Scottish, who have spent the last six years in Vancouver, Canada.

I found your post encouraging . Been doing a lot of research and it is clear people either totally LOVE LA or entirely loathe it. We are *hoping* we have the money but we don't really know what his salary will be.... that **** is hard to work out.... it would seem he is in a very good position tho. It is unlikely I will be working due to visa restrictions but I need to confirm this. I have looked at the property available for rent in those areas you mention and they seem to have a range we would be comfortable in. Kinda irrelevant in a way because the neighbourhood amenities and ease of hisnibs commute are more important. Loft/urban/edge of suburbia... them dreamy little houses with fruit trees in the garden really appeal all are feasible to our lifestyle. The recommendation to have a car kinda bothers me... selfish reasons, he doesn't drive yet and I would have to be commuting him which might mean up to 4 hrs in traffic a day depending on the place we choose to live. nah that would SUCK. So it cheers me you say these neighbourhoods would be good. I will research to see how effective public transport is, but I hear bad stuff :P

The weather seems nice to me but I imagine AC is a big bonus. Less rainy days would be nice too. Rain is what makes Vancouver very beautiful and lush and green but it takes a LOT if it

thanks for your reply

[dusesean1986]

Well I'm very glad I was a positive source for your folks. If he works in Sherman Oaks and you can stay in the area, your commute time will be 25 minutes max., of which will be great for you! The weather is exceptional, we unfortunately don't receive much rain, but have no extremes all year long. Hope the best for both of you!!! You won't need AC too much, only two months out of the year. Sherman Oaks has drasticly cooler weather, then the others I had mentioned, except Brentwood. If it is warmer, you'll probably only need AC three months of the year!!

[SandyCo]

Sherman Oaks is still a pretty good area. Just make sure you find a good place to live. South of Ventura Blvd. is usually better than north of it. Are you going to be renting or buying? If you rent initially, please check out the apartments carefully. Many landlords here are only in it for the money; this is especially true of the bigger apartments run by management companies. If you think you might rent for a long time and aren't rich, try to find a rent controlled building (a multi-family unit built before 1978).

There are lots of things to do here, and everything is only a short drive away (half an hour to an hour usually). And if you ever want to explore Hollywood or downtown L.A., you could take the Orange Line (busway) to the Red Line (subway), which will take you there. An MTA pass is only $3 per day. To get around, though, yes you'll need a car.

As for the weather, the Valley can get hot in the summer, but usually sustained temps are in the 90s in July, August, and September, with the exception of an occasional heat wave of over 100 for a few days.

Best of luck; if you have any questions, please ask.

[puffle]

Originally Posted by LA Curious

Hello there

My husband and I are looking at a possible move to LA. He would be based in Sherman Oaks for his job.

How is Sherman Oaks for living in? Our needs are fairly simple... halfway decent store for supplies and pubs/restaurants/cinema. No kids so no worries about schools or such. Would we still need a car in Sherman Oaks as that seems to be the main point most folks are making?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

If you live close to Ventura Blvd. between Sepulveda and Woodman, there are plenty of places to walk to for your groceries, dry cleaning, restaurants, shops, etc. There are a multitude of apartment rentals in Sherman Oaks, mainly just north of Ventura Blvd between Sepulveda and Willis and south of Ventura on Dickens St. and Greenleaf which are all walking distance to anything you need. I grew up here and it is a thriving area. The best part is I barely used a car when I lived off Ventura and we only had one car which was perfect!

[Charles]

Van Nuys neighborhood is now a part of Sherman Oaks - Los Angeles Times

[JohnG72]

Originally Posted by LA Curious

Hello there

My husband and I are looking at a possible move to LA. He would be based in Sherman Oaks for his job.

How is Sherman Oaks for living in? Our needs are fairly simple... halfway decent store for supplies and pubs/restaurants/cinema. No kids so no worries about schools or such. Would we still need a car in Sherman Oaks as that seems to be the main point most folks are making?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Sherman oaks is a very nice big city area. It doesn't really matter where you live in that city, though the areas closer to Sepulveda/Burbank are probably subject to a bit more transient and property crime.

Yes you need a car. Anywhere in Los Angeles you need a car. God living in LA would be awful without a car. I guess if your happy in your own little few block neighborhood you don't need a car....but you need a car.

I guess if I couldn't afford a car, I would be concerned about rental cost. The cheapest studio I could find in Sherman Oaks is $850 a month and its crummy and on Sepulveda Bl and I wouldn't want to live there. If you are ok with paying $1100-1200 and up for a one bedroom, there are plenty of options and as others said, do not rent without checking out the place first.

[LaoTzuMindFu]

Originally Posted by puffle

If you live close to Ventura Blvd. between Sepulveda and Woodman, there are plenty of places to walk to for your groceries, dry cleaning, restaurants, shops, etc. There are a multitude of apartment rentals in Sherman Oaks, mainly just north of Ventura Blvd between Sepulveda and Willis and south of Ventura on Dickens St. and Greenleaf which are all walking distance to anything you need. I grew up here and it is a thriving area. The best part is I barely used a car when I lived off Ventura and we only had one car which was perfect!

Puffle is right. You really do not need a car if you live in Sherman Oaks because everything you really would want IS in walking distance. You'll only need a car to get back and forth to work. I own a condo on Dickens and used to own another Sherman Oaks condo that I sold, and the great thing about the neighborhood is that EVERYTHING IS in walking distance. When my in-laws move here from Russia we are going to set them up in our condo there. They can walk to whatever they want.

Movies, restaurants, lots of eateries, bookstores, trendy shops, drugstore, Whole Foods, several Starbucks', Jinkys, lots of diverse people all who are very very nice. Lots of Persian Jews and Russians moving in and also lots of pretty much every other type of people you can imagine. One of the great diverse areas of LA.

[susas1]

I am lesbian with blue hair. Do they accept my kind there? I have no money for rent, but will do much sex for rental. I from Ukraine, and want man with money to support me. Should i look for Sherman Oak, or else place in los angelz?