Do you know anything about Calabasas? (Irvine, Woodland: real estate, rentals, health insurance)

[manjag]

Hi,

We may move to Calabasas (unless you have better suggestions) since hubby got a job in Sherman Oaks. We have two kids ready for Kinde and 2nd grade. We will be renting..looking for something on the "newer" side..can afford up to $5000 a month...

What am I looking for? Excellent public elementary school..how will that commute be? What areas are considered great? Known to be a really nice area? Close to the beach? City? Don't really know anything about Calabasas, Encino, Agoura Hills, Westlake Villabe, Sherman Oaks, etc.??? Whatever info/advice you can give would be really helpful. Thanks in advance..

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

Used to drive through fairly often. Malibu is south of the city. Rents in the area are from $1,500 to $30,000. depending on what you want. The average is in the $5,000 range so you should be OK there. I don't think commute times are bad to Sherman Oaks. Lets face it most have to commute if living there. Unless your one of the few that own a $25,000,000 home in the area, you probably got to work. Schools should be great there as well although I am not an authority on that. I love the area and you may also. Lots of horse properties there and plenty of stars in the area.

[VLWH]

Upscale area and very close to the beach...approx 15-20 min. Close to shopping (Topanga mall is approx 5 miles away) also Calabasas commons (shopping, food, theaters) is located in the city.

I live in Woodland Hills (just east of Calabasas) and work in Sherman Oaks. I leave at 6:30am and it takes approx 20 min to work.

[hsw]

Doubt there are any decent public schools in LA region, ex-a few areas like Irvine....elementary school anywhere is prob lame anyway...teaching kids to color for 6-7yrs can't be that academically useful

Would be most concerned about physical safety of kids....Sec8 and other less-education-oriented kids (often from the various slums along the 101/in the flats, less often from the gated communities up in the hills) tend to be precocious about figuring out which kids to mug/assault....these are issues that even "affluent" public schools like BeverlyHills face, so most LA parents simply view pvt schools as another tax/cost of health insurance of safely raising kids in LA region....

Calabasas tends to be "trailer park-deluxe" culture; lots of newer houses avail for rather inexpensive rentals, but a fairly weak crowd in terms of socio-economics....many who pretend to have a few bucks, but struggle w/reading and counting....

May want to explore Encino's hills....a more educated, professional crowd....many in Encino are low-key, wealthy financiers, etc (who are somewhat literate/numerate) who could easily afford a mansion in BeverlyHills/BelAir/Brentwood, etc, but prefer low-key style of Encino, despite facing the arduous commute over the hill to their office in BevHills/CentCity and enduring the desert-like heat of the Valley and its awful smog...

[Charles]

Originally Posted by hsw

Calabasas tends to be "trailer park-deluxe" culture;

And the Japanese didn't bomb Pearl Harbor either....


Calabasas is one of the most desirable places to live in the San Fernando Valley - eastern Ventura County region. Schools are outstanding. Infrastructure is beyond outstanding. Wide variety of shopping. Well manicured public areas and mostly modern streets, avenues and thoroughfares. Excellent family environment (A single person could find it a little boring especially compared to other parts of Southern California).

You probably won't make it to Sherman Oaks in 20 minutes if your start time is 8 or 9 AM, probably more like 40 minutes.

Check out this tool for getting an idea of school performance:

California School Performance Maps


(images not protected by copyright)







(I've swam nearly 300 miles in this pool.)

[VLWH]

Listen to Charles, he is 100% correct.

[runnergrl]

You also asked about Agoura Hills and WLV.... I live in Oak Park just north of Agoura Hills on Kanan Rd. We have 3rd graders and moved here from back east almost 3 yrs ago because of OP schools. So far so good....my kids attend Brookside elementary and the experience has been good and positive. Very strong teachers, and strong community support.

If I had to choose again, ...I wouldnt move into OP because it is such a small area...around 2000 people and it gets to feeling like you are in a bubble. Agoura Hills has a large jewish population (about 60percent) and nearby orthodox temples too (one in OP too). If you're jewish...it's good. If you are Christian...well...they do have a huge catholic church up Kanan...St Max...but if faith is not a concern, then it shouldnt bother you. For me....it is a big concern....but unfortunately....I didnt take it into consideration when we chose to live here. I would to like to have more of a Christian presence around...so that is the main reason I wouldve chosen maybe TO or WLV...there are more protestant type churches there.

Now...you can live in calabasas, Agoura Hills or even WLV...and drive your kids into OP, because they will take out of district transfers if they have the room....and about 25% of our students are transfers. So far it hasnt hindered the quality of education.

WLV is nice and it seems to attract alot of people. There is more going on there and the real estate seems to hold its value over the others areas.

Native Californians love these areas....so the things that might bother me, you may not even consider...the faith was a big thing for me. But most people here, it doesnt matter.

I hear from the people around here that Calabasas can be alittle snooty and maybe the schools arent as up to par. Maybe alot of kids in Calabasas go to private schools....it is what I heard and dont know from my own experience. Their Swim tennis club is nice as Charles showed in the pics. But you dont have to live there to enjoy that either.

[laysayfair]

Originally Posted by Charles

And the Japanese didn't bomb Pearl Harbor either....


Calabasas is one of the most desirable places to live in the San Fernando Valley - eastern Ventura County region. Schools are outstanding. Infrastructure is beyond outstanding. Wide variety of shopping. Well manicured public areas and mostly modern streets, avenues and thoroughfares. Excellent family environment (A single person could find it a little boring especially compared to other parts of Southern California).

You probably won't make it to Sherman Oaks in 20 minutes if your start time is 8 or 9 AM, probably more like 40 minutes.

Check out this tool for getting an idea of school performance:

California School Performance Maps


(images not protected by copyright)







(I've swam nearly 300 miles in this pool.)

Charles is right. Calabasas dosen't have anything "trailer" about it. It's very high-end.

[EGR 818]

Calabasas schools are not LAUSD they are LVUSD which is a very nice school district, if you can afford to live in calabasas i would recommend it.

[LABud]

I've lived in Calabasas for years and it's truly an outstanding place to raise a family. Stroll around the area for a day and you'll know whether it's your cup of tea. It has everything from very rural to upscale L.A. suburbs. Citydata is an excellent place for the stats and you should check out <a href="http://calabasas365.com">Calabasas365</a>, which is the only regular news source in the region.

Enjoy!