Finally ready to move! (Glendale, Pasadena: apartment, safe area, camping)

[ZenMaster2008]

I want to live in a perfectly safe area with ZERO crime, on the beach and I can afford $500/month....just kidding (see that here quite often)

I currently live in the San Gabriel Valley. I work in Irwindale and live not too far away. My neighborhood isn't all that great. I moved to this town when I first arrived to be close to work. It is noisy here as I live along a major road. It is also extremely hot and my building is so old AC is very tricky to do. I am FINALLY ready to move. I need your help finding my ideal LA metro area to live in.

Here's what I am looking for:
- I want a quiet place that is safer than where I am now. No more living in front of a stoplight haha
- I want to live in an area that the commute to my work isn't going to drive me crazy
- I want an area where I can go for a walk at night with my girlfriend and not worry about being confronted (people just start random crap in my area now)

These things are the most important but we also like hiking, the beach, camping, etc....I know the beach areas are probably out of the question due to my work being in the SGV. I just wish I didn't have to live in the SGV and I could go closer to the coast but I don't know if it's possible. So based on what I have told you, what are some great areas of metro LA that we might find a nice apartment in? Oh yeah our budget is around $1,500/month for a 1br and we'd consider a studio if everything else was perfect. We might also be able to afford a bit more if absolutely necessary.

Help me out long time LA residents and thanks in advance!

[timelesschild]

I wouldn't go further west than Pasadena, given that you are going to continue to work in Irwindale. You can have a great life in Pasadena, and it isn't as hot as the further-east parts of SGV.

[happ]

Thats what I would also recommend is around Pasadena\ Eagle Rock or Glendale. Your commute should be easy since you would be traveling east on the 210. It really isn't any cooler than the rest of the San Gabriel valley but near some great hiking & the beach is a little closer [also Hollywood\downtown LA]. Rents are reasonable & streets are quiet\ tree-lined.

[ZenMaster2008]

Thanks for the advice. Those are areas we are definitely considering. Not so much in the main part of Pasadena but in the foothill areas.