Bell Canyon vs Calabasas? (Los Angeles, Westlake Village: for sale, real estate, houses)

[shabbygrl]

Does anyone know anything about living in Bell Canyon=lifestyle, desirability since it does share the same zip as west hills, the pain of getting to the freeway, communoty life, etc... versus Calabasas? Demographics and life in general and pros and cons would be helpful.Thanks so much!

[LaoTzuMindFu]

I dont think I've ever heard of Bell Canyon. If it shares a West Hills zip then its only minutes away from Calabasas.

[laysayfair]

Originally Posted by shabbygrl

Does anyone know anything about living in Bell Canyon=lifestyle, desirability since it does share the same zip as west hills, the pain of getting to the freeway, communoty life, etc... versus Calabasas? Demographics and life in general and pros and cons would be helpful.Thanks so much!

Bell Canyon has lots of mansions and expensive houses on large lots. It's gated so I've never been through there. It's strange because it's in Ventura County but can only be entered in Los Angeles county. They say it's a hard place for the firetrucks to fight wildfires and quite a few homes have been burned to the ground during fires. That's all I know.

[Charles]

Bell Canyon is about five or six miles north of the 101 down Valley Circle, just northwest of Castle Peak (or El Escorpion for those long time Valley dudes). Ultra expensive, exclusive gated community. Kids there go to Las Virgenes schools believe it or not.

In terms of commuting, it would add an extra 15-20 minutes heading east on the 101 compared to Calabasas as a Bell Canyonite would need to take Valley Circle south (past El Camino High School traffic) to get to the 101.

I don't know of any shopping in that community; maybe there is a convenience store or something; otherwise the nearest anything is Valley Circle and Platt Ranch.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_Canyon,_California

http://www.bellcanyon.com/

[streetscenes]

Bell Canyon is a guard gated community off of Valley Circle. There are a couple of other ways out but they are mainly for emergencies, main entrance/exit is past the guard booth on Bell Canyon Road. It is kind of pain to get in and out of the area, the main entrance probably gets backed up in the morning and evening. The big attraction is the gated community and horse facilites. Lots of the homes have corals, barns, etc and there are trails throughout the area. There are lots of newer, bigger and very expensive homes but some of the original 70s built homes still remain and they are more "affordable". There are no stores or even schools in the community. It's one of those semi-rural areas where the people that live there, when they get home they usually stay home. You just don't run down to the market to pick up a gallon of milk.

[puffle]

Bell Canyon is a private community with very expensive real estate, ranches, great views to watch fires by. Michael Jackson lived there before buying Neverland Ranch back in the 80's.
Calabasas is loaded with snotty adults and their kids with cookie cutter homes labeled plan 1, plan 2,etc. There are plenty of gated communities there as well and very little yard space for the newer McMansions. The high school is loaded with druggies as well as the middle school. It is EXTREMELY hot in the summer. Probably the hottest place in Los Angeles and it is very congested with all the building they have done through the years. It use to be a very charming town about 20 years ago with a lovely old town which now has been overtaken by bikers, snotty rich kids and singles trolling for the opposite sex. I would go for Bell Canyone before Calabasas any day...oh, and you can ride horses in Bell Canyon as well.
A much nicer choice in my opinion is Hidden Valley in Ventura County between Westlake Village and Newbury Park in the canyons. Ranches, farms, mansions, homes, and much greener and cooler.
There is also Hidden Hills which is right next to Calabasas and the 101 in a gated community.

[laysayfair]

Originally Posted by puffle

Bell Canyon is a private community with very expensive real estate, ranches, great views to watch fires by. Michael Jackson lived there before buying Neverland Ranch back in the 80's.
Calabasas is loaded with snotty adults and their kids with cookie cutter homes labeled plan 1, plan 2,etc. There are plenty of gated communities there as well and very little yard space for the newer McMansions. The high school is loaded with druggies as well as the middle school. It is EXTREMELY hot in the summer. Probably the hottest place in Los Angeles and it is very congested with all the building they have done through the years. It use to be a very charming town about 20 years ago with a lovely old town which now has been overtaken by bikers, snotty rich kids and singles trolling for the opposite sex. I would go for Bell Canyone before Calabasas any day...oh, and you can ride horses in Bell Canyon as well.
A much nicer choice in my opinion is Hidden Valley in Ventura County between Westlake Village and Newbury Park in the canyons. Ranches, farms, mansions, homes, and much greener and cooler.
There is also Hidden Hills which is right next to Calabasas and the 101 in a gated community.

Hidden Valley is beautiful but it's far too expensive for most people.

[puffle]

Don't you think there are similarly prices homes in Bell Canyon, Calabasas and Hidden Valley?

[laysayfair]

Originally Posted by puffle

Don't you think there are similarly prices homes in Bell Canyon, Calabasas and Hidden Valley?

There are so few houses in Hidden Valley. It's a small area and it's all ranches and horses and cows. Murdoch of the Dole Pineapple empire lives there, Tom Selleck has an avacado ranch, Jamie Foxx just bought a compound on a hill and Sophia Loren had a a ranch there for years. Lake Sherwood country club is there but they don't have any houses under 2-3 million. I've never seen anything that was for sale there that didn't start in the multi-million dollar range (6, 12, 21 million) . Down in Newbury Park there is a housing development with nice houses call Dos Vientos but there is no development that I ever heard of in Hidden Valley. Let me know if you've heard differently.

[puffle]

You are definetly right about no development in Hidden Valley, thank god!