North Hills? (Woodland, San Fernando: low income, apartments, to rent)

[Becca2684]

Hi. I'll be moving to LA from the east coast in a few weeks and am looking for a place to rent near Cal State Northridge as I will be a graduate student there. I have a tight budget but would prefer living alone in a studio apt rather than with roommates or in a rented room. I've been looking on craigslist for studios and notice the prices are much better for areas right outside of Northridge. I'm finding a lot within my price range in Canoga Park, North Hills, Tarzana, Van Nuys, etc. One I'm seriously considering now (great price and seems nice from the pictures, off-street secure parking, etc.) is located in North Hills at Orion and Parthenia, right over the 405... Is this a really bad neighborhood? I have family in LA who keeps telling me to avoid Van Nuys, but they don't know much about North Hills or the other areas. I've read some questionable things on here about North Hills though (and then others that have said it's not so bad, so it's hard to know for sure).

Also, does anyone know how accurate the data from crimemapping.com is? Some areas that have a reputation for being such "bad" neighborhoods don't seem to have nearly as many crimes listed as others that don't have that reputation.

[nowincal11]

Orion and Parthenia isn't the greatest of neighborhoods. Things are much better west of the 405 and north of Parthenia. Just east of the location you describe is Panorama City and Pacoima, which are the most dangerous areas of the Valley.

The crime stats don't always tell the whole story. Van Nuys is not terrible, but also not really that safe. There is a lot of unreported crime such as prostitution, narcotics dealing, gang activity versus the harder crimes like homicide, burglary, robbery, etc, which there isn't too much of anymore. It does get shady at night though.

Canoga Park is much safer and less shady in my opinion. Northridge itself is pretty nice. Tarzana is pretty good too. I will say that CSUN is a commuter school for both undergrads and grad students alike. Not too many grad students live up in the Northridge area.

The younger areas of the Valley are Studio City, Sherman Oaks, and Woodland Hills. Tarzana and Encino aren't bad options either, they are cheaper, but you will have to drive to find stuff to do.

[elgatoloco]

I agree, stay west of the 405 and north of Nordhoff. Have you considered Chatsworth? It's on the other side of Northridge and will have less traffic

[SlowMotionApocalypse]

Not sure about now but at least up until a few years ago, Parthenia & Orion was crack central for the San Fernando Valley.

[Jebby]

Originally Posted by Becca2684

Canoga Park, North Hills, Tarzana, Van Nuys

Good, bad, good, bad.

[CantWait2Leave]

I'm born and raised in the Valley and just moved away a few months ago so I'm extremely familiar with all the areas you mentioned. Most parts of Tarzana are safe. I would never, ever live in Canoga Park or Van Nuys. North Hills isn't great either, but it's not horrible. My husband's family lived there for a few years, but moved away because they didn't think it was safe. It really depends which street you live on. Some are fine and other's aren't. Anywhere near the 405 I would avoid. As a female, I wouldn't feel safe living near Parthenia and Orion. Some parts of Northridge aren't bad...mostly the northern areas of Northridge are better than the southern parts. I'd look into Chatsworth, Encino, or Woodland Hills. I lived in Chatsworth for 21 years and lived in Encino for 3. I just moved away from Encino and found it very safe and it wouldn't be a bad drive to CSUN. Avoid Reseda.

[valleyboi1]

don't let this over exaggerated people scare you...yes West Hills, tarzana, Sherman Oaks and Encino are better area but also come with a 400$ to 500$ price hike...coming from a person who's valley born and raised also have lived in Pacoima ,North Hills ,Panorama City and Van nuys...just use common sense look around the area you're trying to rent try check there's not so much graffiti take a drive out there at night to see how it looks see if there's a sketchy people out...you should definitely try and stay away from apartments with parking lots in alleyways should always make sure your building complex security gates properly work that's pretty much the best you can do and u should be fine... P.s these last six years of my life I've been happening living in North Hills two blocks away from the 405 if I might add and i hope u had luck finding a place...

[JohnG72]

Op, Parthenia and Orion is a pretty crappy neighborhood. Some parts of north hills are ok, but that's not one of them.

If you prefer living alone, look into a guest house.

[jm1982]

North Hills is kind of iffy , it seems that the apartments are going to be a lot worse than living in a home . Parts of van Nuys are the same . Lots of low income type housing . There are nice parts of Van Nuys that border other areas . The Lake Balboa area is pretty nice and it seems to be improving too . I'm noticing new types of businesses opening .
Canoga Park is generally alright but you have quite a bit of low income type housing too . But there's also a lot of single family homes and parts of Canoga Park are on the border of Woodland Hills too . West Hills is also a nice area which borders Canoga Park .
The bottom line is you really need to check these areas out. I agree with johng72 that you might want to look into a guest house situation .. But those likely would be more expensive than studios . You never know though sometimes you might have someone with a house paid off or a low mortgage payment and just need a little extra income .

[JustMike77]

You guys do realize that this is a 2011 post. The guy probably graduated by now.