Lancaster/Palmdale safe neighborhoods? (Los Angeles, Brea: fit in, amusement parks, crime rate)

[iamtall]

Originally Posted by PalomarJack

You damn well better, especially if you're going to be owning property there. Think about it, "bad areas" have this nasty habit of moving around and/or growing.

Are you kidding me? I can't say all of LA is bad because of nasty parts of the SFV. Neither can you say all of the AV is bad because of some shady parts there. With that kind of reasoning, you better not move to LA, because there are bad areas there. Be careful, they might just bite! They might just move next store.

There are nice parts to an area, and less nice parts, you can't throw out the baby out with the bathwater!

[DRB569]

It's not as bad as what people say. The west side of the valley is a lot nicer and well kept. The low prices are the result of living further from L.A.. But L.A. is very congested and busy. We don't mind driving down there if there is something we want to do. It's worth the drive, but we love our big beautiful house as well as our children.

[PalomarJack]

Originally Posted by iamtall

Are you kidding me? I can't say all of LA is bad because of nasty parts of the SFV. Neither can you say all of the AV is bad because of some shady parts there. With that kind of reasoning, you better not move to LA, because there are bad areas there. Be careful, they might just bite! They might just move next store.

There are nice parts to an area, and less nice parts, you can't throw out the baby out with the bathwater!

Cliches?
Next store?

Now on to business; Trust me, I have absolutely no intention to move to LA, nor back to the AV. And yes, "I can throw the baby out with the bathwater, when it becomes necrotic like all of LA County".

Now that's an original cliche.

[PalomarJack]

Originally Posted by DRB569

It's not as bad as what people say. The west side of the valley is a lot nicer and well kept. The low prices are the result of living further from L.A.. But L.A. is very congested and busy. We don't mind driving down there if there is something we want to do. It's worth the drive, but we love our big beautiful house as well as our children.

You see, that's why we didn't buy there. 40 years ago, or so, the east side was the place to be. In another 10 years it'll be the North, or the east again. Who knows? But here, it's pretty much as it was 10, 20, 40 years ago. And as a result, we won't have to keep moving around to keep our real estate portfolio up in value because it won't change as a result of urban sprawl.

In the end, live where you want, but folks, don't try and convince me what's best. As far as I'm concerned, the AV left me long ago. I only "sealed the deal" a year and a half back.

[obonnie]

My husband and I moved from Culver City to Palmdale about 8 years ago. It took a little adjusting and at first I spent every weekend going back down. But after 6 months or so, I had made some great connections in the community and this became my home.

If you have kids that will be going to public school, you will definitely want to make sure that you are zoned for the Westside School District. A general guideline is west of 25th Street West and north of Palmdale Blvd/Elizabeth Lake Rd. Esperanza is a great school along with the brand new Gregg Anderson charter school that offers electives like Chinese language courses. Our boys go to Antelope Valley Christian School, which we love more than words. We have done several sports and learning activities throughout the years through the City of Palmdale and they have been excellent. My son has played baseball with the same team (and same kids) for 3 years now. He has been with the same football team for 2 years. In general, you will find families with parents who invest a good deal of time and energy into their children and their community. On a side note, I just absolutely *love* parking my car at the mall or grocery store and walking right in. No garages, no meters, no crosswalks. Just a lot right outside the door. And it takes 12 minutes to drive 10 miles, not 40. Life is just easier here.

If you are not concerned with school zoning there are pockets of really great neighborhoods outside of the westside district. If you drive around you can tell by the way people keep up their homes where you would want to live. For the most part you should avoid the eastside (Palm and Lanc). A good part of it looks like Compton. Most of the negative you hear is in reference to that area. I would also personally avoid Ana Verde. That is the development that has had a problem with sect 8. It was a masterplan community with $M homes, but the developers went bankrupt before they could finish the community. All of the people (mostly from LA) who had bought homes there as an investment started renting them out to whoever they could (ie: sect 8). Now there are people who literally spent $1M on a house living next to sect. 8 renters.

My husband was actually just promoted to an office in Pasadena, and despite the fact that I have family there, I am still hesitant to make the move. I will miss my little corner of Palmdale soo much. And as far as registered sex offenders, there is 1 within a 5 mile radius of my house. I have checked. When I look at the (nicer) areas where we may move in Pasadena and Covina, there are several sex offender dots in every direction.

[JC1977]

Originally Posted by obonnie

That is the development that has had a problem with sect 8. It was a masterplan community with $M homes, but the developers went bankrupt before they could finish the community. All of the people (mostly from LA) who had bought homes there as an investment started renting them out to whoever they could (ie: sect 8). Now there are people who literally spent $1M on a house living next to sect. 8 renters.

One thing I don't understand is why people on this forum have such a problem with Sect 8 renters... I'm middle class right now and have tried to get my mom on Sect 8 for a while now..I'm not rich or make the kind of money that some ppl make and would have no problem being on Sect 8 if it helps me and my family get a home or rent an apartment...I just found that part of your comment kind of offensive, cause I would be a sect 8 renter if I could...

Ok, rant over, lol...

[outrider420]

I agree w/the above post. Besides, the way things are going in the world, anyone at all may need help with housing (Sec 8) of foodstamps--I have needed help in my life and I'm not ashamed to say that. Anyone who thinks that all people on foodstamps or Sec 8 are shiftless lazy people should see the women I know--single mothers: WHERE'S DAD?--on welfare/Sec 8 who were the hardest-working, good neighbors making-do with less than $1000/mo for two w/out foodstamps, going everyday to EOD to search for jobs when there are none for anyone....someone, please tell me what happens to people when they are NOT helped?
In the '80s we saw what happened: we closed the doors of the mental health facilities and San Francisco was like Night Of The Living Dead, homeless people suddenly everywhere. Do we let bodies pile up in the street for lack of insurance? for being illegals? Do fathers bear none of the responsibility for their children, or do we keep letting them abandon their children to their single mothers whom we blame for having a child and being on welfare?

[bentlyslc]

Hi,
I just got a job offer at Edwards AFB. We have 2 kids go to elementary school; therefore, school is important for us. Wife stays at home, so crime is another factor that affects our decision. Most reviews on Lancaster/Palmdale seem rather negative. We are currently in Albuquerque, NM. The public schools here have bad reputation and crime rate is awfully high. Based on the result shown on neighborhoodscout.com, Albuquerque has a crime index of 6 and Lancaster/Palmdale is 29 (higher the better). 6 means safer than 6% of US cities. Comparatively Lancaster is moderately safer than Albuquerque. I don’t know how accurate it is, but wish someone who has lived in both places can give more details.
I’m thinking about Quartz Hill, Vista Rancho and Tehachapi as possible places to live. Unlike many places where crimes are speculated in certain areas, Albuquerque crimes spread all over. There’s really not a safe place to live. I was wondering if Lancaster is the same. I’m offered about $110K. How far does it go in Lancaster? I do have some other job offers, but they either have high cost of living (Silicon Valley) or bad environment (deep south).
I used to teach some engineering classes in a university. I’m thinking about doing it part time. Is such opportunity plentiful in Lancaster?
Edwards pay is only about 10% higher than what I’m getting now. I really don’t have to take it if the condition isn’t going to be better than here. Therefore, your advice and opinions are important for me to make the final decision.
Thanks

[kttam186290]

bentlyslc,

The best neighborhoods in Lancaster are in zip code 93536 (Quartz Hill), west of the Antelope Valley Freeway. The best neighborhoods in Palmdale are in 93551 (Rancho Vista/Leona Valley), also west of the Antelope Valley Freeway. If you want a more rural setting, Acton (93510), about 5 miles south of Palmdale, is very safe and home to lots of law enforcement.

93534 in midtown Lancaster is generally decent, but not as nice as 93536.

Avoid 93535 in Lancaster. This area is known as "the east side" and is not a good place to live, honestly.

Avoid 93550 in Palmdale, which is the "east side" in that city.

Cal State Long Beach has just launched a new engineering program through their satellite office at Antelope Valley College in Lancaster. Hope this helps!

[bentlyslc]

I did some more research on the crimes. Attached the comparison with the same criterion/scale. Not sure if they report/record crimes differently in two different places, but ABQ seems to have 10X more crime compare to Lancaster/Palmdale. Maybe ABQ has 10X more population. Only those who have lived in both places can paint a better picture.