Safe, nice areas to rent in Pasadena for single mom w/a young daughter (Thousand Oaks: rentals)

[LeavingCaliIthink]

Hi. I am thinking of relocating to Pasadena for a job. I live in Thousand Oaks now, and love this area, but it is really expensive, limited on rentals. and too far of a commute to Pasadena every day. I havent been to Pasadena that often, but really liked the downtown area when I was there. Ideally I would like to find a 2 bedroom condo that allows pets for about 1600 a month. My biggest priority is finding a safe, clean, quiet neighborhood though as it is just me and my 10 year old daughter, so that is imperative. It seems that South Pasadena has the lowest crime rate for the area, but also seems pricey. Also, any input on the public schools would be great too! Any suggestions would be appreciated!! Thank you!

[JohnG72]

Pasadena has pretty bad public schools. You're budget might work in South Pasadena which has great schools. Your budget also works in neighboring Temple City, Arcadia, San Gabriel, and Alhambra which have very good to excellent public schools. Budget might also work in nearby La Crescenta and La Canada,
which also are very safe and have great public schools.

[LeavingCaliIthink]

I was considering South Pasadena and La Canada, and was also worried about the schools since I know LAUSD is not a good school system anymore. Thanks for the input!

[JohnG72]

South Pasadena and La Canada have their own school districts. Nothing to do with LAUSD.

[True Freedom]

+1 on JohnG72. Unless you can afford private school, I would live in South Pas or La Canada. If you can afford private, I would actually prefer to live in Pasadena over the other two... just stay out of NW Pasadena and the first few blocks of the 210 pretty much anywhere.