Possible Move from AL to Pasadena, CA - Cost? Concerns? (Los Angeles: crime, neighborhood)

[Kenpasadena]

I love living in Pasadena. There are lots of options in terms of finding a nice, safe place to live. For rentals that aren't advertised broadly, I always tell people to check the bulletin boards at Cal Tech and Pasadena Community College. Lots of older classic homes here - some with great guest houses that people rent out. They want to rent to students - so that's why you might find ads at local universities. Another option is to look at cities immediately outside of Pasadena - Arcadia, Sierra Madre, Monrovia, North San Gabriel. Pasadena is like living in a small town in the middle of a huge metropolitan area. Lots of dining, shopping options. A little quiet at night, but close enough to LA for everything else.

[2peaches2oranges]

Can anyone give me an idea of the neighborhood of E. Villa Street & Mar Vista? There is a neighborhood corner store at one corner and the rest of E. Villa to the east seems to be bungalows and Mar Vista is a mix of apartments and bungalows. Safe walking to the Metro on Lake, at night, safe for mom with kids? Thanks!

[munchitup]

Originally Posted by PDF

How long ago was that? Pasadena rent isn't cheap these days, but I agree that 65 grand is plenty.

Well I am moving to Pasadena, and a big reason is that there were a lot of 2BR in the under-1500 a month range. I was surprised how inexpensive Pasadena is, especially for one of the more desirable areas of the LA Metro.

[munchitup]

Originally Posted by thursdaymcgee

I currently live in Pasadena. We pay $1700 for a 750 sq ft 2 BR, 1 BA and everyone thinks we have an amazing deal. We've been looking to move to a 3 BR and can't find anything decent for less than $2300 a month. We have lovely neighbors in the houses immediately surrounding us, a notorious drug dealer den up the street, and an ex-con that is routinely raided down the block. The million-dollar neighborhood (5 million really) is walking distance, and where we choose to take the stroller. If we go right instead of left, I would be nervous to walk around there at night by myself, and I'm no nervous nellie.

Experiences from a current Pasadena resident. There's a broad range of prices and people here, and I don't think it's exaggerating one way or the other to suggest that it's reasonably safe or that there are areas to be avoided; that's it reasonably affordable or that it's exorbitant. Much like most of L.A., it all varies street to street.

Hopefully you are still around - maybe I ask which areas are your referring to here?

[2peaches2oranges]

Originally Posted by 2peaches2oranges

Can anyone give me an idea of the neighborhood of E. Villa Street & Mar Vista? There is a neighborhood corner store at one corner and the rest of E. Villa to the east seems to be bungalows and Mar Vista is a mix of apartments and bungalows. Safe walking to the Metro on Lake, at night, safe for mom with kids? Thanks!

Also, what about the residential area of homes around Idaho Drive? (close to Lincoln & I-210). Thank you!

[HyperionGap]

That's pretty close to the center of Pasadena's hood.

[2peaches2oranges]

Originally Posted by HyperionGap

That's pretty close to the center of Pasadena's hood.

Can you tell me the streets to avoid? I am looking at a house on Glen Ave near Idaho. It looks to be a nice residential street with lots of bungalows close to the 210. Where is the hood? Thanks!

[HyperionGap]

I personally would not want to live in this area and this is probably more adventurous than most Pasadenans would consider.



Clearly this map isn't exact and streets can vary on a block by block level in this area so you really have to go visit each place.

[2peaches2oranges]

Originally Posted by HyperionGap

I personally would not want to live in this area and this is probably more adventurous than most Pasadenans would consider.

Clearly this map isn't exact and streets can vary on a block by block level in this area so you really have to go visit each place.

Ok, thank you for the clarification and the map. Very helpful.

[thursdaymcgee]

Originally Posted by munchitup

Hopefully you are still around - maybe I ask which areas are your referring to here?

Just saw this - see the helpful map above. I live in the red area.