Any decent NW Pasadena area northwest of 210? (Orange, Vista: real estate, 2014)

[True Freedom]

Originally Posted by HyperionGap

Chapman Woods is really nice area. I have a friend who grew up on the corner of San Pasqual & Madre and I know the area quite well. Is that unincorporated (East Pasadena) or part of City of Pasadena? I've never been sure

It's unincorporated. Pretty much from the cement wash under the power lines on the east to Rosemeade, and from the south side of Colorado down to Huntington is unincorp (some of the businesses on south side of Colorado may be in the city, but not sure).

so we had sheriffs out of Temple City, independent trash collection, and Edison for power.

I really loved living there.. great neighbors and a real sense of community with an informal residents association, annual parties, newsletter, etc

[SoCalGuyHere]

Thanks again guys, everything has been very helpful so now I am definitely sketchy about living anywhere north of 210 (at least on the west side of Lake) avoid everything west of Lake that is north of 210 right?

What part of old town would be more desirable or what part of old town would you avoid or less desirable?

I don't think I would venture out to Rosemead blvd or Sierre Madre as it is a little too far east, i like to be closer towards Downtown LA and the Gold Line though Sierre Madre does have a station right? I guess if i find something i really like there i might give it a chance.

So if I live somewhere that isn't walking distance to the Gold Line am I screwed? It doesn't look like Pasadena is a parking friendly city, so where do people park riding the goldline? I also don't want to have to pay $10-$20 to park near Old Town if I ever grab dinner there, i know I am super cheap when it comes to parking lol. How do rich people in Linda Vista ride the gold line or how do they get to old town? I guess money probably isn't an issue to them and they most likely don't view paying for parking as a bad thing like I do haha.

Thank you again guys.

[HyperionGap]

That's not what I said at all, didn't you look at that map I drew? There are multimillion dollar houses NW of lake in very nice neighborhoods. Another thing that matters is whether you're looking for an apartment/condo or a detached Sfr. I will say that there is not a whole lot of new modern apartments in NW Pasadena as the demand isn't quite there compared to south of the freeway.


With regards to where to live in old town, castle green would probably be the most prestigious. Other good areas would be above del mar station or in paseo.

To answer your parking questions-

You can park for really cheap (free) at the Del mar station if you show you used a metro ticket that day.

Depending where in old town I'm going I usually park for free along the outskirts and walk the extra one or two blocks. If free parking isn't available or I am feeling lazy the garages usually offer 90 minutes free and 5$ flat rate on weekends. I've never heard of anyone paying 20$ for parking. Other than old town I can't even remember the last time I paid to park in Pasadena. All the shops on south lake have loads of free parking behind them to the east. Or the macys lot to the west. The target/vromans/playhouse area has tons behind it. I'm not sure where you got this idea from but parking really isn't an issue.

[munchitup]

Don't think there is really a part of Old Town to "avoid" - it's not that big to begin with and all of it feels pretty nice to me.

We usually walk to Old Town to go out to eat, but the one time we drove with my family we just parked at a meter which cost like 5 bucks at the most.

I think you should just do yourself a favor and look for places south of the 210 and west of Lake Street. That is the most walkable, vibrant area that is still extremely safe in Pasadena. Plus you are walking distance to either the Lake or Del Mar Gold Line Stations (and if you are a good walker like me, both!)

Oh but yes in general Pasadena is very strict on parking and they use a contracting service to police their 2-hour and overnight parking policies (which are very poorly explained and marked) - and the company is very liberal with their ticket-giving. My suggestion is if you live in Central Pasadena, only have one car and use it as infrequently as possible.

[HyperionGap]

Yeah the OP should probably tell us what type of budget he's on and how important being in a walkable/central location is to him/her. No mention of school quality yet, so I'm assuming no kids.

If budget was no an issue, I would choose to live in one of the 3 apartments/condos I listed in my previous post.

[sstevo2012]

I lived in Pasadena and you can find a nice place to live near the Allen Gold Line Station on Allen Ave and the 210 freeway. There are good areas north of the 210 freeway and east of Lake Ave. You can verify this by driving on Orange Grove Blvd or using Google Earth.

[SoCalGuyHere]

Thanks again, I am learning much more about Pasadena from reading all the posts. I guess i should say my budget would be under $1400 so a studio is almost out of the question huh? I am sure there will be studio for much less than that but probably in the sketchy areas or ugly looking apt. Don't get me wrong, i don't need it to be all prestigious but I don't want to walk inside a piece of crap building where the walls look like its yellow with stain carpets. Then again it could be a brand new state of the art looking place but if it is in the ghetto such as NW Pasadena then I might pass base on what I am learning on this thread. It sounds like most of NW Pasadena should be avoided and I don't mean the Linda Vista area where multimillion dollar homes are located. Maybe i should look on craigslist for a room to rent? Since I'm single, i'm just looking to rent somewhere with a decent place to stay in a decent area.

Wait parking is free at one of the station if I ride the gold line? or the bus? Sorry I am asking rookie type questions. So let's say if i rent several miles from the station and I drive, what would you recommend?

Yes I am in my early 30's, single, no kids, so school districts isn't that important to me. I don't need to live around rich families but I don't want to live near sketchy people hovering around my neighborhood at night, I would like to be able to have the freedom to walk around at night as I go to the gym after work every evening and don't usually get out until 8PM. Therefore, i would like to go home without running into any sort of trouble or risk.

A few weeks ago I did walk up N Fair Oaks after having dinner with a friend i met up with in Old town, i parked in that fair oaks parking lot where that vons is, it didn't look too bad but i can tell the diff once i cross the 210, there were some beat up looking building as well as some project looking houses. It was about a 20-25 minute walk but i wanted to park for free and didn't know where else to go for free parking.

Would you mind telling me where are the "hidden" places to park in old town?

My most important thing is a way to get to the station, park somewhere until i get off work, be able to go to the gym and get home. Driving could be an option to the station, gym, home, etc. if parking is accessible. If i can park at the station that would be perfect since 24 hr fitness is near there right? I can just walk, I definitely don't mind walking like one of the poster said.

[HyperionGap]

Did a little research and it seems if you prove you rode the metro you can park all day at the del mar station for $2. I seem to remember it being free but either things have changed or I am just misremembering it.

For 1400 you should be able to find a fine 1 br apartment in a safe area. You really might want to look near Sierra madre station. They have a huge parking lot and I'm pretty sure that one is completely free. Also your housing budget should go further in that part of town. Unfortunate you will be 2 stops further from downtown LA. You could also try south pas and see if there's anything available near mission station.

Free parking can be found along holly near city hall after 6 pm. Another option is south of green on Euclid. Don't remember when those meters turn off it's been too long that I've been out of the loop.

You parked at orange grove and fair oaks and walked to old town!!?? Good lord that's far.

[SoCalGuyHere]

where and how do you show prove? Oh do you pay for parking after you leave the lot and show your train pass?

Hmm i guess i can look around the Sierra madre station, being 2 stops further isn't a big deal. As long as its a decent area, place isn't a crap hole, and i can do my daily routine of getting to a station, comeback, get to the gym. Which 24 is near that station?

So street parking is easy to find after 6PM?

lol i think it took me about 20 minutes or a little over 20 min, it was also at night time. That's why i asked you guys about that area, some parts looked sketch while some part was ok, but once i cross the 210 into the south side everything looked much nicer and when i walked back i definitely notice the diff...it was like nice pasadena to a somewhat sketchy side. Luckily i didn't encounter anything bad, i did pass by several street dudes while walking back towards the parking lot. Which reminds me, I did see a sketchy looking person hanging outside some of the newer looking condos there and who knows what he was up to.

[HyperionGap]

I think you have to show them your tap card and they scan it to make sure it was used.

It's not easy to find free parking around old town even in those areas I mentioned because there's only a limited supply of free parking. Good luck finding a spot at 10pm on a Saturday.

There's a 24 hr fitness .5 miles north of the Sierra madre station on halstead street.