Glendale and Pasadena, similar urban areas (Los Angeles, San Marino: cliquey, 2014, neighborhoods)

[DJX3000]

I think I'm going to move with my family to one of those cities in the future, maybe in a year, so I'm researching a lot, looking at statistics about everything.

I think they are very similar in architecture (very important for me), walkability, safety, urban areas, the vibe in general.

Pasadena: a lot of cultural activities, music festivals, nice and real downtown, safe, good public transportation and excellent atmosphere.

Glendale: nice downtown and a lot of walkable areas, safe, a lot of good restaurants on different styles and beautiful streets, I love the style at Maryland and Broadway ( https://www.google.com/maps/@34.1465...O87H6jzBOw!2e0)


What I really like about Pasadena is the great amount of cultural activities and ambience and what I love of Glendale is that has a larger walkable area than Pasadena (not only downtown, but the neighborhoods are very walkable; look it up in walkscore) and the city is close to everything.

But I'm not sure about what the cons of each city are. I've been visiting both cities and trying to investigate more about the culture and people there. I heard more than 5 languages last time I was in Glendale, which I think it's pretty cool, and I know that about 1/3 of the population is armenian, which led me to research more about it, in this forum, yelp and other sites, finding a lot of negative comments and posts, describing them as racists or rude people, bad drivers and hard smokers, I'm just saying what I've read, I'm sure there's good and bad people everywhere.

So I wanted to know from people that live there if this could be true or it's just a minority. I'd really like to live in a multicultural cosmopolitan area, but I wouldn't like to be in a predominant hostile community .

These are my two favorite cities in Los Angeles and would like to hear from people that know about these cities or live there. Also which one is more liberal? Thanks!

[nmnita]

I don't in either place and haven't for years, but I did at one time; still visit from time to time as does my daughter and son in law. In fact son in law was there a few weeks ago to attend the Breeders cup races at Santa Anita.

If diversity is what you are looking for and it sounds like you are, I think I would choose Pasadena. It has always been socially very diverse with people from all over the world settling there. Of course all of the Los Angeles area is a melting pot. If 1/3 of the population is of one nationality, like you say Glendale is, I think you are going to have a bit harder time enjoying your life there. The area might be a little cliquey for people of other nationalities. I do know there is a large Hispanic population there as well.

If you have children and you mentioned families, how abut the quality of schools, is that an issue or will they be in private schools?

You certainly have done your homework, it sounds like you have a good idea of what the two cities are like. All be considered I would choose Pasadena. I am sure many will be able to give you a better idea, first hand.

[genjy]

Pasadena all day everyday.

Pasadena has the more cultured and comfortable environment of the two.

I much prefer Pasadena's surrounding cities/areas over Glendale's, too.

I am a big public transportation fan, and Pasadena has that down as well.

[vincentwu817]

Pasadena is nice if you can live in a specific part of it. Otherwise, its really no different from the average Socal neighborhood.

Glendale is very walk-able in some areas, however, I believe it recently led the nation with pedestrian injuries/deaths.

[True Freedom]

+1 on Pasadena. It's quite a diverse place: socioeconomically, ethnically, etc. Pasadena is steeped in rich culture and history. Added to that, we have Caltech and JPL (sort of) which are two top institutions of their kind.

Never lived in Glendale, nor visited much (got pretty much all I need here in Pasadena), but Forbes listed Glendale in 7th place for cities with worst drivers nationally, and the worst in California.

Cities With The Best -- And Worst -- Drivers - Forbes

[munchitup]

I'm not so sure Glendale really has much larger walkable area than Pasadena. And the 20 minute train ride to DTLA is hard to beat too... Though Pasadena is further from Central LA than Glendale is, it feels a little better-connected.

[HelloAaron]

Certain parts of Pasadena are in the San Marino school district, so there's that.

[Adasafa]

I vote for Pasadena as well.

I saw the Google MAPS you had for the Glendale street. I've passed by that street once before. Nothing on that street that would make me go back. And how often are you planning on visiting that said street?

Now Pasadena, on the other hand, has MULTIPLE streets that look like that one (in and around Colorado Blvd) with actual restaurants and stores one is most likely to visit.

I would base your decision more on job location and your likely commute from each place.

[DJX3000]

Thanks guys for your replies. Does anyone know about the schools in either of these two cities and the education ratings? Are they closed campuses with locked doors or are they open for anyone to walk through like many schools in most of the suburbs?

I just read the article on Forbes about the worst drivers and that turned me off a bit about Glendale, too bad this is true because I like it there.

[genjy]

Glendale likely has better K-12 public schools (just check API scores online to compare).

In my experience, Glendale really does have a lot of aggressive drivers. Hormone-rage aggressive.