buying a larger home, is sun valley safe nowadays? el sereno? (Glendale: crime, houses)

[bibi84]

Hello! Hope I can get some help on here, I keep reading old threads for info and wanted to post my own! I am looking to buy a larger family home in LA and have only lived here about 5 years around Glendale and Burbank, my job is in Burbank and I am trying to keep my drive around 30 min or less since I work crazy hours some times of the year. As much as I have been trying to explore, it has been a bit hard in some areas to tell what is really unsafe vs just rundown. I need 4 rooms with a backyard but do not have a milion to spend, so burbank and glendale are out for sure.. I have been looking mainly in Sunland (love it, but not many houses listed right now), Tujunja (nice but we keep getting outbid for full cash offers), areas of north hollywood, and around arcadia (bit far, but better direction for things and food I like since I am Asian and down there often on weekends) .

Anyway, I found a really great house in Sun Valley ( in the blocks between Pacifica Hospital and I-5, accross from the school there and close to the park..) but I really cant tell if its truly unsafe or just run down. Every home on my street has bars on every single window, gates, and cameras set up, but it seems fairly quiet and no crimes really on the online search results, just some car break in issues on the main street. The park nearby seemed very empty too, just a few homeless but they are in every park here it seems. Would love to hear thoughts from anyone that knows the area better or has suggestions for other areas to try. School quality is not a huge issue because we are hoping to get our kids into a korean FLAG school for foreign language in Glendale when that time comes.

I also was finding homes a larger size but cheaper in El Sereno which seemed like a short drive to burbank and was close to Arcadia/San Gabe and all that, but it was another area I could not tell if it was dangerous or just run down. My wife works from home and we have lots of camera and computer equipment so I dont mind if I cant go jogging at night, but I dont want to be worried every day I am at work.

Any info or advice you can give would be so helpful! Things seem to always be changing around here so advice I was seeing from 2008 online I am sure is not the same now (for better or worse) Thank you!

[socal88]

Both areas are marginal and mostly run down but I'd choose Sun Valley over El Sereno.

I'd also look into Granada Hills. It's a much safer area and you've got a fair number of listings under $700K for 4+ bedrooms. Plus, your commute wouldn't be that much longer.

[V8 Vega]

Sun Valley has sand and gravel pits and cement making. This means a LOT of big trucks and dust. I don't live there some areas may be fine.

[bibi84]

Originally Posted by socal88

Both areas are marginal and mostly run down but I'd choose Sun Valley over El Sereno.

I'd also look into Granada Hills. It's a much safer area and you've got a fair number of listings under $700K for 4+ bedrooms. Plus, your commute wouldn't be that much longer.

thank you! Yes we have been looking in Granada hills as well, so that is good to hear it is a bit safer.

[Hopeful for Life]

Originally Posted by bibi84

Hello! Hope I can get some help on here, I keep reading old threads for info and wanted to post my own! I am looking to buy a larger family home in LA and have only lived here about 5 years around Glendale and Burbank, my job is in Burbank and I am trying to keep my drive around 30 min or less since I work crazy hours some times of the year. As much as I have been trying to explore, it has been a bit hard in some areas to tell what is really unsafe vs just rundown. I need 4 rooms with a backyard but do not have a milion to spend, so burbank and glendale are out for sure.. I have been looking mainly in Sunland (love it, but not many houses listed right now), Tujunja (nice but we keep getting outbid for full cash offers), areas of north hollywood, and around arcadia (bit far, but better direction for things and food I like since I am Asian and down there often on weekends) .

Anyway, I found a really great house in Sun Valley ( in the blocks between Pacifica Hospital and I-5, accross from the school there and close to the park..) but I really cant tell if its truly unsafe or just run down. Every home on my street has bars on every single window, gates, and cameras set up, but it seems fairly quiet and no crimes really on the online search results, just some car break in issues on the main street. The park nearby seemed very empty too, just a few homeless but they are in every park here it seems. Would love to hear thoughts from anyone that knows the area better or has suggestions for other areas to try. School quality is not a huge issue because we are hoping to get our kids into a korean FLAG school for foreign language in Glendale when that time comes.

I also was finding homes a larger size but cheaper in El Sereno which seemed like a short drive to burbank and was close to Arcadia/San Gabe and all that, but it was another area I could not tell if it was dangerous or just run down. My wife works from home and we have lots of camera and computer equipment so I dont mind if I cant go jogging at night, but I dont want to be worried every day I am at work.

Any info or advice you can give would be so helpful! Things seem to always be changing around here so advice I was seeing from 2008 online I am sure is not the same now (for better or worse) Thank you!

What's Lincoln Hts like these days? When I worked there in the late 90s-early 2000s, it was exclusively Mexican-Mexican American. Did the whites take it over yet like everything else?

[ryanms3030]

Originally Posted by Hopelesscause

What's Lincoln Hts like these days? When I worked there in the late 90s-early 2000s, it was exclusively Mexican-Mexican American. Did the whites take it over yet like everything else?

I don't know many places in LA where whites have taken over. Even the most gentrified areas are still half Mexican

[jm1982]

Originally Posted by ryanms3030

I don't know many places in LA where whites have taken over. Even the most gentrified areas are still half Mexican

Many people get this idea from articles and blogs that exaggerate or don't do their research .
I've heard it so many times about Echo Park , "all the white hipsters pushed out the poor Latino immigrants "

It's still Hispanic majority

[ryanms3030]

Originally Posted by jm1982

Many people get this idea from articles and blogs that exaggerate or don't do their research .
I've heard it so many times about Echo Park , "all the white hipsters pushed out the poor Latino immigrants "

It's still Hispanic majority

Exactly. Echo Park is a prime example. The entire state population is primarily Hispanic

[LoveMeSomeSFVHouses]

Sun Valley can vary street by street. My suggestion would be to drive the neighborhood - that particular area you mentioned north of the freeway can be mixed industrial and residential and you may not like that. Also, check the crime stats. LA Times has a pretty good crime map, in my opinion.

[jacktravern]

SHort answer................you won't have daily murders and car bombs everyday, not at all.
But in all likelihood you will deal with some serious quality of life issues......loud music, graffiti, lots of loitering in front of stores and private property, ugly lawns, car break ins, tons pf neighbors who will appear to be trust fund babies becuz they never goto work, ect....

Everyone depending on their age and background, and what their current wants has a different tolerance for these things.

On a side not from personal experience, not sure if it matters to you, but Sun Valley MS is probably one of the 5 worst middle schools in the Valley