Pasadena areas and pollution (Los Angeles, Long Beach: crime rate, house, transfer to)

[jenrich]

I am moving to the Pasadena area next month. After reading all of the posts it seem like South Pasadena is the nicest area around there. I am looking at a house in the San Rafael Hills area which I know is nice, but the house I am looking at is on the border of Pasadena and Eagle Rock. It is one street away from a Los Angeles zip code and the scenery totally changes. I am worried about the safety. I went to Lalife.com and the crime rate for Eagle Rock isnt that good. Any thoughts on this? I am coming from a nice West LA neighborhood and want to go to a nice area.

Is the air quality worse in Pasadena than in west LA, century city area?
My husband has allergies and I dont want him to get worse.

Thanks for your help!

[ChatNoir]

I would say Yes, compared to West LA the air will be worse. Smog collects in the valley. It will also be hotter.

As far as neighborhoods, I can't really comment. Every nice neighborhood seems to border a not-so-great area. And you could always stick to another side for safety concerns. There are parts of nearby Altadena that aren't quite desirable. But go a little east or way north, it's rather nice. But really, you will know and sense when you've entered a "bad" area.

[singlus]

How does South Pas compare to the area around Old Town? My wife and I will be moving to L.A. and we really love Old town. I've heard that South Pas is nice, too, but does it have the same feel as the area around Colorado Blvd? We want walkability, good caliber and selection of stores/restaurants, yet also easy access to the Gold Line... also, what's the commute like from South Pas to Sunset/Vermont?

[nickdahammer]

Originally Posted by singlus

How does South Pas compare to the area around Old Town? My wife and I will be moving to L.A. and we really love Old town. I've heard that South Pas is nice, too, but does it have the same feel as the area around Colorado Blvd? We want walkability, good caliber and selection of stores/restaurants, yet also easy access to the Gold Line... also, what's the commute like from South Pas to Sunset/Vermont?

South Pas is great and close to everything. It is a Gold Line transfer to the subway ride to Sunset/Vermont. Not a scintillation stop- other than Barnsdall Art Park and the Hollyhock House. Actually, it drops you just a couple blocks from the Vermont leg of Los Feliz, which has a great bookstore, a theatre and restaurants. Yes, walkable. And don't forget Marty and Elaine at the Dresden!

And not only is the air quality worse in Pas, it is a few degrees hotter to boot.

[Angharad]

Pasadena is a really neat place to live, with a little bit of something for everyone, and extremely diverse. Depending on the sort of money you have floating around, a beautiful place to live is Altadena, which is nestled right up against the mountains right above Pasadena. Altadena can basically be divided in two parts--the upscale, wealthy half, and the very poor, crime ridden half, so don't be scared off by statistics. In between you can find some lovely little homes (which are astronomically overpriced, of course), in friendly neighborhoods. Both Altadena and Sierra Madre have basically no pollution, as the wind blows it south toward downtown L.A.

The air quality in L.A. has improved drastically even in just the past fifteen years, however. The best bets for avoiding it are to be either near the ocean, or near the mountains. Good luck!

[nickdahammer]

Originally Posted by jenrich

I am moving to the Pasadena area next month. After reading all of the posts it seem like South Pasadena is the nicest area around there. I am looking at a house in the San Rafael Hills area which I know is nice, but the house I am looking at is on the border of Pasadena and Eagle Rock. It is one street away from a Los Angeles zip code and the scenery totally changes. I am worried about the safety. I went to Lalife.com and the crime rate for Eagle Rock isnt that good. Any thoughts on this? I am coming from a nice West LA neighborhood and want to go to a nice area.

Is the air quality worse in Pasadena than in west LA, century city area?
My husband has allergies and I dont want him to get worse.

Thanks for your help!

I live near Eagle Rock and I love it. Great restaurants, beautiful homes near Occidental College. THe location is nice because you have Glendale to the west and Pasadena to the east. I think ER is like any other diverse LA neighborhood in that there are bad pockets. My guess is the area sound of Yosemite might be dicey, but I don't really hang out there. We usually stick to Colorado Blvd from Eagle Rock Blvd to Figueroa.

[BRinSM]

I think the pollution here will have a greater effect on someone with asthma rather than someone with allergies. However, it does get dry here and when the wind blows you see lots of people with tissue in their hands. There's really no escape from this, but it can be limited by staying away from open/nature areas.

[singlus]

I remember visiting L.A. in the mid-late 80s... it was weird because it was bright out, but then when you looked up at the sky, the sun was just this hazy bright spot. When I last came to L.A. in November, the pollution seemed to have cleared up - and yes, when I looked up, I was glad that I could see a definitive sun!

Then again, in the 80s, we stayed at the Airport Hilton and it was summer... whereas when we visited in Nov., it was wintertime and we stayed in Century City and went to Pasadena and Long Beach.

Living near the mountains seems like a nice option - I've seen Altadena and was wondering what it was like there... thanks for your insights! However, does living near a mountain mean that you're in peak earthquake territory (even more so than just being in L.A.)?