Mt. Washington Info Needed (Pasadena, Vista: apartment, homes, to buy)

[LArenter]

@ Lumerian Feast:

I am looking at a house today one block away from Occidental. I was unclear on your story, did you say you were driving down "one" street FROM Occidental or just driving down "one" street nearby Occidental.

I am pretty turned-off by the area with all the recent stories. I have a few Eagle Rock residents here in my office and they say that the problems sometimes trickle into their areas from Glassel and Mt. Washington.

[Lumerian Feast]

Originally Posted by LArenter

@ Lumerian Feast:

I am looking at a house today one block away from Occidental. I was unclear on your story, did you say you were driving down "one" street FROM Occidental or just driving down "one" street nearby Occidental.

I am pretty turned-off by the area with all the recent stories. I have a few Eagle Rock residents here in my office and they say that the problems sometimes trickle into their areas from Glassel and Mt. Washington.

Sorry about that: I meant I was driving down "a" street that wasn't far from Occidental. Probably about five blocks or so south/east of it. It definitely struck me that south of York is much sketchier than north of York.

[Lumerian Feast]

Originally Posted by nickdahammer

Isabel Street is one of the worst. That is considered Cypress Park- the street winds around to Glassell Park as well. Not quite sure what stretch you are talking about. If I'm not mistaken, that is where a little girl was shot while sitting inside her car (one of her parents apparently drove down the bad end of the street. That was sometime ago, but the area hasn't changed much.

As a rule, up toward the hills, any hills are safer. That applies to Echo Park, Silverlake, you name it. Dogs don't hurt either. Years ago, we looked at a rental on Vista Gloriosa (sp) street, up over Cypress Park. The approach off Fig, then up Amabel was really sketchy so we asked a cop about security. He said his mother lives in the neighborhood then asked if we have dogs (we did- two of 'em). He said we'd be fine: his mom had dogs, too.

Highland Park goes from one extreme to the other, it's pretty jaw-dropping sometimes. Great, funky little galleries and cafes popping up, people staying out late having fun. Then you hear about someone south of York shooting up the neighborhood. Then there's Eagle Rock closeby, which some say has a gang problem though I have never experienced that.

Thanks for the info -- I will keep this in mind when we resume our search out there in a few weeks.

[LArenter]

Yikes; I looked at the house, that area even around Occidental pretty shady at night.

[nickdahammer]

Originally Posted by Lumerian Feast

Sorry about that: I meant I was driving down "a" street that wasn't far from Occidental. Probably about five blocks or so south/east of it. It definitely struck me that south of York is much sketchier than north of York.

I agree with that- shadier south of York. The area ringing the campus (Oxy) is nice, for the most part, especially the Eagle Rock side.

[singlus]

So I take it that the areas around the south of Mt. Washington aren't so great, huh? I know that there was a drive-by on Drew St. on the north west side of Mt. Washington... in general, I hear that any dead-end street is a breeding ground for crime and drug deals. Is this true? In any case, I think we'll look for areas up the hill and hopefully we won't have to stop much in those areas - probably will have to drive through them to get anywhere...

Anyone have any input on Mt. Washington Elementary? On Lalife.com, they said it has an 8/10 rating and that's a big bright spot about the Mt. Washington area... they also say that crime is generally low there, but that home robberies are really high. Anyone know if there are car patrols in the area that provide security services?

Thanks!

[nickdahammer]

Originally Posted by singlus

So I take it that the areas around the south of Mt. Washington aren't so great, huh? I know that there was a drive-by on Drew St. on the north west side of Mt. Washington... in general, I hear that any dead-end street is a breeding ground for crime and drug deals. Is this true? In any case, I think we'll look for areas up the hill and hopefully we won't have to stop much in those areas - probably will have to drive through them to get anywhere...

Anyone have any input on Mt. Washington Elementary? On Lalife.com, they said it has an 8/10 rating and that's a big bright spot about the Mt. Washington area... they also say that crime is generally low there, but that home robberies are really high. Anyone know if there are car patrols in the area that provide security services?

Thanks!

You know, the LAPD reports very little crime in Mt Wash. I'm really not sure where this is coming from, other than some bad associations proximity-wise. Many of these communities share one zip code (90065 for example), and perhaps that is how the data is compiled....?

Drew, which is basically a gang street is near Forest Lawn, if I'm not mistaken- really not close to us. We are kinda ringed by some marginal places. Realtors often cite homes as being in Mt Wash but, when you actually look at the address it looks more like HP or Cypress Park, or even Silverlake. Mt. Wash boundaries move depending on the need. I guess that is a good thing: people would rather have potential buyers think they are getting into a home here, even though it may be on the border or beyond.

Kinda like Beverly Hills-adjacent. That cracks me up, like the neighborhoods around BH are slums or something.

The ES is great- the neighbors donated money to fund their Jack and Denny Smith facility. Jack Smith wrote a column for the LA Times for years, often detailing life in MW. It is in our best interest to keep the neighborhood nice and it was nice to know people are willing to pony up the dough for that.

Other than that, I recommend a trip up Mt Washington Drive, or Museum Drive. The ES is on the top of the hill.

I attached a pic of the view from the front of our house.

[nickdahammer]

Originally Posted by singlus

So I take it that the areas around the south of Mt. Washington aren't so great, huh? I know that there was a drive-by on Drew St. on the north west side of Mt. Washington... in general, I hear that any dead-end street is a breeding ground for crime and drug deals. Is this true? In any case, I think we'll look for areas up the hill and hopefully we won't have to stop much in those areas - probably will have to drive through them to get anywhere...

Anyone have any input on Mt. Washington Elementary? On Lalife.com, they said it has an 8/10 rating and that's a big bright spot about the Mt. Washington area... they also say that crime is generally low there, but that home robberies are really high. Anyone know if there are car patrols in the area that provide security services?

Thanks!

Oh yeah, I forgot- there is an outfit called POST security. I see them on occasion 'patrolling' the area. They drive white PT Cruisers with their logo on them. I really don't know how effective they are. Like I think I said before: we have two dogs and they pretty much keep an eye on everything.

[sethihomes]

You really have to take LA on a block by block basis. Ie. On the south side of sunset blvd. in silverlake, there is the temple street gang, but they don't venture to north of sunset.

[singlus]

Okay, how about this one: given the recent fire in the Sierra Madres near Pasadena, how likely is it that a fire would break out on Mt. Washington? Has it ever?

And any estimate on how much fire insurance and earthquake insurance runs on average every year? Thanks so much for your help, guys... my wife and I will be taking a house hunting trip out to L.A. this Friday.