Tell Me About Tarzana. (Torrance, Fullerton: house, transfer, neighborhoods)

[saimamom]

I have a general understanding of Encino and Sherman Oaks. They're both nice, family communities. Old money, beautiful homes and lots of shopping nearby.

But what is Tarzana all about? Driving on Ventura Blvd from Tarzana into Encino, you see an abrupt change. The shops go from random, ethnic, old looking shops to suddenly new, clean, big chain stores, higher end.

But I know there are lots of families in Tarzana and schools are good. They have a public LAUSD high school! I just can't put my finger on the description of Tarzana. It feels like it was a semi-rural community that is just slowly beginning to get a makeover. There are many new "modern farmhouse" new construction homes going up.

Please tell me money aside, would you rather live in Encino or Tarzana. What is your best description of what Tarzana is all about. Thanks!

[(901)]

He lived in the jungle with a monkey. Later he found a gf

[Astral_Weeks]

I've always preferred Tarzana over Encino but to each their own. Both are nice, safe communities. They both tend to be more family oriented than Sherman Oaks and Studio City.

Tarzana was a ranch 100 years ago that was owned by author Edgar Rice Burroughs and is named after his fictional jungle hero, Tarzan. Some of the residential neighborhoods south of Ventura Blvd still have a bucolic feel.

In any case, all the residential neighborhoods south of Ventura Blvd are high-end and the relative remoteness of the area appeals to entertainment industry folks and professional athletes looking to away from the spotlight. Though I think it is fair to say the area is more dominated by professionals and small business owners than entertainment/sports personalities.

Village Walk opened along Ventura Blvd. a few years back and includes a Whole Food among other retail stores. The development was aimed at making the Boulevard more appealing from a pedestrian standpoint. Overall, Tarzana is more low key than Encino but still very appealing.

Tarzana also has some excellent preserved open space up in the Santa Monica mountains: ----Caballero Canyon, located on the north side of the Santa Monica mountains in Tarzana offers multiple trails for hiking, mountain biking and unobstructed views of the San Fernando Valley. There is a 3.6 mile loop trail.

-Marvin Braude Mulholland Gateway Park
Offering some of the most accessible and user-friendly terrain in the Santa Monica Mountains, Marvin Braude Mulholland Gateway Park encompasses 1,500 acres of wild land above the unpaved portion of Mulholland Drive in Tarzana.

https://www.nps.gov/samo/planyourvisit/marvinbraude.htm

[Astral_Weeks]

Finally, for some pointless trivia, the late great Tom Petty, who was a long time resident of Encino, wrote a song called Free Falling with the lines,

"It's a long day, livin' in Reseda
There's a free way running through the yard"

"All the vampires, walkin' through the valley
They move west down Ventura Boulevard"

Well the 101 Freeway actually goes through Encino and Tarzana. But I think Petty was trying to paint a more blue collar or low brow scene in the song. Reseda has always been more blue collar.....

https://www.songfacts.com/lyrics/tom-petty/free-fallin

[saimamom]

Astral_Weeks, thanks for the info and trivia. I did notice that Free Falling has the name Reseda in it. It's very cool when songwriters put little pieces of their lives in their music.

I agree that Tarzana has its own charm. I guess part of that comes from it not being clearly defined like Encino. Tarzana does feel a little more semi-rural and laid back. A few months ago my husband was seriously interested in Studio City. But after I saw the tiny lots and traffic, I wasn't into the idea. We have four kids, two dogs, two rabbits. We need room to stretch out and run around, practically a farm. Plus our house always becomes the hangout house for friends and neighborhood kids. I welcome that type of environment.

At one time, we wrestled with the idea of finding a fixer in Hidden Hills. But the long commute to Glendora is killing my husband. He has a new job offer but I'm not sure what he'll decide. Tarzana/Encino seem ideal because you get a nice house and lot size without major traffic. Plus one of our girls just transferred Freshman year to Taft High. She had started at Calabasas High and was not happy at all.

[socal88]

I'd take Encino over Tarzana any day. Although they are adjacent communities, Encino is generally more aesthetically pleasing plus closer to the 405/101 interchange and slightly better weather and public schools, and that's reflected in the home values.

While this can be said for a good part of the Valley, at least among the south Valley communities, when you go along Ventura Blvd. in Tarzana, it feels like a blast from the past with these old strip centers and storefronts that look like they haven't changed in 30 plus years with the exception of the area in and around Whole Foods. My guess is you have a lot of family owned shopping centers, etc. where they just haven't put in the money to make large scale updates/improvement and are fine keeping things how they are unlike institutional / large-scale investors that are creating more up-to-date, modern commercial spaces especially in Sherman Oaks and Studio City, where there also happen to be more young, single folks willing to go out and spend money.

You can definitely get some bang for your buck in Tarzana and despite what I'd consider to be some unappealing tracts, there are certainly some very nice homes in the hills including a couple gated communities plus a couple country clubs.

[bad debt]

Originally Posted by saimamom

Astral_Weeks, thanks for the info and trivia. I did notice that Free Falling has the name Reseda in it. It's very cool when songwriters put little pieces of their lives in their music.

I agree that Tarzana has its own charm. I guess part of that comes from it not being clearly defined like Encino. Tarzana does feel a little more semi-rural and laid back. A few months ago my husband was seriously interested in Studio City. But after I saw the tiny lots and traffic, I wasn't into the idea. We have four kids, two dogs, two rabbits. We need room to stretch out and run around, practically a farm. Plus our house always becomes the hangout house for friends and neighborhood kids. I welcome that type of environment.

At one time, we wrestled with the idea of finding a fixer in Hidden Hills. But the long commute to Glendora is killing my husband. He has a new job offer but I'm not sure what he'll decide. Tarzana/Encino seem ideal because you get a nice house and lot size without major traffic. Plus one of our girls just transferred Freshman year to Taft High. She had started at Calabasas High and was not happy at all.

Driving from Tarzana to Glendora every day sounds like a complete nightmare...

[saimamom]

Driving from Tarzana to Glendora is much easier than Lost Hills Drive (Calabasas) to Glendora.

The new job, if he takes it is in Whittier. We might consider Tarzana/Encino or Newport Beach.

If he stays with his current job we want a place with not too much traffic. Also a decent lot size and decent schools.

[bad debt]

Originally Posted by saimamom

Driving from Tarzana to Glendora is much easier than Lost Hills Drive (Calabasas) to Glendora.

The new job, if he takes it is in Whittier. We might consider Tarzana/Encino or Newport Beach.

If he stays with his current job we want a place with not too much traffic. Also a decent lot size and decent schools.

Newport Beach doesn't have decent lot sizes. I'm not the one that has to make that commute, but the places you are looking make no sense logistically.

If those are your requirements why aren't you looking in places like Arcadia or San Marino if the job is in Glendora/Whittier? If you want OC then Fullerton or Yorba Linda would make more sense than Newport... Even Glendora and San Dimas have good schools.

[saimamom]

Newport is probably last on my list for several reasons. But the Dover Shores neighborhood has larger lots.

We used to live in Arcadia and did not like it. The schools are very robotic, high pressured and not friendly. We dealt with coyotes, bears and fleas in our backyard everyday. Bobcats and hawks in our front yard.

We also toured Yorba Linda and it's really boring and really hot. Calabasas (our current home) and Woodland Hills are also super hot. That's why I've been trapped in the house from 8am until 8pm all Summer. I have multiple sclerosis and the high temps really affect me negatively. I would love to have a milder climate.

We used to live in Palos Verdes Estates. That was a nice climate. My kids have friends there and liked the schools. But we left to move to Arcadia, closer to his new job in Glendora. (Originally the job was supposed to be in Torrance...surprise!!)

Now that my daughter started at Taft, it seemed logical to try and stay in the SFV.

It would be very simple to say, "Just move close to where you work." But we did and we didn't like it.