Raising a family near Los Angeles? Does this place exist? (Pasadena: live, best)

[PecanPie]

A lot of people in the "biz" live where we live: Thousand Oaks, Oak Park, Westlake Village, Agoura Hills and the area is pretty much as you describe. Great for families, strong Jewish presence, good weather and good air quality, although perhaps more suburban and less "walkable" than you are looking for. Unfortunately, it's a bit too far by your 1 hour standard when you add in traffic, although lots of people in the biz live here and drive it. My husband drives it but his job varies by project, can be Culver City, Disney, Universal, Sun Valley, North Hollywood and he drives early hours often for the morning commute. 8 to 5 would be rough from out here I guess to BH.

I will say there is still the "keep up with the Joneses" attitude somewhat out here (maybe not Lohanses, but still, there is money and where there is money... well, you know). And as far as discussing things outside California, you will find that more the further you get away from Los Angeles to the suburbs, but I believe in CA you will always have that very California-centric attitude -- it's one of the reasons I dislike it here so much -- generally there is a very "flyover country" mentality towards the rest of the country out here, in my opinion.

[sweettea1]

This is all very helpful...thank you so much. Sierra, I live in Cobb Cty too! Good advice about the biz mentality. If you're not struggling to make it, you probably don't need to talk about it that much! Thank goodness for small favors. Will check into all...budget would be around 800K. And you're probably right about the heat too. A dry heat...much better IMO than the thick summers we have...right now!
thanks for all!

[Sierra56]

Sweettea1, I hope it works out for your move. Cobb Co. was a great place to grow up and attend school. We lived in Mableton, E. Marietta and moved here 1973. I said in my previous post the commute from Lakewood to BH is less than from South Pas, that is incorrect, I meant to say it is longer than going from South Pas. Life is different here but it is possible to raise a family!

[Tasksgirl]

I'm not sure about the accessable Jewish community.. I know there is a large one on the west side somewhere.. but I can't remember the streets.

Glendale/Burbank/Pasadena fit all your other requirements. The location is perfect in my opinion - you are centrally located. Schools are good - good for raising a family - very low crime - Glendale is rated one of the safest cities in the COUNTRY - police are VERY good here. Burbank has the best schools out of the 3 so I've heard. Glendale has great schools too though. All 3 cities are very urban, diverse, and walkable. I absolutely love it here.

[laysayfair]

Originally Posted by PecanPie

A lot of people in the "biz" live where we live: Thousand Oaks, Oak Park, Westlake Village, Agoura Hills and the area is pretty much as you describe. Great for families, strong Jewish presence, good weather and good air quality, although perhaps more suburban and less "walkable" than you are looking for. Unfortunately, it's a bit too far by your 1 hour standard when you add in traffic, although lots of people in the biz live here and drive it. My husband drives it but his job varies by project, can be Culver City, Disney, Universal, Sun Valley, North Hollywood and he drives early hours often for the morning commute. 8 to 5 would be rough from out here I guess to BH.

I will say there is still the "keep up with the Joneses" attitude somewhat out here (maybe not Lohanses, but still, there is money and where there is money... well, you know). And as far as discussing things outside California, you will find that more the further you get away from Los Angeles to the suburbs, but I believe in CA you will always have that very California-centric attitude -- it's one of the reasons I dislike it here so much -- generally there is a very "flyover country" mentality towards the rest of the country out here, in my opinion.

Very accurate post, pecanpie, but they wouldn't let me rep you again.

[jemyr]

Originally Posted by Tasksgirl

I'm not sure about the accessable Jewish community.. I know there is a large one on the west side somewhere.. but I can't remember the streets.

Glendale/Burbank/Pasadena fit all your other requirements. The location is perfect in my opinion - you are centrally located. Schools are good - good for raising a family - very low crime - Glendale is rated one of the safest cities in the COUNTRY - police are VERY good here. Burbank has the best schools out of the 3 so I've heard. Glendale has great schools too though. All 3 cities are very urban, diverse, and walkable. I absolutely love it here.

Pasadena does NOT have good schools. You should check the lalife map to get a good idea of schools in this area. Old Town Pasadena has wonderful walkability but isn't very family focused. The Lake District in Pasadena has more families, and more family oriented shops, and I like it quite a bit, though friends of mine find it lacking a community feel. Unless you get into a magnet school you'll want to go private.

You would love South Pasadena, it has a nice blend of walkability/safety, and a very strong feeling of community. East Glendale has better schools, but little walkability. La Canada has great schools, but feels very suburb-y. Downtown Montrose is a lovely little town with excellent walkability, and I believe the schools surrounding it are also very good. Glendale's downtown is wonderful, but can feel a little canned and lacking in community. San Marino has excellent schools, but is a bedroom community with little to no walkability, (Julienne's on Mission is as nice as it gets).

I don't know much about Burbank, but I've always loved the look of their downtown. Very picturesque. (The one near Ikea).

[asielen]

East Long Beach and Lakewood are great places to raise kids. The only part that wouldn't fit your needs is the commute time. But it really depends on the time of day. During rush hour it could be 2 hours from Long Beach to where you want to go. If you go at off times you could do it in an hour. (once you get used to LA's freeways)

Long Beach has modest homes in nice neighborhoods and mini-mansions so there are a lot of options. And although I have never been to the JCC, I know a few people who work at the one in Long Beach and they seem to enjoy their work.

Also, the Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) is great for the area. It was rated top urban school district a couple years ago, and has 6 of the top rated high schools in the country. Also, Lakewood is partially in the Long Beach school district so you like the Lakewood feel you can still have Long Beach schools.

[DawnW]

I would look in South Pas, Arcadia, La Crescenta, La Canada, San Marino, or Burbank for good schools and good places to raise a family. Unfortunately, due to some poor city planning in the 60's, Pasadena has terrible schools even though it is a great place to live! Altadena is part of Pasadena schools, just so you are aware.

Dawn

[baobob girl]

I second the Agoura Hills, Thousand Oaks, Oak Park, Westlake Village areas. Very laid back and family oriented. There is still a fair amount of keeping up with the joneses but I think that is part of many nice communities these days. There were also many really nice people who didnt live that way. I lived in Oak Park with my family for 8 years and it was really safe with really nice schools. Lots of Industry people live there too. Good luck!

[lasocalmom]

Larchmont Village has a nice Jewish population. Great schools too.