Possibly Pasadena

[LArenter]

Don't get me wrong, Pasadena is probably one of the best, if not the best, true residential areas that is easily commutable from Downtown. They have great restaurants -- several non-chain gems and we always get a few other trendy chains as well albeit later than the westside (e.g. The Counter, a famous burger joint on the Westside, is opening up on Lake Ave this summer). Add in some decent shopping and lounges, reasonably priced home and safe neighborhoods, public transportation to dtown, and you pretty much have everything you need.

I'm in my late 20's and married; I live among older families and am the youngest on the block. I love my neighborhood, but I can see it being slow if I was younger and still loved to go out. I still find myself heading to Hollywood or Santa Monica to meet the rest of my friends on Fri and Sat nights at least twice a month.... noone from the westside would choose voluntarily to go out in Pasadena.

[JakeInSoCal]

Yeah I dont mind a drive to downtown or the beach. I just hope that there is enough people my age about and its diversified.

[uptown_urbanist]

It's certainly diverse, and there are lots of young people around, but given your specific interests you might be better off looking at somewhere like Hollywood or Silver Lake or even Eagle Rock. I lived in Hollywood for about 1 1/2 years; it's extremely diverse, really easy to downtown (even easier than Pasadena, as the Red Line is faster) and will be much closer to the beach. Mostly, though, I just think you'd be happier with the social scene there. It's not that Pasadena doesn't have an active scene of its own, but - and I may be wrong - I get the impression that a lot of the people in Pasadena in their young 20s either go to school in the area, grew up there, or have some other specific reason for choosing Pasadena. The bars and restaurants and events seem, like others have said, to be a little more oriented towards an older crowd, or at least a post-college professional crowd. Still, it's a great city and a wonderful place to live, but if you want young people maybe try to stick to living near PCC or somewhere (near Colorado and Hill), as you'll get some more young college spillover there.

[JakeInSoCal]

Originally Posted by uptown_urbanist

It's certainly diverse, and there are lots of young people around, but given your specific interests you might be better off looking at somewhere like Hollywood or Silver Lake or even Eagle Rock. I lived in Hollywood for about 1 1/2 years; it's extremely diverse, really easy to downtown (even easier than Pasadena, as the Red Line is faster) and will be much closer to the beach. Mostly, though, I just think you'd be happier with the social scene there. It's not that Pasadena doesn't have an active scene of its own, but - and I may be wrong - I get the impression that a lot of the people in Pasadena in their young 20s either go to school in the area, grew up there, or have some other specific reason for choosing Pasadena. The bars and restaurants and events seem, like others have said, to be a little more oriented towards an older crowd, or at least a post-college professional crowd. Still, it's a great city and a wonderful place to live, but if you want young people maybe try to stick to living near PCC or somewhere (near Colorado and Hill), as you'll get some more young college spillover there.

I am used to the coast so maybe I should try more west. Hollywood I heard some good things even off this site so we'll see.