Relocating to CA for a job in Sylmar...need advice (Glendale: to rent, townhome)

[MNfree]

We're a family of 3 - both my wife and I are ~30, and have an infant. I will be working in Sylmar, and we are not sure of the location of my wife's job yet...still in the works.

Looking to rent a townhome/ home (need 2 / 3 BR) in a neighborhood with a good balance of family friendliness and some culture. Is this possible in LA? We don't know LA much at all, so any and all advice and suggestions on neighborhoods to consider are much appreciated!

[Charles]

Originally Posted by MNfree

We're a family of 3 - both my wife and I are ~30, and have an infant. I will be working in Sylmar, and we are not sure of the location of my wife's job yet...still in the works.

Looking to rent a townhome/ home (need 2 / 3 BR) in a neighborhood with a good balance of family friendliness and some culture. Is this possible in LA? We don't know LA much at all, so any and all advice and suggestions on neighborhoods to consider are much appreciated!

Since commuting is a major factor in providing recommendations, we probably still need to know where she will be working.

Renting or buying?
What is your budget?

When you write "culture" what do you mean?

Hypothetically, which would rather have: a newer cookie cutter neighborhood full of kids with good schools, where conformity is valued, and a fairly homogeneous demographic:

In the white house with the grey roof?

(images from Wikipedia commons - Creative Commons, not protected. Public Domain)


or

An established neighborhood where multiple languages are spoken (which in itself may degrade school performance scores), a variety of mom and pop restaurants and stores are in business, where diversity is prevalent, and the neighbors come in all shapes, sizes, ages, and backgrounds?

Around the corner from this?

(This image from //www.city-data.com/forum/los-a...cs-pt-2-a.html)

[Tasksgirl]

^ Great questions
Maybe Pasadena? Los Feliz?

[MNfree]

Thanks a lot for the response, Charles & Tasksgirl. Charles raises some good questions here...what I meant by culture is a somewhat non-homogenous / diverse neighborhood (I am moving from MN, so you can probably understand my issues with homogeneity...both my wife and I are of South Asian origin), plus some restaurant / theater availability?

We are looking to rent at this time...2/3 BR house or townhome, around $2k-$2.5k a month? Appreciate any further thoughts...

[JohnG72]

Northridge, parts of Granada Hills, Burbank, Glendale.

All are nice areas and within 30 minute or less rush hour drive from Sylmar.

Not really too many homogenous neighborhoods in the SF Valley. There are some areas that have a large ethnic minorty that dominates the particular section, but generally theres a pretty good mix everywhere.

Burbank and Glendale have large Armenian populations, Northridge and Granada Hills are mix latino, caucasian, and asian(largely Korean).

There could be school issues in Northridge and Granada Hills as those both belong to LA unified school district. But you have a few years with the age of the child.