Property Ladder house found on ziprealty

[lamoneyguy]

Cardiff,
You may receive some criticism for your aversion to majority hispanic neighborhoods. Everyone has their preferences, and that’s why neighborhoods take on a personality. I’m sure many Hispanics are more comfortable in neighborhoods with a large population of other Hispanics.

Given that you are interested in “stale white” you should probably look at the San Fernando Valley. Encino, Tarzana, Woodland Hills, Sherman Oaks, parts of Northridge. Or, further up into Ventura County you will find areas that are mostly White and Asian.

[CardiffBaseball]

Well the point is I don’t know LA enough to know what the upper middle class hispanic areas are. We always fit in well because my wife was raised in Honduras, but at the same time I don’t want my kids to be where the gangsta’s hang out.

My wife actually goes and helps the families at school events (open houses) who don’t speak any English to facilitate questions to teachers, so it isn’t like we are a complete cocoon. At the same time I think as long as I make a decent check avoiding bad neighborhoods is the right decision.

I have been in San Diego for a little over a year, though I was on travel for 6 months before totally relocating here so I truly do not know LA that well, and am curious.

So I’ll rephrase this to ask what are the upper middle class, safe, family oriented towns, with great schools (regardless of demographics) around Hollywood?

[powayseller]

There’s nothing wrong with cardiff wanting to live with his demographic peers. That doesn’t make him racist. You could call everyone racist; after all, isn’t Chinatown supposed to be for the Chinese? They wouldn’t want a white boy from England in the Hispanic neighborhood, would they? I would feel like a total outcast in a Hispanic neighborhood. So Cardiff, you don’t need to defend yourself. Personally, I seem to have more hispanic and oriental friends than white friends, so like Cardiff, I am more comfortable around people with similar education and lifestyle regardless of race.

[speedingpullet]

CardiffBaseball – you won’t get any criticism from me on where you want to live!
Despite there being fairly clear-cut areas for Latino/non-Latinos, lots of people of all races and ethinicites live in all areas. As your search seems to be based on living space and non-LAUSD cachment areas, then you might consider some of the following. Unfortunately, as I don’t have kids, I don’t really keep track of the school districts, but ZipRealty will be able to show you the cachement areas.

I’m assuming you’re thinking of taking a job near the studios in Burbank/Universal Studios, so the nearer the better.
The 101 is bascially a parking lot at rush hour, so I’d advise finding a place south of the 101 with decent access to the US/Bbk area. Ventura Blvd or Moorpark are often used as a better east/west road, but as they are surface street, it can be time consuming.

I’ll take Universal City as ground-zero, so to speak.
Both the Burbank and Universal City areas are on the northern slopes of the Holywood Hills/southernmost part of the San Fernando Valley, so if you want a view ..look southeast, east, south and southwest of Universal City. If you want a flat yard and don’t mind living in SFV…then look northeast, north, northwest and west of UC.

Bear in mind that the San Fernando Valley can be as hot as hades in the summer, especially the further west you go, but if you don’t mind a ‘desert’ heat and have good A/C then its a nice, and cheaper alternative to living on the Westside – south of the Hollywood Hills.
Westside properties have a huge ‘sunshine tax’ premium (as does most of L.A at the moment), and people still look down on the SFV, but if you have a family that needs some room, then its definately worth looking at.

I’d definately avoid Hollywood proper altogether – its crowded and pretty sleazy. West Hollywood has some sweet little houses, emphasis on the little – but a word of warning, your neighbours have a much better chance of being gay in here, as this is a predominantly gay/lesbian area.

The hills above Sunset Blvd have some nice houses but being in the hills means that yards are hard to some by, and the prices are astronomical at present, for quite modest houses. Look for Cahuenga Pass, Mount Olympus, Hollywood Hills, Whitley Heights and Los Feliz for decent – if sometimes extremely expensive – places directly south of Universal City.

East of UC is Burbank which is quite a nice, safe area, and close by. It also has one of the 3 IKEAs in L.A, which is a plus in my book 😉 Lots of studio folk live there and the area isn’t as pricey as south of the hills. IIRC its also not in the LAUSD cachement area (being an incorportated city), but you’d need to check that. East of Burbank, I dont really know the areas, but i’m sure someone on Piggintons can advise you.

North and West of Universal City are Toluca Lake, North Hollywood, Valley Glen, Valley Village and Studio City. These areas are mostly north of Ventura Blvd, which means that they are less ‘desirable’ – South of Ventura nomally means more toney and more expensive. They’re mainly in the flat land of south San Fernando Valley, but these areas all have SFRs with decent yards. southern Studio City is actually up in the Hollywood Hills, so look for bigger prices and smaller yards.

I’d hazard a reccommendation at this point and say that you might like North Hollywood. It has a decent mix of Latino/non-Latino, and is cheaper than many other areas. Its quite a young and upcoming area, but there are some dodgy part of it, so research it well. Valley Glen and Valley Village are pretty much parts of the North Hollywood area.

Further West and South are Beverly Hills, Sherman Oaks and Encino and Van Nuys.
Van Nuys – where I am – is a lower middle class area, with a mix of Latino and non-Latino. The areas around Van Nuys Airport are nice, but very hot in summer. Prices are coming down, and 2b/2b SFRs with a decent (6000+ sqft) lot are anything from 500 – 700K.
Encino and Sherman Oaks are your typical ‘stale white’ areas. North of Ventura Blvd is cheaper – and flatter – and south of Ventura more expensive.
Everyone has heard of “Beverly Hills 90210”, so expect to pay for it!
………………………….
Anyway, I hope I haven’t scared you off with too much information!

ZipRealty has searches for all these areas, so make up your own mind. And please feel free to pick my brains on any area you’re particularly interested in and I’ll do my best to help you out.

[CardiffBaseball]

That was an excellent writeup speeding bullet. I am still up in the air about applying for the position. I previously looked at one in Monrovia, and decided against it, and may do the same this time. However I think I can now play around and see what rentals are in a few areas to see if it’s worth leaving SD. Encinitas seems like a better place for kids, easier to find reasonable rents, however entertainment seems to be a growing industry, and one of our top exports.

[speedingpullet]

Well, its definaltey the reason my husband and I are here! Wages are roughly double what we could expect for similar jobs – he: games programmer, me: contact animator -in the UK.

If you’re thinking of renting then either Craigslist or Westside Rentals (www.westsiderentals.com) are the places to look. Westside Rentals charges $60 for 60 days, but you might be able to find someone to ‘share’ a password for it.
Unfortunately, my memebership has lapsed, or I’d give you mine. Anyway, I’d hazard a guess that you’d be able to find something suitable in Studio City, North Hollywood or Burbank. Word on the street is that rents are all over the place at the moment, due to the uncertaintly (in some people’s minds, anyway) of which way prices are going – so you may be able to get a decent place for decent price, or at worst, get a free laugh from the more delusional LLs prices/properties.

As a guide, our place in West Van Nuys (Balboa/Roscoe) – 3b/2b SFR with a 6,000 lot, 2 car garage, washer/dryer/dishwasher, nicely landscaped, on a quiet street and in very good condition (hardwood floors, granite doodads in the kitchen) is $2150 per month. So, expect to pay anything from $2500 – $1500 for simliar, depending on the area.
Good luck!

[avidsaver]

Speedingpullet – you did an excellent job of covering L.A. What about the areas near Pasadena though? I have friends who live in a nice area in Altadena, and the commute wouldn’t be too ridiculous to Burbank. I’m not too familiar with Pasadena though, but the people that grew up there tend to return there. There are also things for kids.

CARDIFF – you probably wouldn’t consider the South Bay as the commute to NBC would be heinous. As far as Pasadena goes if you want to expand your zip realty search, other names would include San Marino, Altadena…”

The ex-recruiter in me will say definitely apply for the job and explore your housing options simultaneously. Remember, you might not even *get* the job, but you may learn more about the area and make some contacts… You brought up an extremely interesting point. I have never thought about where there are any upper middle class Latino areas, and none readily come to mind. I can think of affluent Black areas (I’m Black), and areas that are specifically considered an area that caters to certain races (like Chinatown, Glendale – which is also near Burbank). You could also look up Los Feliz maybe???

Anyway, I’m all over the map, but I hope I added some other food for thought…

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