Living in Pasadena
 

Anyone out there have advice about living in Pasadena...or Anaheim...or any other cities accessible to LA but not in LA? We're a young couple with a baby considering a move from the southeast. LA is nice for daytrips, but we want to be away from "the scene" and the traffic, if possible.
Thanks!

You want to be away from the traffic? Well, where will you be working? First and most important question. The job market is pretty tight here, so don't contemplate moving here (or anywhere) without a job lined up. Once you have that pegged, then we can offer advice vis-à-vis accessible neighborhoods.

I live in Long Beach (a large town with some awful neighborhoods and some incredibly nice ones-- I live in a nice one), but work in Santa Monica, 30 miles away. That's my choice. I don't mind the drive, although it can be annoying. If I lived in SM, I'd be paying roughly three times what I'm paying in Long Beach for something not nearly as nice. That is because both communities are on the shore.

Actually, let's start a list of questions for you to answer:

-- Where will your job(s) be?
-- How far will you be willing to drive?
-- Is it important to be close to the beach?
-- Does extreme heat bug you? Some reasonably-priced neighborhoods are in the hotter valleys (the month of August in the Santa Clarita valley saw a slew of 100-degree days), which means you'll be paying for air conditioning. I have never run my A/C in my condo in 5 years.
-- Have you seriously looked into overall housing costs? Like all desirable metro areas in the US, rents and housing values are very high here.

Think about these questions and come back with your answers-- then recommendations will pour in!

Note that should be "job (s)"-- turns out "b" plus "(" equals b( ....

rjw - that's as good an excuse as any! Otherwise, I thought you did that deliberately! LO! :)

Jason

jason888: D'oh!! Those darned smileys trip me up once in a while...!

[The saga of the nutjob San José poster continues, I see. How do they think they will get away with posting the same posts over and over and over again? Maybe Fodors will wise up and start blocking IP addresses....]

I love Pasadena. It has stately homes, tree-lined street, Old Town, some gritty areas, the Norton Simon, etc.Close to L.A.

It's also very expensive.And HOT in the summer. Prices have gone sky-high. As other posters have pointed-out, where will you be working?

thanks (i think!) for the posts. We'll both be working close to home, as I work from home and my husband has several possibilities in the Pasadena area. MDV, yours was what I was looking for -- The tree lined streets, the old town, etc. Don't mind the heat -- have dealt with it most of my life + humidity so that'll be a nice change. Didn't know if there were any specific recs on neighborhoods with young families.
Thanks again for all advice!

We lived in Pasadena for quite a few years and loved it...until we had kids and they got to be school age. The public schools are not the best depending on where you live (you would probably have to pay for private which we did until we decided to put that money into our mortage). We moved to Santa Clarita and I now commute into Pasadena (about 30-35 minutes one way with light traffic on the 210). I don't like to promote moving there because it has become a very popular destination recently, however, I know that you would be happy and feel safe (I believe it is the 4th or 5th safest place for a town its size according to the FBI). Yep, it does get hotter in the summer and colder in the winter than Pasadena, but not extremely so. One other thing that I absolutely LOVE is that where we live we rarely get the "June Gloom" that the basin gets each late May and June. We are also still close enough to the L.A. basin and westside if we want to enjoy a show or concert or just have dinner by the beach. We are 1/2 hr away from the beach in Ventura and 1 hr away from Santa Barbara. IT IS suburbia, but that is what we wanted for our kids and the schools are fantastic. Tons of young couples as well with young children.

thanks for the tip Sherri! I won't spread the word but I appreciate you sharing :)

If you move to the San Marino district, the public schools are great. The elementary schools in Pasadena and San Gabriel are fine, but after that you may consider private schools.

I love Pasadena and the San Gabriel area next door, where the homes are generally big (more bang for your buck), and as the other poster said, LOTS of greenery.

The downside, in my opinion, is the smog. On the Westside, you get the ocean breezes blowing most of the pollution into the basin. Unfortunately, Pasadena is in the basin.

I love the Pasadena area. There are some really great neighborhoods, some still "affordable." Some to be avoided, tho. Lots of westsiders are moving to the estate areasof Pasadena/La Canada/Altadena.

A well kept secret is South Pasadena, it's an incorporated city, south of Pasadena, LOL. Much better public schools than Pasadena. Pretty pricey, though. Starter homes are around $450-550K.

All my friends who live in Pasadena pay $$$ for private schools. My South Pasadena friends pay more for their homes but send their kids to the public school.

San Marino is swank; you have to be a multi-millionaire to even afford a small house there.

You may also want to look at Arcadia. And further out at Monrovia.

PS....
Another "plus" for Pasadena is that the Metro Gold Line just opened. So now it's a quick, easy trip to downtown LA on the train, you can easily transfer to other lines that serve Hollywood or the beach.

I have lived in the Pasadena area for 20 years or so. It is a great place to live and raise a family. The city is more east coast in feel than most Los Angeles communities and not as dominated by the entertainment industry. There are many buildings and houses of architectural distinction. Yes, the public schools are not good, so either resign yourself to private/parochial school or buy a house in nearby South Pasadena, San Marino, La Canada, La Crescenta, or Arcadia which all have decent to excellent public schools. The weather is fabulous most of the year here, with the exception being summer, especially August, when smog is a problem. We try to plan our trips for August to get away. Winter is absolutely delightful, my favorite time of year here. Pasadena is not your typical suburban bedroom community. It is the home of Cal Tech and the Jet Propulsion Lab (well actually La Canada claims the later too) as well as having a lively cultural scene, with the Pasadena Symphony, good nightlife in Old Town, the Pasadena Playhouse, the Huntington Library, the Norton Simon museum, lots of great restaurants, etc. etc. Not to mention the fun of the Rose Parade each new year. All in all, a great place to live. Not perfect (the smog and not all that close to the beach) but it has served me well.

After living in LA county for many many years, I now live in Orange County and I like it much better! Although we have traffic too, it is much more open and cleaner IMO than LA county. The real key is where you will be working. You'll have to chose your community based on this. There is so much going on in O.C. that we rarely go into LA county except for occassional Laker games.

If your husband gets a good job in Pasadena, and you find affordable housing, I think you will be extremely happy up there. Yeah, it gets hot in the summer, but what a great old town!

Every area mentioned here has big pluses, as well as some compromises and adjustments. Certainly I can say that about where I live, but I'm happier than anywhere else that I've lived, so there you go!

[And just a coupla words in praise of gritty ol' Long Beach: some of the friendliest people you'll find in LA County live in Long Beach (well, in the coastal areas). And a few excellent schools in the LB Unified School District (Poly HS, Wilson HS, etc.).]

Let me say it another way: If I moved to Pasadena (for whatever reason), I'd be very, very happy. Wonderful place!

I love Pasadena. Lots of culture. Wonderful homes (many Craftsman style bungalows). Great restaurants. Great freeway access and close to everything. Everywhere in the LA area is pretty expensive anyways. Pasadena would be my choice because I LOVE the Rose Bowl flea market. If you collect anything or want to furnish an old house in the period, that is the place to go. Too much fun!!!

If public schools are important, I'd lean towards most areas of Orange County over LA County but Anaheim would not be the best choice. There are much prettier areas either North of Anaheim (Brea, Fullerton, Yorba Linda, Placentia) or further South.

Pasadena also has some very beautiful neighborhoods as well but it is hot and the public schools are not good.