Suburbs of Los Angeles (Long Beach, Glendale: 2014, homes, neighborhoods)

[thelopez2]

What do you consider suburbs of Los Angeles, is everything outside of Downtown consider a suburb? Do suburbs grow up to become cities? If you moved from another state, and now live in a suburbs of LA is it similar to your previous ones? If I liked living in a LA suburb would I like a suburb in Colorado or Denver?

[highlanderfil]

Originally Posted by thelopez2

What do you consider suburbs of Los Angeles, is everything outside of Downtown consider a suburb?

That seems to fit the textbook definition, yes. Some 'burbs end up developing into mini-cities of their own (Glendale, Pasadena), but it largely depends on what your definition of a city is. If it's a couple of tall buildings, Woodland Hills and Sherman Oaks would fit the bill. If it's the presence of major government infrastructure, Van Nuys is it. I would still consider all that suburbia, however.

If you moved from another state, and now live in a suburbs of LA is it similar to your previous ones?

I've moved from the suburbs of L.A. to the suburbs of another city (Detroit) and, in general, blight aside, it's pretty similar. An occasional tall-ish office building, lots of strip malls, grocery stores and shopping centers, interspersed with single- and multiple-family homes, auto dealerships and repair shops, some areas nice, some not so nice.

If I liked living in a LA suburb would I like a suburb in Colorado or Denver?

That is a really difficult judgment call to make as suburbs aren't suburbs aren't suburbs. Despite the general similarity of a landscape, everything else will be different from L.A. to Denver - it's the people that make the place where you live, not the buildings.

[munchitup]

Originally Posted by thelopez2

What do you consider suburbs of Los Angeles, is everything outside of Downtown consider a suburb? Do suburbs grow up to become cities? If you moved from another state, and now live in a suburbs of LA is it similar to your previous ones? If I liked living in a LA suburb would I like a suburb in Colorado or Denver?

LA is tough - it has some areas within city limits that are quite suburban in nature while areas outside the city can be quite urban. I'd say in general about 7-10 miles out are where the "suburbs" start - except to the west which is the general direction of LA's urban development. LA probably has the most urban suburbs in the US.

[Caladium]

I've lived in about 10 different suburbs over the course of my life, and each one has been quite a bit different from the others.

Even within the same metropolitan area, suburbs will vary quite a bit. Think how different Tarzana, Beverly Hills, Manhattan Beach, Downey, East L.A. and Inglewood are from each other. Now imagine the differences between all those Los Angeles suburbs and a suburb of Detroit built in 1900, vs. a suburb of Miami built in the 1970s, vs, the suburbs of DC that are now being built in 2014. Some are rich, some are poor; some have businesses and industries, some are simply bedroom communities; some have colleges, art museums, parks and others don't have things like that at all; some have very distinct ethnic groups and businesses, others don't--etc. etc. A suburb built in the mountains may not be anything like a suburb built near the ocean. Etc.

[disgruntled la native]

San Gabriel Valley
South Bay (most of it)
Long Beach adjacent cities (Carson, Downey, Lakewood)
Northern LA County i.e. Santa Clarita

[LuvSouthOC]

**cough** Orange County **cough**

[yby1]

Originally Posted by disgruntled la native

San Gabriel Valley
South Bay (most of it)
Long Beach adjacent cities (Carson, Downey, Lakewood)
Northern LA County i.e. Santa Clarita

What about the valley?

[disgruntled la native]

Originally Posted by yby1

What about the valley?

Most of the valley is in the city of LA, so it wouldn't be a suburb, but Glendale and Burbank could be

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by thelopez2

What do you consider suburbs of Los Angeles, is everything outside of Downtown consider a suburb?

No, but everything outside of the city limits of Los Angeles is, by definition, a suburb. Even if it's a densely packed area of highrises.

And in the same way, if it's inside the city limits, it's not a suburb--whether it's a residential area or not.

Originally Posted by thelopez2

Do suburbs grow up to become cities?

Some start out as purely residential and eventually develop downtown areas and incorporate. Some are incorporated cities from the day they are first developed. Some suburbs are eventually incorporated into the core city.

And some are cities for hundreds of years before they become suburbs. You see this a lot with the cities on the east coast. Two industrial towns start off as completely independent cities. One city grows into a major metro area and the growth continues until it touches (and sometimes surrounds) the second city. At that point the second city is considered a suburb of the first one.

And example where I live would be Leesburg and Washington DC. Leesburg is now considered a suburb of Washington DC, but it certainly wasn't a suburb of DC when it was built, considering it was built more than 100 years before DC. For at least a century after DC was built the two cities were several hours apart (by horseback). The DC area expanded, and now Leesburg is a suburb.

Originally Posted by thelopez2

If I liked living in a LA suburb would I like a suburb in Colorado or Denver?

Who knows? Suburbs can vary quite a bit so maybe yes or maybe no.

[munchitup]

Originally Posted by yby1

What about the valley?

Haha I almost posted that too. I think Woodland Hills, West Hills, Canoga Park are definitely suburbs. Van Nuys, Pacoima, Panorama City, North Hollywood, Valley Village are not.

Pasadena is in the SGV and Glendale is in the SFV but they sort of feel like they are right on the border of suburb and not suburb. By the strict definition they are suburbs, though they do share some similarities to their nearest Los Angeles proper neighborhoods (Pasadena - NELA, Glendale - Hollywood) and sort of feel like extensions of the city proper, though having their own cores make them pretty unique.