Family-friendly upper middle class neighborhoods (Irvine, Burbank: home, metro, maps)

[maja]

Stevenson Ranch/Valencia/WestRidge in Santa Clarita has everything you are looking for; commute may be sightly longer or shorter depending on the time of day. Good luck!

[timelesschild]

I thought about suggesting Mt. Washington for schools, safety, and proximity to downtown; however, it doesn't have the greatest walkable shops or very big yards.

The other side of that is that a person could take the gold line train to South Pas for walkable shopping, but still the yard thing is a problem. I love Mt. Washington though - it is so nice, such a good friendly vibe and beautiful picturesque streets/houses/views.

[ConsideringLA]

Originally Posted by timelesschild

South Pasadena, San Marino, Sierra Madre. I would suggest Arcadia (good schools) but don't see much there in the way of walkable cafes, restaurants, shops.

Burbank - cheaper, with a CUTE downtown, plenty to do, and good schools. Very walkable and suburban.

Burbank all the way. Red line to downtown is $1.25 each way.

[hsw]

Irvine...

Newer houses poss more quake-resistant than in many older LA suburbs

Excellent public schools

Cleaner coastal air and better climate than inland valleys

Some choose to arrive at office by ~6AM to avoid much of worst traffic...

[bhcompy]

commute from irvine is more than 45min to downtown la though

[katenik]

Originally Posted by ConsideringLA

Burbank all the way. Red line to downtown is $1.25 each way.

burbank is not upper middle class, which is what the OP is looking for. everyone i know who moved to burbank did so because it was cheaper than comparable areas of LA.

[jzt83]

South Pasadena was the first city that popped in my mind. Very close proximaty to downtown, You can also ride the Gold line directly to downtown, which may be quicker than driving during rush hour.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by bhcompy

commute from irvine is more than 45min to downtown la though

What about to El Segundo, start time 630, leave work 4PM? Google maps says about 45 minutes (for the 43 miles) or 1 hour in traffic.

[streetscenes]

Originally Posted by mabra

Hi,

My wife, 6-month old son and I just moved to the LA area. We are renting for now, but would like to buy a home next year and want to find the ideal neighborhood where we can put down some roots.

Our ideal neighborhood:
- You can get a decent 4 bedroom house with a decent-sized yard for ~$900K.
- I can drive downtown in 45 minutes on average in rush hour (I have a Prius with an HOV sticker)
- Safe
- Good public schools a plus
- A street with a more suburban feel, where you can let your kids go outside to play
- But with cafes, restaurants, shops within walking distance

We love househunting, but it's tougher to get out now with a six month old, so we're hoping to narrow down the neighborhoods we search in before we go looking at a bunch of houses. Your advice (and maybe even pictures of your neighborhood) would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

M.

I'm partial to South Pasadena but there are some other choices in the area. For good schools you could also try La Canada, if you say within a couple of blocks of Foothill Blvd you will have more of that village feel but you won't get as much for your money. Just west of that is La Crescenta where there is a great walkable area around Montrose, this is Glendale schools which aren't great but better than average. Going east is San Marino, don't think you will find much in your price range but you never know. East of that is Arcadia, more choices in your price range but fewer walkable areas.

If you want to go south Torrance might fit the bill with good schools and you could use the HOV lane on the 110 to reduce commute times.

Good Luck.

[LaoTzuMindFu]

Originally Posted by nickdahammer

I echo the South Pasadena recommendation. Also Larchmont Village. And Mount Washington has a great E.S. (not to mention transit- so does So Pas).

I second the Larchmont Village location but I dont think you can get a 4 br 4ba there for $900,000.

Calabasas and Woodland Hills are also nice family areas. If you are Jewish then you would love Calabasas and Encino as they both have very high Jewish population.