I found my dream neighborhood!

[ha98ed14]

OMG, I found my dream neighborhood! We went to see some friends of DH, he knew them before he and I got married and had DD. They live in this cool neighborhood in S. Pasadena near Garfield Park. Old style Craftsman bungalows, wide streets with great tree canopy. A block over is Fair Oaks Blvd, the downtown/ main drag with a seriously old school pharmacy. It is one of the coolest places I have seen since I moved out here to SoCal. I swear, it is the best of what LA has to offer. Nicer that Silver Lake. I used to think Silver Lake was the best part of LA. I changed my mind. I would love to live in S. Pasadena! (We could never afford it, but it is nice to dream.) We went to a concert in the park and it looks like such a cool community. LOTS of young families with kids. Seems like a dream town for a young family. Dream on, I know...

[elektra]

Pasadena is so nice. Our college football games were played at the RoseBowl and you basically have to drive through some of the neighborhoods to get to the stadium. I love old craftsmans and mature trees!

[niccig]

Yeah, South Pas is very lovely and very $$$. Friends were looking there because the schools are VERY good, rank in all top schools for the country. Houses rarely go on the market, and when they do they sell in days... Even now. Our friends gave up as too expensive. If you work for the school district or city, you can petition to have kids go to their schools.

[maestramommy]

That IS a really nice area. It's probably how middle class CA looked post war, before it got all crazy.

[TwinFoxes]

Try looking in Culver City. It's like a mini-Pasadena. It's very walkable, the downtown has a bunch of restaurants and shops (not as many as South Pas though.) The neighborhoods off of Duquesne have a lot of craftsmans too. And good schools, they aren't in LAUSD.

[egoldber]

Funny, when we were considering a move to LA about a year ago, we were looking at Culver City and South Pasadena. :)

[jenmcadams]

My DH and I went to college in Claremont and he got is PhD at Caltech, so we lived in Pasadena for several years when we first married. I love South Pasadena!

[amandabea]

I lived in a tiny apartment in Pasadena when I was in grad school and LOVED it. I spent many weekends walking the neighborhoods of Pas, So Pas and San Marino.

When I finally went to buy a home I started looking in Pasadena, but the neighborhhods I could afford left a lot to be desired and I couldn't afford South Pasadena. So I ended up in Claremont, which has a lot of the same charm.

[Globetrotter]

Sounds lovely, and this is not easy to find in CA!

[AnnieW625]

My dad lived the first three years of his life there in a little apartment on Park Avenue, right across the street from the park. They later moved to an equally cool area of Pasadena called Hastings Ranch in East Pasadena. My cousin lived one block over from Garfield Ave/Park in San Marino and it was a wonderful area. I spent most of my teenage years visiting her and going to the Soda Fountain at the FO Pharmacy, and we could easily walk anywhere.

What ended up happening with the houses you were looking at?

[s7714]

Yeah, it's a wonderful area, but you pay big $ for it. My DH works in the old town area so we priced houses in Pasadena. Prices were jaw dropping even for itty-bitty little fixer up houses! Several people we know in that area bought their parent's or relative's houses and that's how they were able to afford to buy into the area. You're right though, doesn't hurt to dream! ;)

[strollerqueen]

The smog used to be really bad there. Is it still? I remember that's why I stopped going to the Rose Bowl. Throat closed up, throbbing headache, eyes tearing up, felt like I was gasping for breath, etc.

[s7714]

The smog used to be really bad there. Is it still? I remember that's why I stopped going to the Rose Bowl. Throat closed up, throbbing headache, eyes tearing up, felt like I was gasping for breath, etc.

It's not as bad as it used to be IMO, but that was one of the con reasons for that area when we where house hunting. My DH was running at the Rose Bowl fairly frequently for a while with no breathing issues, and he's pretty sensitive to the smog.

[Tondi G]

The smog used to be really bad there. Is it still? I remember that's why I stopped going to the Rose Bowl. Throat closed up, throbbing headache, eyes tearing up, felt like I was gasping for breath, etc.

I thought about that too! I think Pasadena is so pretty but air quality issues would make me shy away from living there! I think it is better than it used to be cause air quality as a whole is better but it just gets pushed into that area when we have bad air days... only bummer!

[AnnieW625]

The smog used to be really bad there. Is it still? I remember that's why I stopped going to the Rose Bowl. Throat closed up, throbbing headache, eyes tearing up, felt like I was gasping for breath, etc.

It's not nearly as bad there as it used to be I don't think but I haven't consistently been up there during the summer in probably 10 years. My dad moved away from Pasadena in 1969 and he says that it's much better now then it was when he was growing up. I know the air quality is bad when I can't see the San Gabriel Mountains from my house (I live 30 or so minutes down one of the main arteries that gets you from LB to Pasadena area--Rosemead Blvd; Garfield Avenue also starts in Long Beach). I stay inside when it's like that.

[niccig]

We're next door to Pasadena and it's fine. DH says the air quality is much much better than 10-15 years ago. I drive down the 2 from La Canada into Glendale, and I can see the brown smog sitting over downtown...gross....but I know it's everywhere.

[Nooknookmom]

I love S Pas too! I live a few towns East of Pasadena and our historical district while nice is not near as cool as theirs. The ability to hop on the train is awesome. There has been talk of bringing it all the way through the SGV to my town (by the time I'm 100!) but who knows.

We (as contractors) have worked in that area and the homes are drop dead gorgeous!! One of our clients picked the colors for his craftsman home (in our town) from a home over there. 6 colors. It sure is pretty though!


I actually think we have more smog the further East in San Gabriel Valley you go. **cough, cough** - yuk!

[Dcclerk]

I agree that it is a fantastic place. They also have some great things for kids. I live quite a ways away, but still take my kids pretty often to Kidspace because it is such a fun place to be a kid. The aquatic center there is quite spectacular, too. If I weren't so fond of the beach, that is definitely someplace I would consider.