N1cky

We lived in Woodland Hills, my office is in Westlake (I work remotely now from the Bay Area), and my husband worked in North Hollywood.

I really dislike the Westlake area. It looks nice, the houses are big and everything is nicely manicured, and there are some good restaurants... But I find it all too fake, I hated getting in my car to go everywhere, and there is no community feel at all.

Looking back at our time living there, we often say we think we would have been much happier if we had lived somewhere like Pasadena, where there is more of a 'town' feel.

My husbands commute from Woodland Hills to NoHo took around 1 hour each way.

eg76

N1cky - thanks for the post. I think we have probably ruled Westlake out in favour of La Canada Flintridge area which is next to Pasadena. Homes are more expensive, but seems to have a really good community vibe and also more of an 'international' feel. Community is really important to us.

Cherrysoda

La Canada is an excellent choice. The three elementaries are all excellent as are middle and high. I like the setting of Paradise Canyon the most or Palm Crest. Check out la crescenta next door. It also has great schools and houses are less. Great community feel here. I have met a few Brits but no one reallycomments on accents in LA. YMCA is cheap to join and you meet people easily here I think compared to other parts of LA.
If you opt for Pasadena...stick to South. Welcome in advance.

Cherrysoda

The sagebrush area of La crescenta has just changed so you can choose whether you do la Canada schools or la crescenta but homes may be a little less. Home stock in that area and la canada is just beautiful....tree lined streets.... clean and safe. Expensive but not really when compared to similar areas of London. We have a better quality of life here we feel, compared to London. The la Canada country club does a poolmembership and it is stunning up there...another way to meet people. With young kids you meet people easily I feel.

eg76

Cherrysoda - thank you so much for this. We are not as worried about Brits, but more that International families have moved into the area, so schools are experienced in bedding in children from different educational backgrounds. All our kids are active and sporty, so will get involved in those types of things as well. Is there anything you would recommend us doing prior to arriving?

Thanks in advance.

Cherrysoda

LA has a lot of language learners so they are very geared up for that more than students transferring from another education system.

I would look at the Common Core first to see what your kids will be expected to know at each grade.


Common Core State Standards - Resources (CA Dept of Education)

I would say that they work at a higher level in Math here sooner than in the UK, so I would possibly just look at any math concepts that your kids may not have covered so they don't feel too lost in that. If they are keen readers I might get them reading a simple book( or watching YOUTUBE videos) on American history as of course that is what they learn here mostly in History at lower grade levels.

I am actually impressed with the education system so far having taught in London before -what I notice is that on the whole Teenagers are more polite here and respectful to adults. I rarely hear cursing ( as they call it here) on the street and I never see teens hanging ( drinking)out in parks as you do in the UK in my experience.

Sport is a huge part of life here for families compared to the UK and I would say far more inclusive than the UK- kids are encouraged to join sports teams for fun( early on) and it is less competitive than in the UK at the start.
Softball starts again in January so check out the La Canada division of that. AySO soccer starts in August and enrolls in April so worth considering for next year.

Westside rentals is a good site to find properties to rent. Redfin is the most economical way of buying a home here if that is your plan. La Canada is competitive and you will be up against many cash buyers when that time comes- so maybe look into that side of things before you come if you plan on buying. 20% deposit pretty normal here I would say.

Not sure if you need pre - school info but St Georges and La Canada Community center in La Canada both run lovely schools. La Canada is a lovely area to live in and fast into Downtown and Burbank. The air quality is better up there too. Pasadena also lovely but stay South for schools.

Let me know if you have any other queries.))Hope that helps.


La Canada Baseball Softball Association

ayso13.org – Home of AYSO Region 13 in Pasadena, Altadena & La Cañada

Cherrysoda

You can contact the school district for maps of catchment areas- all the schools are excellent but the grounds of Paradise Canyon are really special- Palm Crest beautiful too.
I believe La Canada just came second or something in the whole of California- it is certainly one of the top school districts in the state because it is small and in an area of high wealth. The school year starts in August and ends the first week of June here.
La Cañada Unified School District

Cherrysoda

Last point- property taxes here are just over 1%( maybe 1.25). This is every year you are in a home.
So on an 800,000$ home you will have an annual $8000 odd tax bill. It is shocking coming from the UK but what it means of course is that the schools in an area where home prices are higher have more funds as a lot of prop taxes go to the school district. It is unfair in some ways people think, but it does mean you are guaranteed good schools when you buy a home in a good area. SO this is a big difference to the UK. The La Canada schools will have a similar vibe to private schools in terms of their demographic but class sizes will be larger than the privates.

Xoloitzcuintle

I've lived in LA for 46 years. The schools in La Canada Flintridge are excellent and it's a terrific area. Well educated residents. Many employees from JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratories) and CalTech University live there. I doubt you'd get a rental house there for $2,000 tho. Rents in LA are going up and probably that'd get you a 2 bdr apartment. I urge you not to underestimate travel times in where you choose to live. Going from Burbank to the Calabasas area at almost any time of day will make your eyes bleed, I kid you not.

eg76

Wow - thank you that's awesome. I think we are going to rent initially until we get a better idea of what to expect in terms of property prices etc. Will let you know how we get on - all slightly daunting at the moment, but am sure we will get our head around it!

Cherrysoda

Don't be too daunted- your wife's company is going to help with so much I am sure and if you are renting, you are not committing beyond a 12 month lease. Make sure her company agrees to buy you out of that lease, if for some crazy reason they don't keep you out here for a year. The US is much easier to move to than many other countries due to the same language.
Just saw your kids are still young- they will make the transition more easily than older kids and the 2 year old will make meeting people easy.

If you are not going to be working at first I recommend the parent education classes at Pasadena or Glendale Community College- basically it is a free playgroup organized by a teacher and you meet lots of people through them. Libraries put on lots of activities here and again you meet people easily that way too.

Just remembered a property management company that does get places in La Canada sometimes. Jenkins- they have a house on that is in La Canada now- the reason it is so reasonable at $2600 a month is that it is opposite a gas station and the freeway is maybe 200 meters behind the house. Being close to a freeway usually lowers the rent a little. You want to pay more to be further away is my opinion.You can also check Craigslist for rentals and Redfin and Trulia.

I would say you will be lucky to find a modest house under 3000K a month in La Canada. There are a handful of apartments which will start at 2000k a month and up. La Crescenta is a little less but again houses under 2600 are unusual to find.
AVAILABLE PROPERTIES

Depending on where you are coming from, will influence how expensive this sounds. We feel we get a better quality of life and more space and a better area for a little less than we would have paid in London. So if coming from London you should be pleasantly surprised!
Good luck with the work to come- before you know it you will be on a plane here))
Maybe check out the California DMV driving handbook if you get a moment- some different driving rules here. It took me a while to feel able to face the freeways.

Cherrysoda

Here are some that popped up when I searched Craig's List. You obviously just have to make sure you physically see the property to verify it is real and the person is the owner- as there are scammers on CL but we found two amazing properties on there- both under market rent. You will need to be here before you secure a tenancy as you usually move in pretty fast- or you start paying pretty fast that is- no month waiting time usually here we found.

https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sg...713327688.html

https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sg...722844179.html

https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sg...721405895.html
https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sg...721405895.html

eg76

Great - thanks. Think our rental price bracket will be more like 4/6k pcm as company will pay some of it.... and all of it for the first couple of months. Do you know how negotiable people normally are with rental prices - especially if we commit to longer leases?

Cherrysoda

I would say always negotiate- it worked for us the second time. We got 100 off a 2700 rent for a year. The thing you are up against is most La Canada properties will have a handful of people wanting to rent them as there is less stock than demand and people are buying into the school district- we negotiated when it was less competitive. But you can always ask- if they want you as a tenant they will maybe come down a little. Maybe a 2 year lease would sway someone but do you really want to be tied in for 2 years?

You should get a nice 1600-2500 home for that. Keep looking till you find one you are happy with, when you get here as there is a lot of difference here in how much work has been done inside and many rentals may have 1950's kitchens and bathrooms. The modernised ones are often homes that families have decided to rent out if they leave the city and I would say those are in better condition. But at that rent point you should expect it to be modernized I would say and with a good yard too and you can ask for a place to be re painted I would have thought if it has not already been done.
Places here come with a stove but rarely have a fridge. You want central air too- most places have it but older properties may not.
You are going to get a lovely home with that rent to drop. Where will your wife commute to?

eg76

Commuting to Burbank. Hence one of the main reasons for looking at LCF. Also will be looking for work myself, so figured that this was relatively easy commute downtown as well.