Van Nuys

There's something about Van Nuys that makes me feel like I have to look over my shoulder at all times when I'm there. Whether it's at the metro station, the supermarket, or just driving along....the people walking around look intimidating and seem to silently say "what are you looking at man!". The houses and the buildings there are pretty run down. I would not walk here alone at night and I am careful about where I park my car. Perhaps one good thing about Van Nuys is that there are some interesting restaurants and bars. But not a place for families looking for safe area.

When I think about Van Nuys, I immediately think of endless car dealerships. That's pretty much all it is. Rows and rows of car dealerships line Van Nuys Blvd which is the main thoroughfare of Van Nuys. Other than that, the place is really desolate. It's pretty run down (a la five cars in one yard). Van Nuys is predominantly single family homes; but, they're not much gawk at. There are no restaurants, no bars, there's not even a bookstore in the area.
Van Nuys was coined as "The city that started right." There was a big barbecue to mark its creation in 1911. And, the Pacific Redline connected Van Nuys to Hollywood over Cahuenga Pass. There were many aqueducts in the area and Van Nuys was rich in farming land. There were a lot of wealthy landowners in the area and a few bungalows, churches and schools started to slowly go up. They boasted that you could get from Downtown to Van Nuys in an hour! Woowee!
The sad thing is that the city that started right ended up being really wrong. Development just never picked up in this area. And, unless you want to sit on the world's longest parking lot (the 405) it's just not easy to get into the city from this place. There isn't any farm land anymore (naturally); so, there just really isn't any reason for anyone to live there. So, the socio-economic makeup of the neighborhood massively declined. It's not that safe and there is, seriously, nothing to do. It's not even something to moderately enjoy driving through. I just say avoid it.

Van Nuys is yet another of the low income, somewhat blighted cities that make up the inner part of the San Fernando Valley. Van Nuys is a lot like a larger but just as run down version of Canoga Park. Van Nuys High School is large and not well regarded. The houses here are largely run down and there are many apartments. Most of the buildings here date from the 1960s although Van Nuys itself is much older as you can see by looking at the architecture of Van Nuys High School (the high school by the way has been used in several movies and TV shows from Grease, to Fast Times at Ridgemont High, to the Wonder Years).


Van Nuys does have a small airport. You will not be catching any flights from it. For that you have to go to the Burbank Airport, but if you are a flyer it is a good place to go to log hours.

Van Nuys has too main things going for it. First, rents and property prices are relatively low here, so you can definitely find an affordable place here. Second, the 405 cuts right through the middle of Van Nuys so if you have to commute to the city, this can make life a lot easier.