Carcassone Rd, Bel Air

You probably remember Will Smith’s first real break as the Fresh Prince of Bel Air—a show that was kind of like Different Strokes, West Coast style. Well if you watched that show, you remember that Bel Air was a snooty upper class neighborhood, known for being home to rich folks. This is, in fact, an accurate representation of the neighborhood. The average household income for the are is $200K and there are lots of older, white rich guys who live here in their exclusive mansions.

Here’s a few things you may not know about Bel Air however. About a quarter of the residents are foreign born and of those that are foreign born almost one in ten are of Persian ancestry. There are also a lot of Russian Jews here. Many are studio execs and stars. (This was also home to Nixon during his lost period in between losing the 1960 election and winning in 68.)

Bel Air is largely a hillside community with narrow winding roads bordered by high hedges that hide sprawling, often Mission style mansions—tiles and adobe walls galore. There are some excellent public elementary schools but this is really the province of the ultra rich so most of the residents send their children to private prep schools like the Archer School for Girls or even away to study abroad. Bel Air is also home to the American Jewish University.

The majority of Bel Air is made up of hills extending all the way back to Mulholland Drive and one of its central features is the large Bel Air Golf Course. To the south you find Westwood and UCLA while Bel Air’s other neighbors are equally well-heeled.