Burbank

Burbank along with Glendale are two of the best communities in my opinion to reside in the Valley. Burbank is a well run city, and offers much for the 100K residents.

Burbank has many different areas each with it's own vibe. The neighborhood within Burbank set at the foothills of the Verdugo Mountains has a more upscale feeling than the communities to the West of the 5. The yards tend to be spacious, remodeled and many have been added onto. You will also find newer homes which were built after tearing down the original home. West of the 5 is flatter, and feels more middle income. A great community for bike riding, pushing strollers and walking. There is a 2 mile running/biking path along Chandler Blvd. In the Southwest corner of Burbank is the Equestrian community which is well-treed and has many charming homes.

Shopping and Dining is never-ending in Burbank. You will find big box chains, resale shops, mom & pop shops, every type of restaurant, and movie theatres galore. There are no upscale shops or boutiques, but easy to get to in Glendale or West LA.

Burbank appears to be an extremely safe community with it's well run municipal services. The parks are beautiful including McCambridge Recreation Center for tennis and Wildwood Canyon Park for hiking. The Starlight outside Theatre is a fun place to take a picnic and watch a concert on a Summer evening.

Burbank is famous for the Studios. Warner Brothers, Walt Disney to name a couple. Who can forget Johnny Carson talking about Burbank on The Tonight Show?

I will do a general review of a couple specific neighborhoods in Burbank...however, there are many different neighborhoods, and each one has it's own flavor.

San Fernando Blvd. area and the Town Center runs between Burbank Blvd. on the North and Angeleno on the South side. This area has a lot of activity day and night on most nights of the week. The bars and restaurants cater to all types of people including young adults, families, empty nesters, teens, and work professionals from the area. You can choose from many different ethnic cuisines in sit-down restaurants as well as take out food. There are several coffee shops. The majority of the retail spaces are restaurants except for a few clothing stores including the chain Urban Outfitters and Ross. If you are looking to shop, there is the Burbank Mall. It's an okay Mall...not a shopping destination, but it has the basic stores including a Macy's and a Bed Bath and Beyond. Further North on San Fernando you have big box stores including an IKEA. Burbank pretty much has anything you could need in regards to retail shopping within 2 miles of the Town Center.

The neighborhoods on the East side of 5 and West of Glenoaks Blvd. are predominantly made up of apartment communities and condos. As you head East of Glenoaks you see a mix of apt. buildings and smaller homes with small yards. The further East you go on the streets heading to the foothills of the Verdugos..you will see charming early to mid century bungalows of all different styles. The yards and homes tend to become more expensive and upgraded going East. Most streets have a nice tree cover and Street Lights which add to the charm of the area. Burbank H.S. is centrally located near the town center, and is a well-maintained attractive school. At the top of the streets you will see many gorgeously maintained larger homes. The homes in the hill tend to be larger and have great views of the valley. Home prices are on the higher end at the top portion of the streets ranging from $550 K to over a million and they sell quickly.

Another nice middle class neighborhood is Magnolia Park which is located on the West side of 5 and approximately between Olive and Chandler to Hollywood Way on the West side. These small to medium sized (those added onto) homes were built around 1940 until the late 1960's. This neighborhood has the feel of stepping back in time with tree-lined streets, parks and several schools within walking distance. Magnolia Avenue is home to many vintage shops. The flat streets make it a very busy area for strollers, bikes and pedestrians.

Located just north of Hollywood, Burbank is where the majority of those working in the entertainment industry have their offices. It’s also a great place to live. Homes are generally older with lots of character, crime is low, there’s plenty of good shopping and lots of excellent restaurants. And this being Burbank, there is plenty of entertainment options: You can go and see television show being filmed (The Ellen Show is filmed here though patience is necessary when trying to secure tickets), tour the Warner Brothers and Walt Disney Studios (Disney has the most impressive lot) or enjoy the wonderful entertainment at the Starlight Bowl where you really have a great view of the stars!

But getting back to homes; again, homes are older and there are nicer areas where you will pay more, but overall, by LA standards, this is not an expensive place to live. Apartments on average run $1800 per month or higher, but that is normal. A good home in Burbank can be bought for under a million. I know how this sounds, but remember, this is the Entertainment Capitol of the World so anything under seven figures is reasonable.

Schools in Burbank are rated very well though not surprisingly, the number of private schools is larger than the number of elementary schools. Any body making any significant money in LA sends their children to private school, which can run several thousand dollars per month.

One convenience that I love here is the Bob Hope Airport. I have found the ticket prices are often much lower than LAX and the airport as a whole is very convenient and quick and easy to get in and out.

The jewel of Burbank though is the downtown area. Excellent shopping, amazing restaurants, lots of special events and it is safe and very clean. Actually, there really isn’t an area where I would feel unsafe in Burbank.

Most people drive here, however, public transportation is good as the Burbank Metrolink rail station is located near downtown.

Overall, a great place to live, especially if you want to work in the entertainment industry and looking for a safe environment with plenty of things to do.

I moved to burbank 2 years ago from pasadena with my family. My personal experience is that every city has good and bad areas, and burbank is no different. I moved here because my wife wanted to live here because glendale seems to crowded. It's very safe you can walk around at midnight and you will find people jogging or walking there dogs that pop everywere on the grass that owners don't pick up let me add. There is every store you can think up in this city, so you don't have to leave town to find what you need. Many residents love living here and hate outsiders coming in, that can be anoy'ing sorry. Then there's the very friendly people like us. The schools don't make it easy to attend if you live outside of burbank sorry. There is every type of age and race here and you better like kids there everywhere, if you wanna live here. If you don't like family noise think twice. It's a little more expensive than citys surrounding burbank because everything is here entertainment, shopping, restaurant, great schools etc. There's a lot to do in the day, everything closes early so theres not much night life. If you have a family they will be and feel safe to go anywere at any time. Burbank has its own police department who are on top of everything. People from all over come to burbank so parking can be bad in many areas. It's nice being a burbankian like my cousin says. My family loves it here and thats what counts so I'm fine with the super nice residents and the not so nice people who I call police citizens. It a beautiful city with parks and activities everywhere i call it the city of mothers. They run everything here, ask the men. ;)

Burbank is the most populous and vibrant city in the entire San Fernando Valley. It is home to over 100,000 people and to NBC Studios where the Tonight Show has been filmed since the days of Johnny Carson was the host. This titanic city is also the headquarters for PBS, the Walt Disney Corporation and Viacom. Burbank has its own commercial airport which savvy domestic travelers use to avoid the hassle of going through LAX. Burbank also has a major medical center and several both older and newer communities.

Strangely, Burbank manages to keep a small town feel in many neighborhoods, even though it is the largest city in the Valley. Despite its large population, Burbank is a relatively safe city in which to live. There have been only 5 murders in Burbank since 2007, three of which were crimes of passion involving jilted lovers and none of which were gang-related.

Near the hills, Burbank has really lovely older neighborhoods and architecture that is worth seeing. The streets are quiet on this northern end and you get great views of the city. In the city center, you have a bustling metropolis with every shop imaginable and series of great restaurants and movie theaters.

Down in the flat area of Burbank, you can find lots of less expensive places to live, but nowhere in Burbank is it really rundown for too far. You never get the feeling that people don’t really care about their neighborhoods or anything like that. One of the nicest areas you will find is the Magnolia Park area of Burbank—lot’s of lovely houses here.

As far as hiking and outdoor life, you have Griffith Park just off the southern edge of Burbank and there are also great places for a jog or hike in the hills to the north.

This is also a great place to raise kids. The schools are very safe and they have a stellar academic record. Both Burbank High School and Borroughs have well deserved reputations—probably among the best in the Valley.

Currently however there is one big problem loaming over Burbank. Like some of the cities in Orange County they lost a lot of money in the financial crash. It is not altogether clear how they will get out of the red.

On a personal note—Burbank is also home to my mother. After years of working at the St. Joseph’s Medical center, mom has retired happily in the hills overlooking this beautiful, though smoggy city.