Calabasas

Calabasas now has the reputation for being the home of the Kardashian clan thanks to their reality show, Keeping Up With The Kardashians. But they are not the only reality stars that live here: Jessica Simpson, Brittney Spears and LeAnn Rimes also live in Calabasas, which is north of Malibu and west of the San Fernando Valley. While a suburb of Los Angeles, it’s a good 25 miles from Santa Monica and with traffic along the I-101 and I-405 you can be a good hour away.

But this affluent city is popular for a reason. It’s fairly new, having been incorporated in 1991, and it’s very upscale, trendy and a great place to raise children as the population is fairly young. Of course, it’s expensive and you won’t find any low-income families our housing around here. There are great family activities and the Calabasas Tennis Club is a popular place for Mommy and Me type classes, after school programs as well as swimming. Schools are excellent and very highly regarded and you will find lots of parent participation.

You won’t find any crime to speak of here as it is regarded as one of the safest areas in Los Angeles. There is some good shopping and lots of things to do which means you don’t really have to go into LA for entertainment if you don’t want to. Westlake and Thousand Oaks are close by as well and offer more shopping options.

Homes of course are expensive. If you have to ask how much, then you can’t afford it. But let’s say a very average, nondescript home can cost you $500,000 on up with incredible mansions in the several million-dollar price range.

If you are a smoker, then watch out. Calabasas has the strictest anti-smoking laws in the county.

Again, a very nice, albeit very expensive place to live. One of the better places to raise an active family in Los Angeles.

Calabasas is a hidden little treasure nestled between the 101 Freeway and Mulholland Highway in the Santa Monica hills. It is home to many celebrities including Britney Spears and Jessica Simpson. The homes are all of that same California style with lots of white stucco walls and tiled roofs. Much of Calabasas is left empty so that people can look out over the long rolling hills for as far as they can see.

Mulholland Highway is perhaps the major artery, if you can call a highway that snakes through the rolling hills a major artery. Luxury cars zoom down on it on the way to their luxury homes or to the exclusive Calabasas Country Club, a large rolling golf course where you are likely to spot celebrities on any given day of the week.

Most of the places for entertainment and for eating out are actually in nearby Woodland Hills. But you will find a few okay but mostly forgettable eateries in Calabasas itself, by the freeway.

Perhaps one of the more remarkable places in all of Calabasas is the Hindu Temple off of Mulholland. It is a beautiful place to visit, an architectural marvel onto itself. It is also, wholly unexpected in this most affluent and materialistic of cities.