GaryR

I have been living in Alhambra for 5 years now. It's a relatively quiet suburb with various bars and nightlife options along Main Street for those looking for something to do. There are also a variety of restaurants in the area (Thai, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Indian, Middle Eastern, American, etc.), and it's very safe (never had a problem walking alone in the middle of the night). It's also conveniently located north of the 10 freeway, which connects you to LA and the rest of the San Gabriel Valley. If you live near Main Street then I think it's walkable, as you're close to a lot of businesses. If you're not, then you're better off with a car. With that being said, living here has become increasingly difficult due to continually worsening traffic congestion along all the major streets (Garfield, Atlantic, Valley, Mission, etc.) and freeways (10, 710), especially during rush hour. I work 13 miles from home, and my daily commute one-way can range anywhere from 30-45 minutes, sometimes even an hour. I only see the problem getting worse as more huge apartment complexes are built along the streets here with no infrastructure being put in place to handle all the additional people that will be moving in. Public transport is basically a system of slow buses that are not really practical for those looking to get anywhere quickly, so I don't see that helping to ease traffic much either. Last but not least, the cost of living continues to increase, and housing prices have reached a level that I think are a bit ridiculous (a dumpy looking ugly old house built in the 1940s down the street from me was recently listed for >$600,000). But I guess that's pretty typical for anything here in LA County. I personally plan to (eventually) get out. BTW, parking on the residential streets here overnight requires that you pay for a city permit every year. So if you don't have a garage to park your car in, plan on shelling out some cash for that. Not very convenient if you plan on having guests over.