sjl304

After hearing so many doom and gloom opinions about Canoga Park I feel like perhaps people's views of this neighborhood are what Canoga Park used to be or maybe what it is but only a select few streets. I have never really seen anything that remotely resembled gang activity. Are there a lot of minorities here? Yes. But there are many new apartment buildings going up, there's interesting restaurants, there's antique row on Sherman Way, and there are many I repeat many cute neighborhoods with well cared for houses. Now are there some streets and neighborhoods that are unkempt, shady, and undiserable? Yes. But....I wouldn't even go so far as to say Canoga Park is a bad area. I'd say it's a decent area with nice parts and not so nice parts. Try East LA, Compton, anything near USC, Van Nuys, Panorama City...in my opinion all of those are bad, unsafe areas. Is Canoga Park as nice as Woodland hills? No...but Woodland Hills is on a whole different level. Celebrities, and extremely well to do people live there.

If you're someone who appreciates nature, loves long drives down winding roads, appreciates great views from high up mountain peaks, enjoys clean well kept stores and homes, and likes a slower paced life with a touch of the city...Chatsworth is the place to be. The mountains in chatsworth are for sure some of the most beautiful scenic landscapes you'll see in LA. The vast wide open space offers great hiking, and great parks. The housing is diverse and ranges from smaller starter homes, to huge beautiful mansions. The people are nice. There are some decent schools although the high school is not what it used to be. While there aren't a ton of restaurants there a couple great places here that revival many on the west side. Looking to avoid the traffic? During rush hour you'll find it quiet as can be. There's a definitive country feel here. And while it's pretty far out from the rest of LA it's still close enough to be in the "city" if you need to but enjoy the pleasures of a beautiful quiet neighborhood. Also, you have many suburban stores and food chains in Northridge which is right next door. As far as this being a place for old people....yes there are a good number of older folks here, but there's plenty of young families settling down in Chatsworth and giving their kids a good life. Also, there's a metro that takes you into the city should you chose to commute via public transportation. This is one of the few places in LA where it's actually legal to ride your horse around on the streets. You'll notice that many of the roads have set paths for horses to travel on. Pretty cool! This is one of the nicest areas of the valley. While it's not for everyone, for the right person it's as good as it gets,

Truly this area offers the best that LA has to offer. Whether it's the Farmer's Market, the Grove, La Brea Tar Pits, museum row, parks, movie theatres, amazing restaurants or just the fact that you can actually walk...on foot...and get to cool places without a car all make this neighborhood worth the price of admission. The physical location is a huge advantage because you can easily get to Santa Monica and the other parts of the West Side, but you can also pretty easily get to the valley. The people here are standard LA city folk. All the entertainment and entertainment wanna bes are here trying to make it happen. For a prime city location, it's very safe and in the residential areas it's pretty quiet. This area really is the true LA experience.

For sure, one of the nicer areas in Los Angeles and the Valley. This is a predominately white upper class area. It has a small town yet urban feel to it. Many of the people who live here work in the entertainment business. So the residents are "with the times" and drive nice cars and take care of themselves physically. It's one of the only areas in LA that has very good public schools. There are some nice parks and hiking trails. Ventura Blvd runs through the center of Woodland Hills which gives you access to some of the best restaurants, shops, and night life the valley has to offer. Another major advantage to Woodland Hills is that you can easily get to Malibu and the beach via Topanga Canyon Blvd or the 101. Perhaps a downside to Woodland Hills is that it gets really hot in the summer...but no more then any other area in the Valley. Great place for families and young proffesionals as well.

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.

I don't know what all the talk of Lake Balboa being this new up and coming area is about but honestly, to me it still feels like Van Nuys and I don't mean that in a good way. Small houses, unkempt yards, shady residents. The airport noise is also there. Generally you have flat land, and plain houses with nothing special to write home about. While Lake Balboa and the park are right there, other then that I see no redeeming qualities of this area. Also, the real estate agents seem to wanna tee off on the fact that this is "Lake Balboa" which is more well respected then Van Nuys. Basically that means you're gonna be paying more because of the name. Not worth the price of admission in my opnion.

While Winnetka may not have the shopping or the night life other areas of LA have, what it does have is quiet, well kept, friendly, safe neighborhoods. Most of the houses are on the smaller size, but there are some areas of Winnetka where the houses get larger and the residents are more affluent. Also, most of the residents keep up their property fairly nicely which makes walking the area very pleasant. And while the nightlife is almost non existent, Ventura Blvd is a 10 minute drive and has everything you could possibly want in terms of shopping, food, bars, and clubs. The hiking trails of Chatsworth are within 15 minutes. The restaraunts of Woodland Hills and Northridge are again within 10-15 minutes. Residents here also love to deck out their houses for the holidays. This area feels like it's own little small town, but has all the benefits of the big city being a stones throw away.