Work in Burbank. What are the family friendly locations close by to live? Santa Clarita?

We are looking to move to CA ( work location is Burbank). I have no idea about the LA area.
We are looking for communities close by to live & commute to work. Have kids going to elimentary school so good schools are a priority. In essence, some family friendly place with a decent commute. We currently live in the midwest - so a long commute is 30 min but we may have to change our view point :)

Thanks a lot

Burbank is awesome. You can live and work in the city. They have really good schools and the law enforcement is better than other parts of the valley.
Studio City, Pasadena, or Toluca Lake would be other options for a nice and safe neighborhood that's no more than 30 mins commute.

Santa Clarita ain't to far but the traffic going over the hill is horrible. Nice town just bad commute.


LUCKY you guys....GOOD LUCK with the transition :)

I really dislike Santa Clarita for its tract home feel, and the commuter is really trapped. How about trying Burbank itself to start? Many nice neighborhoods on the hill. Check out the school district, of course. The next place to try is Glendale, then Pasadena (but the schools there are not as good). Stay away from LAUSD (the BIGGGGG school district), so don't live within LA City lines.

Really, I would check out Burbank first and foremost. To live near work is the greatest in this crazy place of bad long commutes. Burbank has a good Y, Scouting programs, a nice mix of population, decent housing, a great hospital, and so on.

Good luck!

If you want to live here and enjoy the weather, then you should be prepared for some sticker shock. We put up with the smog and the traffic, enjoy the weather and pay your rent or mortgage. For renting: My advice is to start checking out craigslist, rent.com, and apartments.com if you are looking to rent. You鈥檒l quickly see that the minimum rent for a non-war zone is about $1,000-$1,200 per month for a studio or 1BR. Really nice areas (like the West LA area) easily run $3,000 or more.

"LA" is such a big place, there are so many neighborhoods/cities where you can live. Of course, even within a city or neighborhood, there are safer sections and less-safe sections.

I would definitely start searching in Burbank. One of the difficulties of living here in SoCal is the traffic. Toluca Lake is right next door. Other good place in the valley are Encino, Tarzana, Studio City, Toluca Lake, Granada Hills, Woodland Hills, Sherman Oaks, West Hills, Chatsworth.

In Los Angeles, some nice sections are West LA, Brentwood, Westwood, Marina Del Rey, Playa Del Rey, Los Feliz, Silverlake, Eagle Rock,

To the east: South Pasadena, parts of Pasadena, Altadena, Arcadia, Monrovia..

It's not a complete list, but it's a start.

Live IN Burbank..it is a nice, safe area, with good schools, and lots to do: theaters, restaurants, etc. and you would be close to work..not having a commute would be a BIG plus. Also check out Glendale (right next door to Burbank), Pasadena, La Crescenta, Montrose, Toluca Lake. Santa Clarita is too far of a commute, and I myself would not want to live there.

Burbank is family friendly, along with Glendale