Where should I live if I work in Woodland Hills?

February 9, 2013 10:12 AM

I just got a job offer in Woodland Hills. I live too far away so I need to move. I would like to live in a leafy, beautiful, walkable neighborhood with lots of young professionals (I'm in my 20s), although I suspect that is a pipe dream.

I want to spend up to $1500 on rent (living alone) and I have a car, but the neighborhood would have to be amazing for me to consider a substantial commute (either driving or public transit). I don't know very much about LA traffic so not sure what is doable and what is insane.

Part of me is really excited about the job, company, and salary. Part of me is a little disappointed that I'm staying in LA-- I was thinking about moving to Portland or Seattle when this offer came in out of nowhere. I'm going to go over tomorrow to check out the area; what cities/neighborhoods should I consider?

posted by acidic to Home & Garden (12 answers total)

Sherman Oaks has pretty much everything you're looking for. Try looking for apartments juuuuust South of Ventura Blvd. Beautiful area, totally walk-able, maybe only slightly older than your target demographic (late 20's early 30's) but you can grow into it? If you're 9-5 your commute will be against flow on the 101. Looks like ~20-25mins.
posted by carsonb at 10:19 AM on February 9, 2013

Oh yeah, between Laurel Canyon-ish and, say, Beverly Glen. Studio City is just a little further East, I wouldn't rule it out if I were you. There are some cool places up on the other side of the Cahuenga Pass, but that might be stretching your commute out into the 40min range.
posted by carsonb at 10:20 AM on February 9, 2013

Burbank might work too but it’s getting a little far, again though, against the normal commute.
posted by bongo_x at 11:13 AM on February 9, 2013

You might find something likeable along Ventura in Encino, which is a touch closer to work than Sherman Oaks and Studio City. Being on the west side of the 405/101 interchange will spare you a lot of grief when commuting to Woodland Hills. Based on traffic, I wouldn't go anywhere east of Studio City if I were you.

The only other thing I can think of is if you want to adjust your goals and go for a hippy vibe -- you could move up into Topanga Canyon and be really chill up there.
posted by BlahLaLa at 11:14 AM on February 9, 2013 [1 favorite]

West of Sepulveda will be closer to your job: Encino, Tarzana and Woodland Hills.
posted by brujita at 11:14 AM on February 9, 2013 [1 favorite]

Definitely stay west of the 405. Try Encino/Tarzana, south of Ventura Blvd. This will make your commute livable, and put you in a reasonable drive of fun, young venues to the east on your days/nights off.
posted by nacho fries at 11:33 AM on February 9, 2013

I agree to stay west of the 405, I’d even think about going out farther west. But I’m old. You go to work every day, you may not socialize that often.
posted by bongo_x at 11:42 AM on February 9, 2013

One thing you might look into, depending where your office is located - I used to work in Woodland Hills and lived in Santa Clarita, which was a nightmare commute. But! There was an express bus that went from right outside my apartment straight to the Warner Center area. It was a nice, quiet, cushy bus and I could sit and read and never had to fight traffic at all. People in LA tend not to think of public transit unless they're used to taking it, but there really are a few decent options depending on where you live and work.
posted by something something at 12:37 PM on February 9, 2013

I live in Studio City and work in Woodland Hills. On average it's about 30 minutes each way in normal traffic. Maybe up to 45 minutes if there's an accident. If you can afford the hills south of Ventura then closer to Woodland Hills is alright, but my general opinion is that it gets worse the further west you go in the valley.
posted by fishmasta at 12:58 PM on February 9, 2013

I came in to recommend Sherman Oaks as well. South of Ventura is nice, but unless things have changed drastically in the last 10 years it's pretty nice north of the boulevard too, as far as Magnolia or so. If memory serves it would be about 20-25 minutes to Woodland Hills without traffic snarls. I used to live in the vicinity of Moorpark and Van Nuys, which is in walking distance of a Gelson's, a Trader Joe's (a bit further away), a park, a library, and of course all the shops and restaurants along and near Ventura. It was a nice neighborhood to live in, and at the time it was fairly young, with a nice mix of longer-time residents too.
posted by usonian at 2:35 PM on February 9, 2013

Agreed that Sherman Oaks, Encino and Tarzana are good options. Topanga Canyon is also lovely if you like that vibe, though apartments aren't really common over there.

Sherman Oaks is the furthest east but you'll get good bang for your buck and be the most centrally located in comparison to going to other parts of the city. Farthest commute of the 3 (but not bad at all). Tarzana is closest to work but limited in terms of access to other areas of the city and is a little more gentrified. Lots of good options though - I'd check all of them out.
posted by amycup at 7:33 PM on February 9, 2013

Response by poster: Thanks for all the advice! ... although I didn't end up taking any of it. I'm probably going to live in a tiny studio attached to a house in Canoga Park, north of Roscoe. The commute (10 minutes), price (900) and situation (so perfect) was too good to pass up. One thing that made my decision easier is that my office might relocate soon to Hollywood, in which case I'll have plenty of time to live somewhere awesome.

... Unless you tell me Canoga Park is that awful.
posted by acidic at 7:43 PM on February 13, 2013