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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I lived in LA for many years, and there are definitely some public and private gems. If you want to go the independent school route and live on the Westside, I would vote for Crossroads (if your child is more arty and free spirited) and Brentwood. The head of the lower school at Brentwood is fantastic, and very down to earth. I also found Harvard Westlake a little more snotty. And about the friends of celebrities--they are going to be everywhere, it is LA!! That is like saying you are avoiding a DC school because of all the kids of Administration officials--you would rule out pretty much every school in NW, public and private. [/quote]

This is definitely not true. LA has many more mirco-cultures than DC because it is a much bigger city.  Plus, being a politician is much different than being entertainment industry uber rich .  There is way more uber rich in LA than DC, housing prices reflect this.  Not uncommon for homes to sell for $10 million, 15 million or 20 million on the west side of LA, this price point is barely seen in DC.  The political cuture is also much different than the entertainment culture which is extremely appearance conscious.  West side independents tend to be more celebrity driven than other schools.  If I were to return to LA, I'd go catholic or public and my kids are in independent schools now.[/quote]

If we could live on either the Westside, or east of the city, in a place like San Marino, Pasadena, or LaCanada, which would you suggest?  Would the east side private schools have the same wealth and celebrity drivers?[/quote]

Former Palisades resident here.  It is a safe generalization to say that the Westside is more entertainment focused.  JPL (Jet Propulsion Labs) is in La Canada area so you get more of the science types and much less celebrity.

BTW you get more for your money inland.  My brother bought in Altadena (in the foothills above Pasadena) at the same time as we bought in the Palisades.  He paid exactly 1/2 as much and got the same size house but with a huge lawn and a pool--and a view.  Since home prices are high, it's important to think about when those property tax bills come in.  My SIL kept trying to get us to move there so kept showing me Altadena houses for sale.  I remember one beautiful, beautiful--dream house, really, Spanish, palm trees, orange trees, pool--and it would be easy for us to have bought it after selling our Westside house.  The downside is the air quality is not as good as on the Westside.  My DH has severe asthma, and we had tried Pasadena years before and he had to use his inhaler there in the summer, so we decided to stay west by the ocean.  (But my SIL insists that Altadena is above the smog; she may be right)

Also as an fyi, the weather is different in these areas.  Check out Sunset Magazine's zones (there are 24 or so zones).  Right by the ocean, you get a lot of fog (in the Palisades on the beach side of Sunset Blvd, and the Palisades/Santa Monica in general).  So it can be cold and foggy.  Just a little ways inland it can be bright and sunny.  A little more, and it can be hot/cold, like in Altadena/Pasadena/La Canada.  But these are relative terms; the heat is dry heat and same with the cold; it's nothing like east coast weather.

If I could choose, I'd go for the La Canada area or some areas of Pasadena or San Marino, or the Altadena area by the mountains.  Glendale looks like it's totally happening now but I don't know if it's only business or residential.  btw I grew up by the Pacific Ocean and am a beach girl, so that's saying something.  I just think it's a little more family-friendly over there.[/quote]

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