Moving to the San Fernando Valley? The Ultimate Guide
If you’re thinking about moving to the San Fernando Valley, I say it’s a great place to live with terrific restaurants and plenty to do.
About four years ago, I moved from Hollywood to the Valley with plenty of world-class entertainment for enjoyment like Universal Studios with their tours and employment like Warner Brothers, Disney and more.
Go ahead and bookmark this blog as a resource page and pass it along to others who might to move here or visit.
photo of Cupid’s Hot Dogs located at 20030 Vanowen St, Winnetka, CA 91306
Quick Valley History
Consider the Valley a lifestyle of suburban living with a variety of neighborhoods. Want to sell your home in the Valley? You can move from one neighborhood to another and have a completely different feel if you’d like.
The post-World War Two years radically shifted the Valley from agriculture into a center for entertainment and blue-collar labor. Ever hear about the old General Motors plant in Van Nuys? Housing tracts sprung up and farmland was subdivided into the lots we see today.
Cruising the Boulevard from the ‘50s into the early ‘70s is part of the Valley’s lore. Yet, there’s a forward-looking vision and entrepreneurial spirit throughout.
Read on to see what makes the Valley a desirable place to live.
The Feel You’ll Discover in the San Fernando Valley
Here’s how to get an overview of the San Fernando Valley. Head up to Mulholland Drive and find a north-facing overlook—you can get a dramatic view from Bel Air Presbyterian Church where you see the airplanes taking off.
You’ll notice that the San Fernando Valley is laid out in a grid. As someone who is from the Midwest the layout is one of the Valley characteristics that reminds me of home.
Let me give you a tour of the Valley. As a real estate agent, I know the area quite well.
Panoramic view of the Valley. Taken from The Odyssey Restaurant in Granada Hills, CA
San Fernando Valley Cities
About 1.77 million residents make the Valley their home. It’s hard to tell if some of the neighborhoods are their own city or part of Los Angeles.
Take Sherman Oaks. Is it its own city or part of LA?
How about Van Nuys and Studio City?
All of them are Los Angeles neighborhoods. So are Granada Hills, North Hills and Reseda. These are neighborhoods I’ve gotten to know well when representing both buyers and sellers.
Los Angeles covers a large portion of the Valley, but it’s one of six cities total. Here’s the complete list:
· Burbank
· Calabasas
· Glendale
· Hidden Hills
· Los Angeles
· San Fernando
There are unincorporated areas that come under Los Angeles County jurisdiction.
Balboa Highlands Granada Hills, CA
Cost of Living in the Valley
One of the reasons the Valley is appealing is because it’s convenient to places like the beaches in Malibu and Ventura County. Want to enjoy hiking in Ojai or the farmland in Fillmore and Santa Paula? How about a day at Magic Mountain in Valencia? Those are close drives.
The Valley offers a lot and yet, when compared to the rest of Los Angeles homes are more affordable.
The region’s median sales price reached $722,000 in June 2019 as noted in a July 2019 Curbed Los Angeles article. Demand has been strong. Housing costs and prices of homes for sale are impacted by supply and demand as I wrote in this blog post Knowing the Value of Your Home in the San Fernando Valley.
The median price is impacted by locales like Studio City which has a median price of $ 1.4 million.
Compare the Valley with places like:
Hollywood ……………………………………………….$892,000
Glendale ………………………………………………….$842,500
South Pasadena ……………………………………… $876,000
Santa Monica …………………………………………. $1,600,000
These figures can change monthly and quarterly.
Pockets of the San Fernando Valley are much more affordable than other cities that surround Los Angeles.
Styles of Homes and Neighborhoods in the Valley
Two popular styles of homes in the San Fernando Valley are Ranch and Mid-Century.
Ranch homes
After World War Two, housing construction boomed since “it had acres and acres of undeveloped land,” as described by the Los Angeles Conservancy, “the perfect blank canvas on which to paint an array of Ranch Houses in the post-World War II years.”
Ranch home neighborhoods
Some of the places where you can find examples of ranch homes built in the Valley include:
· Northridge in the Devonshire Highlands and Devonshire Country Estates
· Canoga Park, Westridge Park with Traditional Tanch, Cinderella Ranch, Contemporary Ranch
Mid-century modern
This style of home flourished in the ‘50s and ‘60s, merging the outdoors and indoors with windows that were designed to be walls of glass. As I noted in this post, 4 Reasons Mid-Century Homes in the San Fernando Valley Remain Desirable, mid-century homes have a minimalist appeal and open floor plans that make entertaining easy.
They’re a fit for homeowners of any age and lifestyle. To me, they’re a piece of living art and a style of home that families will cherish and want to care of.
Some mid-century modern neighborhoods:
· Reseda, White Oak and Saticoy
· Northridge, Devonshire and Reseda
· Woodland Hills, Woodside
Photo of The Village
Business in the Valley
If you’re thinking of selling a home or buying one you should know that the San Fernando Valley is a bustling economic region. Think about this:
More San Fernando Valley residents own homes, go to college, and achieve higher incomes than the County as a whole, on a percentage basis.
That comes from the Los Angeles Economic Development Council (LAEDC) which notes that the Valley is a mix of white collar and blue-collar occupations.
Look who makes their home here:
· Half of all contractors in L.A. County
· A third of all business professionals
· Along with scores of healthcare workers make their home in the SFV
Professional service firms are major employers from Calabasas in the west to Burbank and Glendale in the eastern portion, according to the LAEDC.
The San Fernando Valley was once called “The Valley of the Stars” and the entertainment industry still thrives in the region. The following studios make the Valley their headquarters:
· Disney
· Warner Brothers
· Universal Studios
· Dreamworks
Along with many companies that rent filmmaking equipment and sound stages in support of film and television.
Small to Medium-sized businesses have an advocate in the Valley Industry and Commerce Association (VICA). The organization produces key action alerts and is a sponsor of Assembly Bill 1560, which is summarized as follows:
As the California housing crisis continues to impact residents across the state and throughout Los Angeles, VICA’s top 2019 Legislative Priority is to support the development of more housing. This bill will help spur more development in areas near transit throughout California where housing is ideal, but has been excluded under existing definitions.
If you own a business in the Valley, consider joining the United Chambers of Commerce. The organization represents 17 member chambers and 135,000 businesses in the SFV.
Quality of Life in the Valley
Quality of life is critical to how much we enjoy our homes and neighborhoods. It takes in commuting time, access to parks, school quality, choices in restaurants and even parking. I’ll say this about the Valley and see if you agree:
Walkable Areas
The Valley has many neighborhoods that are great places for strolling and jogging. Plenty of parks add to the pedestrian friendly vibe along with improved bike paths.
What are your favorite walkable neighborhoods?
Traffic
Gets thick on the streets but it’s nothing like snarled streets in Santa Monica or the Westside. The major thoroughfares move quite well.
Shopping
Numerous shopping malls are in the Valley including: Sherman Oaks Galleria, the Village at Topanga and the Burbank Town Center are among the leading shopping malls.
Plenty of boutique shops line all 17 miles of Ventura Boulevard—from Studio City to Calabasas.
Entertainment – Universal City Walk
Recreation
Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area
A wildlife reserve, Balboa Lake and sports complex along with golf courses make this a SFV destination with plenty of action and quiet places to relax.
If your kids play soccer or you play softball, you’ll likely have games at Balboa Park or the Van Nuys Recreation Center.
Van Nuys Sherman Oaks Recreation Center
Soccer, softball, basketball and open space in the heart of Van Nuys and the SFV.
One of the largest urban parks in the U.S., a portion of the park is located within the SFV.
You can also enjoy a stroll or bike ride along the Los Angeles River.
Museums
Check out The Museum of the San Fernando Valley. Hours are limited to Tuesdays, Thursdays from 1pm to 5pm and Saturdays from noon to 4pm. Free admission and free parking.
The San Fernando Mission, founded in 1797 and is open every day 9am to 4:30pm except for Christmas and Thanksgiving.
Nethercutt Museum, Sylmar has a large collection of vintage cars dating from 1898 to 1997, trains, musical instruments and furniture. Here’s some Valley trivia. The attraction is named for Merle Nethercutt Norman who attended Cal Tech and later went into business with his aunt.
Can you guess the company they founded? Merle Norman Cosmetics.
Transportation in the Valley
Where you need to get from Point A to Point B within Los Angeles or out-of-state, the Valley has many transportation options.
Burbank’s Bob Hope Airport, also known as the Hollywood Burbank Airport. Serving Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, North Hollywood and greater Los Angeles.
Van Nuys Airport, one of the busiest municipal airports in the world and a fun place to take a tour.
Getting to LAX – use the LAX Flyaway bus that picks up at Van Nuys Flyaway Terminal 7610 Woodley Avenue
Metro Orange Line makes east-west travel north of the 101 freeway quite convenient.
News in the Valley
The Los Angeles Daily News is the Valley’s premier newspaper—a tradition and source of local news and sports. Of course, it has plenty of housing news like this article on 29 Southern California zip codes being priciest places in the U.S. to buy homes.
The San Fernando Valley Business Journal covers topics ranging from Healthcare and Manufacturing to Real Estate and Technology.
The San Fernando Sun is the Valley’s bilingual paper and news outlet.
Valley News Group: Warner Center News, Valley Vantage, Calabasas Enterprise, Encino Enterprise
Burbank Leader (a Los Angeles Times publication)
The San Fernando Valley is a dynamic place with plenty of welcoming neighborhoods, attractions, and a thriving economy. Living here is right for families and singles in any life stage.