Deciding where to live...

Burbank has a lot going for it. Surrounded by Los Angeles on 3 sides and Glendale on the other it is as oasis from LA. Having it's own fire department, police department, school system and electric power source, it does not act or operate like the big city of LA. Services seem to respond much quicker and tend to be friendlier. Of course some say the cops here are more renegade but I have never run into any that were anything but polite. And perhaps having that reputation is a good thing and bad for the troublemakers.
Moving on to North Hollywood -- close to Burbank and a lot of our buyers choose this neck of the woods when they fall in love with Burbank but can't quite afford it - yet! So first time buyers will find some really quaint homes here that are much less expensive, yet offer them everything they need. Which includes a fun live theatre district (NOHO) with great restaurants easy commuting into Hollywood and downtown LA via the public transit system and subway. Oh right, we have that reputation of no Public transportation - not true. USC to North Hollywood on the subway system takes no more than 20 minutes and you would be hard pressed to drive your car the same distance without spending an hour in traffic.
North Hollywood tends to be 'pockety' meaning one street is great and another not so great, so it pays to look around or rely on someone who know the area. We just sold someone a home in Valley Glen (though technically Van Nuys) it is right next to North Hollywood and the quiet cul de sac that she found would be envied by anyone in Burbank - 3 bedrooms 2 baths 2 car garage the friendliest neighbors (seriously) all for $429,000. That's what makes this business so much fun - finding these kind of gems. Not to mention the equity growth when the market goes back up.
If you are looking you should use this tool we Realtors have at our disposal. It's called Listing Book and lets you search properties - single family homes, condos, townhomes and 1 to 4 units just like an agent. Updated every 15 minutes it gives you the most up to date info and you can save a search and have the new homes that come on the market emailed to you 1st thing in the morning. I'm going to try and set up the link for it in this blog, if it works click on it and check it out. It's free - you just need to give it your email and I guarantee the email is never shared or spammed or whatever else can be done to it. I detest that happening to me or my friends so rest assured... If the widget appears it worked if not email me and I will send it to you.