Northridge, CA

[sooperGILLY]

Just recently got admitted into the MSW program at CSU, Northridge and I am very excited to be going there! I'm from Northern CA so So. California is really foreign to me since I have only been to landmark places there. LOL!

I was wondering if anyone knows of any GREAT apartments to live at. Possibly more modern places would be nice because quality means a lot to me. I would love your recommendations and I do not mind commuting to the campus as long as it's within a 15-20 minute drive. I've read up on a few apartments and have found bad reviews on a lot of them, so I'd like to know your opinions!

Also, if you all could recommend things to do, see, or visit in the area, that would be awesome too! The more knowledge about the city that I have, the easier this transition will be for me! THANKS EVERYONE!

[bluetubeodyssey]

Most of the really nice apartments in the area are located close to campus, like around the intersection of Reseda/Plummer and on Lassen. The farther away from the campus you get, the worse the apartments are. I live near the intersection of Parthenia/Balboa, and while I have a huge one-bedroom apartment for the best price in the valley ($850), it is in a crappy apartment building in a crappy part of town.

If you want something a little bit more luxurious, I would recommend looking around Sherman Oaks, possibly Encino too. There are some really nice apartment buildings there, and the vibe on Ventura Blvd is a little bit more like LA City, whereas the valley is distinctly more podunk.

Near the campus students tend to hang out at Chipotle/Starbucks/Baskin Robbins/Chili's/Korean BBQ and Hookah lounges. There might be more to do that I am not aware of because I'm not a student at CSUN, I only live in Northridge because it's halfway between my job and UCLA. But so far that has been my experience while living there for the past 3 years. I must say that the great thing about Northridge is the variety of ethnic restaurants. If you get a chance, go to Shamshiri (Persian), Pita Pockets (Mediterranean), and the Galleria supermarket (Korean). Maria's Italian Kitchen is good too, but expensive.

Good luck!

[sooperGILLY]

Awesome! That's a lot of good information for me! =) I will definitely be looking around those areas and checking out those restaurants.

[daydreamer254]

Anybody familiar with Northridge, CA? All I know is that it's in the San Fernando Valley. It is a safe place?

 

Also, does anyone know about Cal State Northridge? The campus, atmosphere, etc.?

[wanderingalbatross]

The Valley on the whole is pretty safe. Most areas around Northridge are lower-middle to middle-class. Certain areas look kind of seedy but aren't "bad" places. There's a lot of good ethnic food (Indian, Vietnamese, a Filipino place) around Reseda and Van Nuys. Like any place, you should be smart about safety, but this isn't an area to necessarily avoid. The campus is pretty, there's a historic orange grove from early-20th century California that the school has maintained upkeep/preservation for. Quite a few native trees. It does not have the old Spanish revivalist look that many of the other colleges in LA have -- it's mostly modern. That's about all I can offer, though, as I have only spent a limited amount of time in that area.

Edited March 9, 2013 by wanderingalbatross

[msw'19]

As I've never been to Northridge, I'm wondering: what is it like to live there? average rent cost? any outdoor parks/places to hike or run? bad traffic? 

Any information helps! Thanks!