Awesome Town, USA - 11/7/2020

It’s called awesome Town for a reason! Great schools, great People and climate! It’s a treasure!

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Best place to raise a family! - 10/5/2020

Wonderful community! Beautiful paseo paths throughout great for bike riding, roller skating, scooters, walks and jogs. Great weather, 30 minutes from the beach, lots of parks, great programs for youth sports, and outstanding schools throughout the valley! The people here are great too! Lots of caring community members and very safe! The city council does a great job with the city’s finances and the upkeep is incredible. The police do a great job here! Criminals know to go elsewhere! Perfect to raise our three children! Highly recommend!

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Thirty years a resident - and leaving soon. - 1/15/2020

My husband and I moved into our first home in 1989 - just as the Valencia Mall broke ground. I still miss the Bob's Big Boy at the corner of Valencia Blvd. and Magic Mountain Parkway. I miss the 30-minute commute to North Hollywood. I also miss the independent restaurants that have been replaced by the generic, bland, unidentifiable franchises like Olive Garden and Mimi's Cafe. I guess that's what you call "progress". Over the last 30+ years, we have certainly seen many changes to our little valley, some for the better, some maybe not so much. Still, Santa Clarita is a lovely suburb; "Generica" as it were. There are many retired or currently employed members of law enforcement, which creates a safe environment. The school system is excellent, shopping is plentiful and public transportation is not bad - even for Southern California. Infrastructure is good however, it could be better. Thousands of new houses were built which has created a lot more traffic on our local streets. Community spirit is also pretty good. Nightlife, except for movie theaters is pretty much non-existent. The powers that be discourage any businesses that might create a "party" atmosphere. If you're single, Santa Clarita is not the place for you. Santa Clarita's cost of living has also increased - you get what you pay for. Basically, a nice, boring little Suburbia, not unlike any other "good" area of Southern California. Big box stores, franchised restaurants, etc. If Santa Clarita has a specific "identity", it vanished about 20 years ago. It's been a good home for us over the last 3 decades - now I'm just bored.

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Avoid LA by moving north. - 10/20/2019

I've lived in Santa Clarita for nearly 7 years and have greatly enjoyed my time here. It's a great place to raise a family with a great sense of community. The concerts in the park every summer is a great community event. Central Park and the other parks in SC are well maintained and peaceful. The weather is classic southern California a dry heat with a bit of chill at night. Naturally, summers are a bit hotter than normal and winters can be a bit windy and cold but mostly the weather is everything you could want if you're avoiding humidity and snow. The beautiful scenery makes the many hiking and bike trails a comforting experience. Also, Six Flags is right off the 5 freeway providing some family fun on weekends and summer days. There is a good mix of unique food options for those that like to try new things. Furthermore, Los Angeles is 30 mins south (with no traffic) if you want to expand those options. For those driving south for work, the drive can be awful as LA like any major city has its fair share of traffic troubles. Many will complain that the housing prices are really high but that's California for you. If that's a factor I wouldn't recommend moving to the Los Angeles area. The only major issue I have with Santa Clarita is the zombies. Just kidding, it's the roads. Having grown up in Miami where the roads are mostly a grid, much like the rest of Los Angeles, Santa Clarita can be a confusing affair for those who just moved here. I've joked that roads can start out taking you north only to end up with you traveling West, South, South West and then North again. It's a quiet place with a lot to offer to families.

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A decent mid-sized town away from LA - 8/19/2019

Santa Clarita, referred to a lot of the time as just 'SCV' (Santa Clarita Valley) is a town I lived in from the age of 5 - 28 years old. Spending 23 years of my life there I got to know it really well. PROS: Crime: It has a fairly low crime rate. When I lived here, every area of SCV was fairly safe. It had a couple of "bad parts" mainly some apartment complexes in Canyon Country and some areas in Newhall around the Metrolink but other than that it was a safe city. Scenery: A lot of southern California gets a reputation as being extremely dry with tons of brown brush everywhere and SCV certainly has this but many areas within the city are quite green (by Southern Cali standards). There are plenty of green areas with tons of trees, bushes, grass, etc... and quite a few nice parks. Including 'Central Park' which is one of if not SCV's largest park in terms of space. CONS: Population boom: The population has skyrocketed here. When I lived there in the 90's and 00's it was still a smaller town with a population in the lower to mid 100,000's. Last time I drove there I was surprised when I saw a city sign stating the population was near 215,000 people! There seems to be no end in sight as SCV still has plenty of room to expand outwards. Cost of living: Sure for many southern California cities, SCV may not be too expensive. But generally speaking, it still is. For a moderate sized home around 2000 sq.ft. built in the 1980's you're still looking at paying $600,000 - $700,000 for it. You can get cheaper homes in the mid to high $400,000's but those are going to be older and need quite a bit of work. MISCELLANEOUS: Many people who live in SCV travel to downtown LA for work (which is approximately 35 miles south). So if you move here and work in LA expect to have a long travel day there and back. Six Flags Magic Mountain: this is, or at least WAS one of the highlights to SCV growing up. It was SCV's major landmark with the big red tower and was so cool living in the same city as the theme park and going to it on weekends. Many people who were or are born and raised in SCV will get their first job at Magic Mountain or Hurricane Harbor (the water park right next to Magic Mountain). But I've heard Magic Mountain has turned rough around the edges with the type of people who go on a daily basis. Santa Clarita is still a decent place and I enjoy visiting my family every once in awhile but I'm glad to be out of SCV and California in general.

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Going the Way of LA? - 6/11/2019

A year ago my husband and I chose Santa Clarita as our base for work in the LA area after areas closer in proved too scarey and dirty (Van Nuys in particular). In general, Santa Clarita is clean and has low crime, but the influx of homeless drug addicts and illegals into LA is changing that. We stay at an RV park part of the year and feel safe, but in recent months there has been evidence of illegals moving up the Santa Clarita river bed stopping and using the showers in the park as a toilet. Also, just two weeks ago, there were two armed home invasions on the same day over in the Canyon Country area of Santa Clarita that targeted the elderly: 3-4 armed thugs in broad daylight. If Santa Clarita responds the same as the rest of Los Angeles (do nothing) then this town too will become just as unlivable. I wouldn't buy a house in California as the word is out on the quality of life here and people are having trouble selling their homes so they can leave. As it is, we will be having to make some hard decisions in the next year about remaining in the area, even part time.

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Valencia - 10/1/2015

been living here for 2 years; nice for young families; schools very good; neighborhoods more like what it was when i grew up; I'm nearing retirement so don't find Valencia appealing since I don't want to drive so much after I retire.

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Great Community and Great Peopl! - 3/3/2013

I love this place!

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Always Something to do - 6/26/2012

I love living in the Santa Clarita Valley because there is ALWAYS something to do, however the cost of living is outrageous, and that plays a big factor on why I may move out of state.

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GHETTO, GRAFFITI AND TRASH I served my time here, - 4/17/2012

I served my time here for three years, that was way more than enough for me. I specifically lived in Newhall and it is the crappiest town ever. If you like graffiti and a gang-banger lifestyle, then be my guest and move here! In Newhall you can have the Tijuana experience but never go south of the border. But actually TJ would be nicer because at least it has decent weather. Santa Clarita's two seasons are blistering hot, or rains so heavy that your house flows down the river that used to be your street. Your version of a nice yard includes shopping carts and 99 cents stores bags blowing around. It is windy all the time. If you are lucky enough to send your kid to Newhall elementary they will need a translator since the majority of the students don't speak english. on top of it all you are next to neighborhoods like Valencia where middle-class arrogance prevails. The think everyone else is dirt! They are terrible to be around. Commuting around town is ridiculous, traffic everywhere. Master-planned? I don't think so, whoever did it should be fired.

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Santa Clarita is way overrated. - 1/21/2012

Have you ever heard of the saying, "Keeping up with the Jones"? Well that explains Santa Clarita in a nutshell. This city is horrible. It's overcrowded, too expensive, hotter than hot in the summer, and the people that live here act like they are in Beverly Hills. There is a major rise in crime and Newhall area is like TJ. Most of the schools are good if you are looking simply at test scores and you don't mind that your child is surrounded by spoiled children that have little tolerance. Money and status is what drives the people of this community and to meet somebody that is genuinely friendly is rare. Seriously, it's like living in the Twilight Zone here and I can't wait to get out.

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Great Community - 7/20/2011

As a lifetime resident of the Santa Clarita Valley, I have been able to watch my community grow and flourish. For me Santa Clarita has is a great place to live when you want the amenities of a big city, but still have the small town feel. The Santa Clarita Valley has seen most of it's growth in recent years, is home to Magic Mountain Theme Park, and offers many accommodations such as shopping areas, movie theater's, dining, and more. Santa Clarita is a suburb of Los Angeles, and located approx 35 miles north of downtown. Santa Clarita has ranked as one of the top places to live by Money Magazine, and has some of the lowest crime rates fin the nation. The Master Planned Communities here are great! Not to far from any neighborhood you live in, you will find parks, walking, running, and biking trails, supermarkets, award winning schools.

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Nice place to live - 4/21/2011

I have lived here for 12 years and will be here for at least 8 more years. Good schools and safe.

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beautiful but overbuilt.... - 11/18/2010

a wonderful clean place to raise a family, great schools low crime very community oriented. just what any all-American family would want. the problem is there's only so much land, which is in way over built, terrible traffic problems, housing is way overpriced, property taxes are outrageous.... and most people have to commute out of town up to 1 to 2 hours to Los Angeles. beyond that it's paradise... at a cost..

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Too many residents and growth for our liking - 11/9/2010

Having lived in the Santa Clarita Valley for approx. 20 years now, the city of Canyon Country has grown by leaps and bounds. Unfortunately many of the businesses that thrived several years ago are empty buildings just waiting for someone to sign a lease. Employment is greater in Valencia and there are many more jobs to be found. This side of town is experiencing too many foreclosures and short sales and property values have dropped significantly. The crime has risen and though we live in a nice community, within the last year our home has been burglarized, vandalized and we operate security cameras 24/7. We used to be able to leave doors and windows unlocked and now we worry about just leaving a window unlocked. There are quite a few homeless people even at our local supermarket and the schools are overcrowded. The teachers are dedicated and the kids get a decent education but withing the public schools there are negative influences namely drugs and some gang members. We are looking to move out of state but since the homes have dropped so very much in value we can't leave here. For those looking to move into this city, its definitely less windy than Palmdale and has less crime than the Antelope Valley. Santa Clarita is not far from the San Fernando Valley but the freeways during the drivetime commute are bad!! Valencia areas are cleaner, don't get graffitti like we do and have beautiful stores and posh restaurants. Real Estate is much pricier on that side of town but Canyon Country homes have alot more land.

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Life in Santa Clarita - 11/4/2010

Love it!

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Nice, Upper Class- but crowded - 4/24/2010

Having lived off and on in the Santa Clarita area for over thirty years, I can say it has changed a lot. It is a very upper class, weel educated city, with nice streets, great shopping, and way too much traffic. With a population of about 150,000, the road system is just overburdened. So getting from one side to the other can take 30 minutes. But it is a very family oriented and nice community. It has nice hot spots, great recreation facilities, and for lA County, low crime. Home prices are very high, and expect to pay high taxes. Generally it has had good schools, but they are trending down in quality. Still some of the best in LA County. Climate is the LA valley type, with long hot summers, and very mild winters. Biking, walking, outdoor activites can be done almost any day. Little rain. But fires. Most years the fall will supply the valley with smoke with a few days. And occasioanlly buring right into the community because of dry brush and hot santa ana winds, the fires are extremely hard to put out. So a few days of smoke- the white ash is a little like snow- but you never get enough to shovel it. The area really has a lot for any age, faily, retured, trendy twenty somethings, and two freeways to LA only 35 minutes away (if we didn't have traffic). Great place to live.

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White Picket Fences - 2/18/2010

The Santa Clarita Valley is a beautiful, family friendly, close knot community literally surrounded by white picket fences. The growth in the SCV the last few years is concerning, because the traffic systems have not evolved with the growing number of people who live here. However, the development has been managed fairly well, and it is still a great place to live. I do miss the cows grazing where the TPC golf course is now. I moved up here because of those cows!

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Planned Comminities - 11/8/2009

Santa Clarita is a great family friendly planned community.

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Excellent quality of life - 11/2/2009

With the temperature might be hot in the Summer, it is not overwhelming other than about 3 weeks during the year. The Community is large enough to have all the shopping and services but small enough to not have the issues that larger metropolitan cities have.

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