| Lived here since 1961. It was nice then, it's just the armpit of the San Fernando Valley now. People still move here from LA and call this rustic, but I think I can get across the entire San Fernando Valley floor quicker than I can the ~8mi Simi Valley floor...and SFV is a heck of a lot longer. I think they hired an 8 year-old to serve as traffic engineer.
The only music store is a complete joke. Has been for years. They're here to take the money from rich parents who want to get their kids lessons, but their selection is crap and the attitude has always been "where else you gonna go?" Sadly, they don't realize that most of the musicians I know either go to the SFV/Hollywood or the internet. Music scene? WHAT? Two bars with live music for 140,000 people stuffed into a 4x8 mile valley, with only two ways in/out.
Speaking of the limited access--traffic's a lot of fun on days when BOTH access routes are closed due to fire (it has happened).
We got it good in the 94 Northridge earthquake due to our proximity (and we got it good in the 71 quake too). The Northridge quake really did a lot of damage here. They say mountains are made by earthquakes. Gee, we're surrounded by mountains! I've read some recent theories that say the valley is really the caldera of an ancient volcano. Who ya gonna believe?
There are some decent places to eat. Not much at all in the way of a music scene unless you're into "skate." I think there's an 18-screen theater now. Woo-hoo. No city tax (yet).
Used to be advertised as one of the safest cities, etc. Well, you know how statistics lie? Sure, it might be safer than some other parts of California, but it's not the kind of place where people leave their doors unlocked when they leave home. Lots of burglaries and small-time crime, and usually a couple gang-related murders a year.
Schools are still ranting about class size, even though they were doing the same thing when I graduated in 1971. Students seem to be sharply divided between the minority of bright kids and the majority of suburban rich white dweebs.
We have the worst air in Ventura county, it all blows into Simi from LA and the rest of Ventura Co from the ocean and bumps into the mountains. People are still arguing about the Rocketdyne burn pit and the potentially carcinogenic chemicals that are leaching ever closer to the water table. Summers seem hotter and more humid than they used to be, and we get the Santa Ana winds (up to 80mph) every October-December (which inevitably leads to some idiot starting a fire).
We have a "hillside protection ordinance" that was supposed to keep the beautiful hills clear of houses, but the realtors (until recently, the entire city was run by realtors) found a way around that: mow down the hills, now...what's the problem?
Beginnings of a good gang problem. Spoiled rotten rich kids with nothing to do all day and soccer moms from hell. Somebody's got to take advantage of the nouveau-riche.
Two seasons: summer (brown hills) and four days of winter (green hills).
Could have been a nice place but the realtors stuffed as many houses as they could into the place. Now, the valley floor serves as kind of a "ghetto" (and there are some gang areas you wouldn't want to go in to at night), while the rich and super-rich live in the hills.
I have friends and, most importantly, family here. That's why I don't leave. When the family is gone, so am I. This place is an extension of LA sprawl, but it has all of the negatives and none of the positives. There are some genuinely nice people and nice places here, but the city has none of the little-town charm that originally brought my parents here.
MidMoto should be by in a bit to add his two cents. It's too bad there aren't more of him and his family: great, honest, down-to-earth unpretentious people (and he's a great bassist, drummer, and keyboardist, too!).
__________________
Cheers,
LowRanger
| 
