Pasadena

Picturesque and piled with historical charm, Los Angeles’ affable northeast neighboring city is a highly desirable place to live. Old Town Pasadena is the city’s cultural heart and commercial hub, filled with the majority of the city’s shopping, top restaurants, bars, bookstores and theaters. Other draws include the famous Rose Bowl Stadium, which boasts a well-packed calendar and a popular monthly flea market, as well as notable annual events that command national attention, like the Tournament of Roses Parade on New Year's Day. And beyond all of its entertainment and conveniences, Pasadena is a literal showcase of architecture, with homes from famous architects such as Wallace Neff, Roland Coate, Sylvanus Marston, Garrett Van Pelt and Edgar Maybury (of the firm Marston, Van Pelt & Maybury, which built hundreds of custom homes in Pasadena), among others. The area’s graceful Gamble House, designed by Greene and Greene, is one of the U.S.’s most iconic examples of American Arts and Crafts style architecture. Much of the area homes are steeped in history too: There’s a plethora of original Spanish-style, Craftsman, and Victorian home throughout the city, and even a 16-block landmark district known as “Bungalow Heaven” filled with more than 800 small Craftsman style homes that date to the early 1900s. Most Pasadena homes command prices from $600,000 into the multi-millions.