- nbhd -
atwater + glendale

Just a hop and a skip across the I-5 from Silver Lake and Los Feliz, Glendale and Atwater only seem far away. In many ways (well, predominantly geographically) it’s more connected to LA proper than Burbank or Studio City or even Westchester. Glendale is the “suburb” for the cool adults who are ready to settle down but still want easy access to action. Atwater is for the hipster parents who love wearing linen and have a cute desert aesthetic bungalow living their best suburban life all while still being in LA.

Together, this nestled neighborhood, framed on each side by the 5, the 134 and the 2, is pretty self sufficient. You don’t actually need to cross any of those traffic-ridden borders, everything you need is here. Similar to other growing residential areas (like Studio City), many popular LA establishments have an outpost in Glendale. From 85 Degrees to Din Tai Fung, Philz to Portos, Eggslut to Blu Jam, and even their very own (and maybe better because it’s less touristy?) version of The Grove conveniently next to a full sized suburban mall, Glendale pretty much has all the greatest hits within a few blocks of Brand Blvd. Add to that the Costco and pretty much all the conveniences of suburbia (ie: a giant Home Depot, Best Buy, every grocery store chain in SoCal, all with unlimited free parking), and you have everything you could possibly need. East LA dwellers pretty much use it as their neighborly haunt for running errands and existing at a different pace than the city proper.

Ok but besides being a great place for real adults and families to live, Glendale is still a worthwhile neighborhood in its own right. The large Armenian population makes up a significant part of the neighborhood. And means there is excellent Armenian food to be found.