Topanga
Topanga is located in the Santa Monica Mountains and is known primarily for the Topanga State Park. The Park is 36 miles of trails featuring amazing views of the Pacific Ocean, oak trees, and open grassy fields. It also features Topanga Creek which is the third largest watershed and drains into the Santa Monica Bay. The park itself is the largest wild land found within the bounds of a major city. Topanga State Park's boundaries are Brentwood and Pacific Palisades to the south, Rustic Canyon to the east, and Topanga Canyon to the west.
The city of Topanga is approximately 18.2 square miles and has a population of 12,000. There are only two commercial areas in Topanga and 4,500 homes have been developed; many of these homes were built between the years of 1950 and 1985. The following is a breakdown:
- 955 homes built before 1949
- 1,380 homes built from 1950-1970
- 1,485 homes built from 1971-1985
- 499 homes built from 1986-1990
Surprisingly, Topanga is among the top of L.A. County's most expensive communities. The area known as the Post Office Tract has houses that are significantly higher in price than other areas because it is near Topanga State Park and the homes are newer. Twenty five percent of current listings are more than $1 million and anything below $600,000 is pulled off the market quickly.
Within the area there are four pre-schools, two elementary schools, and four home schools that educate around 1,000 of the communities' children.
Resources & Links:
- Local School Links
- Crime Statistics
- Southern California Home Sale Activity
Los Angeles home sales data, organized by ZIP code. Updated monthly. - Southern California Home Sale Data
Comparative Los Angeles home sales data, organized by city. - LA County Online
- The Los Angeles Times
Online version of the local periodical. - KCRW
National Public Radio station, based at Santa Monica College. - MovieLink/777-FILM
Local movie listings and show times. - ArtScene
Guide to California's museums.
- National Park Search
Great National Parks link. - California State Parks
Highly recommended.
- Yahoo! Neighborhood Profiles
For neighborhood demographics, cost of living and quality of life. - Local Real Estate Stats