What should you know about Pasadena, California

1. Geography

Pasadena, 183rd-largest city in the United States and the ninth-largest city in Los Angeles County, is located ten miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles.

The Raymond Fault line, the San Rafael Hills, and the San Gabriel Mountains flank the greater Pasadena area, and 12 communities border the city: Glendale, Highland Park, Eagle Rock, South Pasadena, San Marino, Temple City, San Gabriel, Arcadia, Sierra Madre, La Cañada Flintridge, and Altadena.

The Arroyo Seco is a major geographic feature of Pasadena; it flows from the Angeles National Forest greenbelt in the San Gabriel Mountains.

The city has an elevation of 864 feet above sea level, and a total area of 23.1 square miles of which, 99% is land, and 0.68% is water.

1. a Climate

Pasadena has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate. The July high is around 90 degrees, while the January low is 46. The city gets 22 inches of rain per year, and experiences 41 days of measurable precipitation.

On average, there are 286 sunny days in the area.

Due to its location, higher and further inland than Los Angeles, the city has cooler winter nights and hotter summer days. In January and February, daytime highs can reach the 90's, due to the Foehn wind caused by the Santa Ana winds.

Winters are mostly mild and wet, with heavy rains. In the month of January night temperature drops below freezing, sometimes; and occasionally, snows falls in Pasadena due its location at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains.

2. Economy

The top employers in the city are: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Kaiser Permanente, California Institute of Technology, Huntington Hospital, Pasadena Unified School District, AT&T, City of Pasadena, Pasadena City College, Bank of America, Pacific Clinics, Art Center College of Design, OneWest Bank, Parsons, Hathaway-Sycamores, the Langham Huntington, Western Asset, Rusnak Auto Group, East West Bank and Avon Products.

Other companies with headquarters in Pasadena include: Wesco Financial, Avery Dennison, Jacobs Engineering Group, Cogent Systems, Inter-Con Security, Green Dot Corporation, Tetra Tech, OpenX, Wetzel's Pretzels, and the Los Angeles-area office of China Eastern Airlines.

3. Education

The Pasadena Unified School District serves the cities of Pasadena, Altadena and Sierra Madre. There are in total:

17 K-5 elementary schools,
one K-8 school,
5 middle schools,
two 6-12 (secondary) schools,
2 high schools.

Private and parochial schools in the city include: St. Andrew's Catholic Church, Chandler School, Judson International School, Polytechnic School, Westridge School, Mayfield Junior School St. Phillip the Apostle School, and Sequoyah School.

Private high schools in the community are: La Salle High School, Mayfield Senior School, Judson International School, Polytechnic School, Westridge School, and Maranatha High School.

The University of the People offers free online courses which awards accredited degrees, while Pasadena City College located on Colorado Boulevard, offers academic programs that encompass degrees, transfer programs, and certificates to a population of more than 25,000 students.

The California Institute of Technology has a campus in the southern-central area of Pasadena, and the Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts has two campuses in the city, that provides the renowned Le Cordon Bleu accreditation.

3. a Library

The Pasadena Public Library operates ten locations in the city. All of them offer:

Wi-Fi.
Computers with access to the Internet.
Word processing, printing, and other electronic resources.
Computer workstations with JAWS visual enhancement software, at the Central Library and La Pintoresca Branch.
Magnification computer to enlarge printed text at the Central Library
A hearing loop system for visitors with a T-coil equipped hearing aid in the Donald R. Wright Auditorium at the Central Library.
A special collection of books to promote adult literacy, as well as self-guided literacy software on its adult literacy computers at the La Pintoresca Branch.
Meeting spaces available for public use at six of the branches.

An auditorium and meeting space at the Central Library.

4. Government

The City Council functions as the legislative body that represents the citizens of Pasadena, and it is responsible for establishing the City policies and service standards, passing local ordinances and developing an overall vision for the community as a whole.

5. Infrastructure

5. a Transportation

Light rail

The Los Angeles Metro Gold Line light rail serves the city of Pasadena. There are currently six Gold Line stations in the community: Fillmore Station, Del Mar Station in Old Pasadena, Memorial Park Station in Old Pasadena, Lake Station in Downtown, Allen Station and Sierra Madre Villa Station.

Bus

Foothill Transit, LADOT, Metro Local, Metro Express and Metro Rapid provide bus service to Pasadena and other cities, while Pasadena Transit provides bus service only in the community.

Airports

Bob Hope Airport also known as Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport, provides flights within the United States.

Other airports located between sixty minutes and less than an hour from Pasadena include: Los Angeles International Airport, LA/Ontario International Airport in Ontario, Long Beach Airport, and John Wayne Airport in Orange County.

Freeways and highways

Four freeways run through Pasadena:

Foothill Freeway (I-210) connects Pasadena with San Fernando (westbound) and San Bernardino (eastbound).

The Ventura Freeway (SR 134) is the main connector to Bob Hope Airport and the San Fernando Valley.

Long Beach Freeway (SR 710 in Pasadena) was initially planned to run all the way north to Pasadena, but a gap, known as the South Pasadena Gap, between Alhambra and Pasadena has been delayed for several decades due to legal battles with the community (of South Pasadena).

The Arroyo Seco Parkway (SR 110) (also known as the Pasadena Freeway) is the primary access to Downtown Los Angeles.

Three state highways enter the city: Arroyo Parkway (SR 110), Rosemead Boulevard (SR 19) and a portion of the Angeles Crest Highway (SR 2).

5.b Utilities

There are 23 trash and recycling companies in Pasadena, five of them are: City of Pasadena – Public Works Department/SMIWM, Recology Los Angeles, Waste Management/dba USA Waste of California, Inc; Southland Disposal Company, and Consolidated Disposal Service, L.L.C., dba Republic Services.

Southern California Gas provides service to the area.

Pasadena Water and Power offers these services to residents and businesses in the community.

Southern California Edison is the main provider of electricity in South Pasadena.

Phone: AT&T (800) 288-2020

Cable:

In Pasadena: Charter (877) 581-3485.

In South Pasadena: Time Warner Cable (866) 461-9843.

6. Point of Interest

Old Pasadena, one of the premiere shopping districts in USA, features over 100 diverse restaurants, including award-winning restaurants and outdoor cafés; over 200 specialty boutiques and exclusive national retailers, as well as museums, movie theaters, nightclubs, sports pubs, comedy clubs, and wine bars where you can enjoy live music during the evenings and late at night.

Old Pasadena Farmers Market is open every Sunday from 9:00am to 2:00pm on Holly Street at Fair Oaks Avenue.

Besides a multitude of fresh products, you can enjoy live music from 11:00am-1:00pm.

Paseo Colorado is an upscale open-air mall that covers three city blocks. It was designed to be a modern urban village.

The Rose Bowl Flea Market is a large swap meet that features thousands of dealers of antiques, pottery, vintage clothing, and much more. The flea market operates every second Sunday of the month.

Pasadena is also home to multiple art museums and public galleries, including: the Pasadena Museum of History, the Norton Simon Museum, the Pacific Asia Museum, (with a garden courtyard in its center,) Pasadena Museum of California Art, the Armory Center for the Arts, the Art Center College of Design, the Kidspace Children's Museum, the Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens featuring painting and sculpture galleries; the Pasadena City College has an art gallery that shows work of professionals, students and faculty.

If you move to Pasadena, you will be able to enjoy every New Year’s morning, (live and in person) the world famous Rose Bowl Parade, whichfeatures elaborate floats made with high-tech computerized animation and exotic natural materials from all over the world, as well as marching bands and equestrian units.

Some floats take almost a year to construct, and all of them are completely covered with flowers or other natural materials, such as seeds, leaves, or bark. Volunteers from their sponsoring communities build some of the floats, but most of them are made by professional float building companies.

Traditionally, over one million viewers camp out (along the 5 miles parade route) on New Year's Eve.

The next day, on New Year’s morning, millions of viewers around the world enjoy the Rose Bowl Parade, which is broadcasted on tv.

Every New Year's Day, the Rose Bowl, a National Historic Landmark, hosts of the first college football postseason bowl game: the world famous Tournament of Roses Rose Bowl Game.

Many other events such as concerts have been held in the stadium as well.

The Arroyo Seco Natural Park, the City’s largest natural open space, features:

22 miles of trails.
A large variety of recreational facilities such as: multipurpose fields, playgrounds, specialty sport fields, an aquatics center, a museum, a golf course, a world class sports stadium, and more.

Arroyo Seco is a passageway for wildlife, and its trails are connected to the trails of the Angeles National Forest as well as the Rim of the Valley trail system.

Conclusion

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6 Reasons to Move to Pasadena, CA