{"id":436910,"date":"2026-08-19T03:08:25","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T03:08:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/436910\/"},"modified":"2026-08-19T03:08:25","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T03:08:25","slug":"notes-from-a-valley-girl-why-the-818-does-it-better","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/436910\/","title":{"rendered":"Notes from a Valley girl: Why the 818 does it better"},"content":{"rendered":"

Happy Valley Day! It\u2019s August 18\u2014a.k.a 8\/18, or 818\u2014so what better day to kick off my new series, in which I staunchly defend the San Fernando Valley against its detractors and highlight the ways life is better in the Valley?<\/p>\n

As I\u2019m now proud to tell people: I\u2019m a Valley girl, born and raised in Burbank. Once I reached college age and ventured out from my little Valley bubble, though, I learned that\u2014gasp\u2014people on the other side of the hill liked to make fun of and openly deride the Valley. I started to feel self-conscious and apologetic about my hometown. I hated listening to my own voice specifically because I would hear my rushed pace, the incessant \u201clikes\u201d and vocal fry at the end of each sentence. \u201cI sound like a Valley girl,\u201d I\u2019d bemoan, the subtext being, \u201cI sound ditzy.\u201d<\/p>\n

But even though the Valley has been used as a punchline for years, those lucky enough to spend any stretch of time in the 818 have begun to wise up and admit what I\u2019ve known all along. From its movie studios to the community feel to the less-crowded outposts of the city\u2019s best restaurants (hello, Jon & Vinny\u2019s and Petit Trois<\/a>)\u2014not to mention the sheer amount of space to move around in and the (slightly) lower real estate prices\u2014the Valley is winning over converts on the daily, who, say, move to North Hollywood for the relative affordability and then realize how nice it is living blocks away from a walkable thoroughfare like Magnolia or Ventura Boulevard.<\/p>\n

Even the Los Angeles Times<\/a> has noticed. From 1962 through 1992, Johnny Carson hosted The Tonight Show from \u201cbeautiful downtown Burbank\u201d\u2014a running joke at the time. But the paper reported earlier this month, \u201cBeautiful downtown Burbank isn\u2019t a punchline. The city is booming while Downtown L.A. struggles,\u201d detailing how the city differentiates itself from Los Angeles by cutting through red tape to welcome new businesses and develop new housing.<\/p>\n

And to those who love to debate that the San Fernando Valley isn\u2019t Los Angeles<\/a>, I hate to burst your bubble, but the whole of the Valley lies in L.A. County, and the majority of it is part of the literal city of Los Angeles\u2014save for Burbank, Calabasas, Hidden Hills and San Fernando, which are their own cities (and Universal City, which answers to no one). (Glendale is also its own city, though I don\u2019t really know if I consider it the Valley\u2014at least not all of it\u2014but more on that in a future installment.) In fact\u2014and this surprised even me\u2014over one-third of the city of L.A.\u2019s population resides in the San Fernando Valley.<\/p>\n

Anyway, I admit that starting\u00a0this series\u00a0in August\u2014when the weekly forecast has finally cooled down to a high of 94\u2014is a choice. The heat is one of the easiest criticisms to throw at us during our Death Valley\u2013esque summers. But where isn\u2019t hot these days? I spent a sweltering morning near the supposedly-cooler coast last weekend, and Europe\u2014everyone\u2019s favorite summer vacation destination\u2014is in the midst of its own heat wave. (And at least we know enough to have and use air conditioning.)<\/p>\n

In this series\u2014my new little passion project\u2014I\u2019ll go through the many things I love about the Valley. For my first installment, though, I thought, If I was trying to sell someone on the Valley, what\u2019s my elevator pitch? The answer: free parking. So what better place to start?<\/p>\n

You know that sinking feeling when you\u2019re meeting someone for dinner in Los Feliz<\/a> or Koreatown<\/a> (which the city has informally voted<\/a> as the absolute worst place to park) and just know you\u2019ll have to pray to the parking gods to find a secure, safe spot that\u2019s less than a 15-minute walk from your destination? Or when you want to buy one thing from the Trader Joe\u2019s by the Grove<\/a> and have to pay just for entering the parking lot? Yeah, that doesn\u2019t happen in the Valley. Among other things, we\u2019re blessed with surface lots and parking structures that are completely free. (For you car-free folks, public transit admittedly could be better, but we\u2019re working on it: A bus rapid transit route is currently under construction that\u2019ll connect Pasadena with Burbank, and the Metro<\/a> B and G lines stop in NoHo.)<\/p>\n

While you can easily drop $18 on parking at the Beverly Center or $32(!) at Westfield Century City, the majority of malls in the Valley (which, hello, is the mall\u2019s spiritual home) don\u2019t charge you to park. You can shop, hit up the food court and see a movie without ever having to worry about who validates.<\/p>\n

\"Burbank
\nPhotograph: Gillian Glover for Time OutFree parking at the Burbank Town Center. <\/p>\n

Downtown Burbank is the first example that springs to mind. The neighborhood is lousy with parking garages. There are three\u00a0of them with six entrances for the Burbank\u00a0Town Center alone, with another huge structure just across the street for Barnes & Noble, Crunch Fitness and a six-screen AMC. Speaking of AMCs (these days, Burbank\u2019s claim to fame is its three AMC theaters within blocks from\u00a0one another), there\u2019s an underground garage for the AMC 16, an above-ground garage that connects to it, and two other garages just off the top of my head where I\u2019ve never failed to find a spot. All this parking is a draw for business owners, too. Star Wars\u2013themed bar Scum & Villainy has a second location in the works, and owner J.C. Reifenberg chose Burbank in part for the parking. \u201cYou kind of get the best a big city has to offer, but it\u2019s on your doorstep, and there\u2019s free parking everywhere,\u201d he told The Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"The
\nPhotograph: Gillian Glover for Time OutFree parking for the AMC 16. <\/p>\n

And while I\u2019m admittedly a cheerleader for Burbank, it\u2019s far from the only example here. Self-parking at Westfield Fashion Square in Sherman Oaks is also completely free. Heading north, parking at Northridge Fashion Center is free, as is parking\u00a0in the surface lot of Panorama Mall in Panorama City.<\/p>\n

And while parking meters line much of Ventura Boulevard, if you\u2019re in Studio City to visit the Barnes & Noble Bookstar, Annabelle\u2019s Book Club<\/a>, Salt & Straw<\/a>, Uncle Paulie\u2019s Deli, Bluestone Lane or any of the other trendy shops and eateries west of Laurel Canyon Boulevard, there\u2019s free parking for you in the back. Even deeper in the Valley, Westfield Topanga\u2014including its food hall, Topanga Social<\/a>, newly revamped with buzzworthy chef collabs\u2014offers the first 90 minutes of parking for free.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll allow that there are a couple of lots that don\u2019t offer free parking (ahem, the\u00a0labyrinthine Sherman Oaks Galleria). And last year, the Valley\u2019s namesake San Fernando Boulevard in downtown Burbank had the audacity to shake things up\u2014becoming one-way and installing parking meters that demand payment from 8am all the way until midnight. But even on the rare occasions where you do have to fork over a few bucks to park in the Valley, there\u2019s never any concern over whether you\u2019ll be able to park at all\u2014that isn\u2019t always a given in other neighborhoods. There will always be space for you in the Valley. Come say hi.<\/p>\n