Old Pasadena Makes it to Top 20 ‘Charming’ Towns

Old Pasadena has won a spot in the Top 20 ‘Charming’ Towns list ranked by RentLingo, a website for apartment hunters.

This comes as welcome news since most of the rental news related to Los Angeles and its surrounding areas is focused on high rental rates and the shortage of affordable housing, among other things.

Real estate professional Chris Reisbeck of the John Aaroe Group reports that Old Pasadena received high “charm ratings” from RentLingo particularly for its variety of local cafes and boutiques, art galleries and theaters, all of which are highly rated by Pasadena residents.

In his blog, www.classicpasadenahomes.com , Reisbeck says RentLingo’s ranking of the top 20 most charming small cities holds up Pasadena in a more positive light.

Although there are some franchise businesses, they don’t detract from Old Pasadena’s charming character, RentLingo added.

Old Pasadena came in 10th on the top 20 charming small cities, small being anything between 75,000 and 250,000 residents. Pasadena’s population falls in the neighborhood of 140,000 people.

RentLingo was created by two Stanford students frustrated with the apartment search process, according to its website. RentLingo is more than an apartment finder website. It hires local experts, often former property managers, to rate and review the apartments for rent.

Considering RentLingo’s origins, it’s not so surprising to see much of the top 20 list includes California locales, though there are other states that make the cut.

Alameda, California was selected as the No. 1. most charming small city, followed by downtown San Mateo.

Other California cities included in the ranking of “charming” small cities include Orange, Downtown Berkeley, Burbank, Oceanside, Carlsbad, and Downtown Vernon Street in Roseville.

The highest-ranked location outside of California was Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which came in third on the list.

RentLingo’s complete list of the Top 20 “Charming” small cities can be accessed through www.rentlingo.com/top-20-most-charming-small-cities .