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GOOD FENG SHUI AND GOOD NEIGHBORHOODS

I have found an interesting coincidence with some of the better neighborhoods I have visited and the better feng shui houses that exist there. I am speaking of the 4 major house types which are determined by their precise compass orientation.

Here is one example:
In the Pico/Robertson area of Los Angeles, there is a neighborhood south of Pico Blvd. called "Beverlywood Adjacent" and it includes many homes that were built between 1924-1943. Those which are on the east side of Robertson Blvd. and face east or west are often the house types that are called "Reversed." This implies a house type that is more prone to money and health struggles. (Right next to a lot of gang activity as well.) This neighborhood has never been considered as prestigous as the neighborhood on the West side of Robertson Blvd.

Many of these houses have identical floor plans and were built in the same period, but the difference in street alignment on either side of Robertson, makes them dramatically different house types. If you measure the compass degree on the East side of Robertson, the homes are aligned pretty much exactly dead-on east (90 degrees) or West (270 degrees.) Then you go a few blocks West of Robertson and the street alignment is a little different, where the east facing houses do so at about 75-80 degrees and West at about 255-260 degrees. These house types are considered inherently good for money and people. So this 15 degree shift may look almost imperceptible on the Thomas Map Guide, but it creates two very different house types, consistent with the general affluence of the neighborhoods they are in.

Another predictable area is the San Fernando Valley, which is mostly laid out on a North-South (345-165 degrees), East-West (70-250 degrees) grid. Many of these homes were built in the 1950's and are also classified as "Reversed." But when you get up into the hilly areas, with winding roads, particularly south of Ventura Blvd., the same 50's homes will face any number of directions, and often end up being better feng shui homes than the ones in the flat lands. Again, this has nothing to do with the size of the homes. It is the compass alignment combined with their construction age.

Another subtle shift takes place between Culver City streets in a northeast-Southwest alignment, verses the slightly different alignment on Santa Monica streets in better neighborhoods. In the fall of 1999, I visited a new 80-home development near Claremontat the request of the concerned builder. The Asian buyers were only buying the South-facing houses. I knew that some of this had to do with cultural superstition that South is a lucky direction. In this case, there was some truth to the situation, because new homes which face south are some of the best feng shui houses being built in the current time frame.

Kartar Diamond is a certified consultant and instructor from the American Feng Shui Institute. Her teaching schedule includes weekly classes in many parts of Southern California. Her consulting business, Feng Shui Solutions, specializes in existing residential and commercial property, as well as the design phase of new buildings and additions. Kartar's clients have included architects, designers, therapists, medical practitioners, artists, CEO's, entertainers, attorneys, restaurant owners, schools and photographers.