Westlake Village is a small city in Los Angeles County, on the county's western border with Ventura County, set in the Conejo Valley where the Santa Monica Mountains meet rolling suburban hills. It was incorporated in 1981 as the 82nd municipality in Los Angeles County, but its modern identity was shaped two decades earlier. In 1963, the American-Hawaiian Steamship Company purchased a 12,000-acre ranch and, with Prudential Insurance, commissioned a master plan for a "city in the country" — an integrated community of neighborhoods, shopping, green space, and office parks arranged around a central lake. Westlake Lake, completed in 1969, is the community's centerpiece: a 125-acre, dammed reservoir on Potrero Creek stocked for fishing and lined with private docks and lakeside homes. The community straddles the Los Angeles–Ventura county line, with the incorporated city on the Los Angeles County side and surrounding neighborhoods extending into Thousand Oaks. California law prevents a single city from existing in two counties, so the Ventura County side remains part of Thousand Oaks. Westlake Village functions as an affluent, low-density suburb with a substantial office market of its own. Its commercial districts and business parks host professional and corporate offices, so many residents work close to home, while the Ventura (101) Freeway gives commuters access to Los Angeles, about 38 miles east, and the western San Fernando Valley. The community is served by two strong public school systems — the Conejo Valley Unified and Las Virgenes unified districts — depending on the side of the county line, and families are drawn to the area's open space, gated enclaves, and lake-oriented lifestyle. It suits people seeking a planned, scenic environment without the density of central Los Angeles. Hiking, lake recreation, and community amenities define daily life, and the city's plazas keep dining, groceries, and services close by. With its manicured streetscapes, trail network, and waterfront properties, Westlake Village occupies a distinct niche among Southern California suburbs — quiet, green, and highly planned, yet within commuting reach of a major metro.