A question for the Los Angeians?

Question

My friend and I want to move to L.A. not because it's the new trend but because it's one of the many places we want to experience living in before we turn old and kick the bucket.

What are some good areas to live? What are bad areas to live? Any survival tips?

We don't mind college towns because we are still quite young. Is downtown L.A. a bad place to live? For example: Art or Fashion district? What about Melrose?

Answer 1

century city, westwood (UCLA), santa monica, are all nice places to live you dont want to live in downtown or near USC. culver city is nice but not as nice as century city, westwood, santa monica.

Answer 2

A lot of where you should live depends on where you plan to work/go to school.  Even if you live in the greatest neighborhood with an even greater rent, it will really stink if you have to drive an hour each way to get where you need to go.

I'm not a great fan of downtown.  In the past several years, the city has been doing a lot to revitalize the area, and there are now more museums, lofts, restaurants, and shopping than there has been in a long time.  But the nightlife is non-existent, and if there were one, downtown is kind of sketchy at night because most of the city's homeless shelters are centered there.  Cool to visit during the day, though.

Melrose is a great place, but what really stinks about that area is the overinflated rent and the extreme lack of parking.

If you want a fairly central location that's good for a 20something or 30 something person, I might suggest the following areas:

1.  Los Feliz (northeast of Hollywood.  Hip and fun, but can get pricey)

2.  Silverlake (east of Los Feliz.  Another hip area with great nightlife)

3.  Atwater Village (north of Silverlake.  Going through revitalization right now.  Lots of little boutiques and restaurants lining the main drag)

4.  Virgil Village (east of Hollywood, near where Sunset Boulevard and Santa Monica Boulevard meet.  I hate the word "edgy," but an edgy little community with spunk!)

Most people tend to agree that south LA, south central, and east LA are the worst areas.  But visit before you move, and see what your gut tells you when you visit different neighborhoods.

--->Good luck on your move!

Answer 3

Everyone should experience Los Angeles before they die. So for that i say Kudos. You will want to live north of Wilshere and West of La Cienega. Avoid the East and South and avoid Highland Park and Downtown. As long as you stick to that you should be alright.

I suggest you look into some of the suburbs such as Glendale, South Pasadena and Pasadena.

I honestly believe Los Angeles area is the best place a person can live. And moving away will be hard!

Answer 4

let's just say

its the worst city to live in right

now with how the ecoonomy is and all.