The Westside: What's the big deal? (Los Angeles, San Diego: apartments, condos, attorney)

[drshang]

Most people don't regularly venture more than a few miles from home, especially if they work in that area. For us in Pasadena we mostly stay in Pasadena, Alhambra, San Gabriel, Eagle Rock and down to Downtown LA. But Los Feliz, the Westside, etc. are all very nice places too, it's just that the area within 5-10 miles of where you live generally has everything you need outside of more "special occasions," especially if you live in a nice and/or trendy area.

That said, I think it was funny that after we lived in LA for 6 months we had explored more areas than people who had lived here for several years. One of the great things about LA is you can take day trips to other parts of the city without the hassle or expense of weekend trips. But it's still not practical to do those type of excursions on a weekend evening outside of some special event in that area.

[californio sur]

Originally Posted by drshang

Most people don't regularly venture more than a few miles from home, especially if they work in that area. For us in Pasadena we mostly stay in Pasadena, Alhambra, San Gabriel, Eagle Rock and down to Downtown LA. But Los Feliz, the Westside, etc. are all very nice places too, it's just that the area within 5-10 miles of where you live generally has everything you need outside of more "special occasions," especially if you live in a nice and/or trendy area.

That said, I think it was funny that after we lived in LA for 6 months we had explored more areas than people who had lived here for several years. One of the great things about LA is you can take day trips to other parts of the city without the hassle or expense of weekend trips. But it's still not practical to do those type of excursions on a weekend evening outside of some special event in that area.

Right. Pasadena and the Gold Line corridor into downtown LA rivals the Westside for things to do. Certainly not as expensive as Beverly Hills\ Santa Monica\ Pacific Palisades\ Westwood\ West Hollywood. But also less congested and convenient to the cultural offerings\ sports arenas\ USC downtown. I think Old Pasadena is better than the Santa Monica promenade for more restaurants\ clubs\ sports bars and the Rose Bowl. Also Santa Anita horse track\ LA Arboretum\ Huntington botanical gardens\ library\ San Marino\ Jet Propulsion Lab-NASA\ Cal Tech, etc.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by matt345

That was exactly my point in making this thread! I know that Santa Monica and Venice have a lot to offer, but what about the other Westside neighborhoods? I hear Brentwood and Pacific Palisades hyped up endlessly

Probably by people who have never lived in the westside.

but to me, they resemble nothing more than upscale bedroom communities.

Brentwood is at best like SM with worse schools (as it's LAUSD) or Sawtelle with more New Yorkers. It's not particularly architecturally attractive. I don't think there's a more overrated neighborhood in L.A.

That is, unless of course I've been missing something or someplace all these years which is why I asked. In LA, the Westside gets hyped up in a manner similar to Manhattan in NYC; so you would think it'd be the center of all the action in LA, just as Manhattan is in NYC. But it's not. Sunset Strip, Hollywood Blvd, Rodeo Drive, Melrose Avenue, celebrity-filled Roberston Blvd...they're all outside of the Westside.

The only one of those places that's outside of the Westside is Hollywood Blvd. Melrose is partly Westside. The Strip, Rodeo Drive, and Robertson are all Westside. And those areas (other than Hollywood Blvd.) are what gave the Westside the reputation you talk about.

The problem with La Cienega as eastern border is that leaves out a quarter of Beverly Hills, a huge chunk of the Strip and WeHo, and a tiny part of Culver City (albeit very few people live in CC east of La Cienega). Using Fairfax as the eastern border, then all of Beverly Hills, all of Culver City, all of the Strip proper and about half of WeHo would be on the westside. Many Beverly Hills residents have 323 area codes...

Californiosur:

Los Felix is nice, to be sure, but there are better LA neighborhoods unless $million homes is important to a person. Los Felix is mainly residential and Los Felix blvd is the only major artery w/ lots of traffic [esp when people are heading to Griffith Pk].

WRONG. Forgetting about Vermont Ave. or Franklin Ave. (although Franklin ceases to be a major artery past Hillhurst)? Or Sunset Blvd. - although the Los Feliz/Silver Lake border is very ill-defined. (Sunset and Fountain/Hyperion, perhaps?) There's definitely overlap.

I guess being close to the zoo is cool and the riding stables near the river.

Those are on the Valley side of Griffith Park. The stables are immediately adjacent to Burbank.

[californio sur]

Originally Posted by majoun

Californiosur:
WRONG. Forgetting about Vermont Ave. or Franklin Ave. (although Franklin ceases to be a major artery past Hillhurst)? Or Sunset Blvd. - although the Los Feliz/Silver Lake border is very ill-defined. (Sunset and Fountain/Hyperion, perhaps?) There's definitely overlap.

Those are on the Valley side of Griffith Park. The stables are immediately adjacent to Burbank.

Vermont is mainly east Hollywood\ Silver Lake and extends into Los Felix. Hillhurst\ Sunset Blvd are also east Hollywood but, of-course, these areas are quite close to Los Felix. Franklin is also crowded during rush hour. These are certainly good streets for restaurants & Vermont\ Hillhurst village are interesting. Los Felix is surrounded by Griffith Park to the north so the zoo\ museum\ stables are just over the mountain. Los Felix is close to the observatory also. I agree that it is a great neighborhood though too expensive for most people. That's why I think Mt Washington into Pasadena is as nice and better in certain categories.

[BRinSM]

as mentioned in my previous post, my brother lives near the beverly center and i don't consider that part of town as the westside. it has a totally different feel to me, more in line with west hollywood, which is also different than the westside. once you get east of beverly hills, it feels much more urban and established, something that is greatly lacking on much of the westside. i can't imagine someone who lived off robertson saying that they lived on the westside, i don't think anyone would actually say that.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by BRinSM

as mentioned in my previous post, my brother lives near the beverly center and i don't consider that part of town as the westside. it has a totally different feel to me, more in line with west hollywood, which is also different than the westside. once you get east of beverly hills, it feels much more urban and established, something that is greatly lacking on much of the westside. i can't imagine someone who lived off robertson saying that they lived on the westside, i don't think anyone would actually say that.

"Eastside of the Westside". Would that make eastern Culver City the "Lower East Side of the Westside"? (that's so NYC-ish I'm surprised it hasn't caught on, considering how many "renamed" L.A. neighborhoods are given very New York-like names....)

[drshang]

Originally Posted by californio sur

Right. Pasadena and the Gold Line corridor into downtown LA rivals the Westside for things to do. Certainly not as expensive as Beverly Hills\ Santa Monica\ Pacific Palisades\ Westwood\ West Hollywood. But also less congested and convenient to the cultural offerings\ sports arenas\ USC downtown. I think Old Pasadena is better than the Santa Monica promenade for more restaurants\ clubs\ sports bars and the Rose Bowl. Also Santa Anita horse track\ LA Arboretum\ Huntington botanical gardens\ library\ San Marino\ Jet Propulsion Lab-NASA\ Cal Tech, etc.

I think people who live in Pasadena underestimate how convenient downtown LA is for dinner, nightlife, etc. Not only do you have the Gold Line, but even if you want to drive, the 110 between Pasadena and DT is not congested at all by LA standards and it's very easy to drive downtown from Pasadena at 6pm/7pm with minimal problems. Little Tokyo has some great food and there have been some real nice restaurants opening up in DT...plus you have tourist traps near the Staples Center if you want a $20 hamburger.

Personally I think Los Feliz to West Hollywood is pretty distinct from Santa Monica and Venice (and adjacent areas that make up the "west side." To me they are two separate areas, and then you have Pasadena to DTLA. There is always going to be overlap between areas, but at the same time you do have to draw boundaries somehow, but it will never be perfect.

[californio sur]

Originally Posted by drshang

I think people who live in Pasadena underestimate how convenient downtown LA is for dinner, nightlife, etc. Not only do you have the Gold Line, but even if you want to drive, the 110 between Pasadena and DT is not congested at all by LA standards and it's very easy to drive downtown from Pasadena at 6pm/7pm with minimal problems. Little Tokyo has some great food and there have been some real nice restaurants opening up in DT...plus you have tourist traps near the Staples Center if you want a $20 hamburger.

Personally I think Los Feliz to West Hollywood is pretty distinct from Santa Monica and Venice (and adjacent areas that make up the "west side." To me they are two separate areas, and then you have Pasadena to DTLA. There is always going to be overlap between areas, but at the same time you do have to draw boundaries somehow, but it will never be perfect.

I tend to agree that certainly Los Felix and even West Hollywood are not the "Westside" per most Angelenos. Even Beverly Hills is separate from Westwood by the golf course and the Hollywood Hills seem more mid-basin than Santa Monica\ Brentwood\ Venice. I don't think many people in West LA consider Beverly Hills\ West Hollywood as the "Westside."

Pasadena was wise to invest\ demand the Gold Line and it is great that it is now being extended into the east San Gabriel valley\ San Dimas\ Glendora, etc. This as well as the Pasadena freeway allows easy access to downtown Los Angeles and why I think the area is superior to the Westside. Though it is much hotter it is also alot less congested.

[LuckyGem]

Seriously, the traffic only gets worse when you travel east of the 405. If I can get everything I need done close to home, I won't go west of the 405.

[californio sur]

Originally Posted by LuckyGem

Seriously, the traffic only gets worse when you travel east of the 405. If I can get everything I need done close to home, I won't go west of the 405.

I think it is the opposite. The traffic on the Westside is probably the worse in the city. The San Diego & Santa Monica freeways\ PCH as well as the blvds can be in gridlock like nowhere else in Los Angeles.