moving to LA, help! (Los Angeles, Santa Monica: apartment, condos, safe area)

[raych]

so i'm going to be moving to los angeles in a few months but i really don't have too much of an idea of where i want to/should be living because i don't know anyone out there. i was wondering about areas such a west la, venice, santa monica, mid-city?, culver city...basically anything in that area. i'm from new york city if that helps, if la is anything like it...but here is a bit of info that could help anyone help me..

-21 y/o female college graduate
-have a job lined up in west hollywood and want to live UP TO 45 MINS AWAY AT THE MOST
-want to be close to downtown los angeles
-won't have a car for a while so need access to public transportation
-have a roommate coming with me
-on a tight budget and hoping to find a 2 bedroom/1 bathroom for around $2,000/month at the most expensive
-looking for a fairly safe area to live in

thank you so much for anyone who helps i really appreciate it!

[Ceece]

First, WHY do you want to be close to downtown LA? What's happening there...or what do you THINK is happening there?

Second, if your job is in West Hollywood why not try to live there too? It's got everything and many people want to live there. With no car I'm telling you, getting around isn't going to be pretty. You won't be able to go too far out anyway, 45 minutes in rush hour won't take you far.

[Lovehound]

Agreeing with Ceece, being downtown is not worth anything (apparently) for most of us Angelinos.

You wanna be where it's happening, okay West Hollywood, okay beach cities (Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach, even Santa Monica, or for something wild Venice Beach) but not downtown, not unless you want to sip rot-gut with winos.

Your $2K seems reasonable, with a roommate splitting.

Won't have a car? Don't even bother visiting Los Angeles. No car = no brainer = won't work. Get a car or save your whining and don't come here. L.A. is on wheels. You won't make it without a car. This is not the kind of city where you get on the subway, never mind that we have a minuscule subway, never mind that we have buses. Don't even bother moving here unless you're prepared to buy a car, even an economy used model.

[uptown_urbanist]

I'd go with Hollywood. It's a very short bus ride to West Hollywood and the buses run all the time. West Hollywood itself could also be a good option, but I like the ease of the Red Line subway (plus all the buses) there. It's a fun area, tons of stuff to do, lots of people out walking on the streets at all hours of the day (feels like a city), a quick subway ride from downtown (which I also love, by the way; I used to go there all the time while living in Hollywood), and it's really easy to live there without a car. In fact, if you think you might get a car sometime you'll want to factor that into your apartment search, as not all places in Hollywood come with parking (or at the very least it costs money) and it's a real hassle to find street parking. I would forget about Santa Monica or Venice; those are livable without a car, but they're longer from downtown and the commute to work will be longer. Might as well make life easy and live in West Hollywood or Hollywood.

I lived in LA for three years without a car and with no loss of quality of life. Don't believe those who tell you it can't be done.

[arrie25]

Recently i am moving to la in next week...i am going to la for job for 2 years and i am looking for 1 bedroom well furnished room...can anyone suggest me

[raych]

thanks for the feedback everyone, like i said, i don't know anything really about the area but being an east coaster my whole life i was guessing downtown la might have been like the villages in nyc but i guess not haha

[Lovehound]

No, downtown Los Angeles is not like downtown NYC. Here in L.A. we are spread out. Downtown is not our center here. Downtown is the seat of government, and if you're involved with city government then you want to be there. Most of us live our lives and never or rarely go downtown. We have dispersed downtowns, many, several, dozens, several dozen downtowns, but only one of them is Los Angeles and few of us go there often.

Los Angeles is not New York City. Anything you know about NYC, forget it, does not apply to LA. In NYC land use is driven by scarcity of land. In LA it is driven by the plentiful availability of land and the culture of the car, where we drive long distances not because we must but because we can.

Go check out our beach cities: Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, Santa Monica. This is just a guess on my part. Go there and try that out.

[uptown_urbanist]

I would strongly advise against the beach cities (other than maybe Santa Monica); the commute to West Hollywood would be tough, especially by bus, and the overall vibe is nothing like the part of NYC that it sounds like she enjoys.

I do agree that LA and NYC are totally different cities, are laid out completely differently, and you can't make assumptions about one based on the other. You'll really have to see it for yourself.

That said, I DO love downtown, and it's worth checking out. There's a lot going on there, some neighborhoods with a VERY bustling street life, and an extremely diverse mix of people (from skid row to luxury condos).

Still, since you're in West Hollywood, I still think either West Hollywood or Hollywood would be your best option. A little farther away (but still a very easy trip by bus) would be Los Feliz or Silverlake. All of those areas are easy to manage without a car. My favorite of all of those is still Hollywood, which does feel bustling and urban and has great public transportation plus is within walking distance of tons of bars and restaurants (as well as grocery stores, library, a great farmer's market, etc.) It's a weird place full of weird people from all backgrounds, and, I think, has a good energy to it (with all different layers to explore) There are some beautiful historic buildings there, too, although as noted, parking is really tight; it's one of the neighborhoods where it's an added hassle and expense to have a car, so if you think you'll get one eventually you should try to find a place that has the option of parking.