How bad would the Commute be from Silver Lake to Cerritos and surrounding areas? (Los Angeles: neighborhood)

[DadaM]

I am moving from NYC to LA this Friday, and I will be working in the following areas: Cerritos, Downey, Montebello, Lakewood, Brea, and Anaheim. Depending on the day, this will vary, and I am trying to find a neighborhood as NYC-ish (no laughing) as possible. I am a middle aged single gay man, and I hear Silver Lake is wonderful as well as Downtown LA. I will be staying in Playa Vista for the next month with family, while I find the right neighborhood. Also, my work schedule would vary, sometimes being 9 to 6 and other times more like 10-7 or 11-8, so I may not be in the "rush" hour, but I am understanding that every hour is rush hour on the LA/OC freeways. Any suggestions or better hoods I should look in? I've been told Long Beach, but I am very familiar with LA and not familiar at all with LB. Many thanks in advance for advice!

[JohnG72]

For commute purposes, Long Beach is best out of your options. Its not NY'ish at all though, even though it has a substantial downtown. Go visit while you are staying in Playa(which I'm guessing you'll like BTW). Long Beach has a large gay community, particularly in Belmont Shores which is very nice.

I just moved downtown and like it a lot. The ability to walk to everything is great. You may want to check it out too. Just browse the craigslist ads....under central LA and search downtown. You might want to visit a few places and see if you like it. Just your drive will be a bit more problematic.

[BRinSM]

I disagree, i doubt you'll like playa vista, it's a faux urban environment. however, i do think long beach would be a great option and is much closer to your destinations than anywhere interesting in LA. silver lake is just too far and would require a drive through downtown LA everyday (read: not fun).

bottom line, you won't really find many similarities between LA and NYC no matter where you choose, even downtown. long beach is pretty urban though with lots to do and a sizeable gay community as previously mentioned. from my experiences with long beach, most of the gay community is centered along broadway between downtown and belmont shore, but the entire city is gay friendly and hosts a pride parade every year. just make sure you move here with an open mind and some flexibility because we are not NYC and don't want to be either. good luck!

[harhar]

Silverlake is closest to Williamsburg in terms of the demographics (artists/hipsters/gay community), and really you're not going to find a more neighborhood-like NYC type city anywhere else around Los Angeles. Although I mean that in the loosest sense. I'll echo that even with some similarities, LA and NYC are vastly different experiences, if you haven't noticed already.

Although Long Beach is a nice city, it is much more middle of the road and I personally think you'd like Silverlake more. That being said, the drive up and down the 5 everyday just plain sucks. I did it for 2 years and it really burned me out.

I guess the choice is do you mind driving? I would suggest visiting both places, who knows, you might end up loving LB.

[bhcompy]

Long Beach. East Arts District is probably the cultural center for the gay population, nestled somewhat in between Belmont Shore and Downtown

[1945cerrogordo]

Depending on what time you'll be headed home, Lakewood, Cerritos, and Downey shouldn't be too tough. Brea and Anaheim though will be. I agree with everyone else so far. You'd be better off in Long Beach. Also, Seal Beach is nice if you're close to the ocean. Neither of these places are "New Yorky", but the Belmont Shore area of Long Beach is lots of fun, and very gay friendly.

Commuting to South LA County or Orange County from Silver Lake will drive you insane depending on your traffic tolerance. Montabello is no problem. If you're heading up at the right time Lakewood, Cerritos, and Downey won't be awful, but Anaheim and Brea will always be bad. I can think of one way you can still live in Silver Lake though (From your description of what you want, it is still the perfect neighborhood). I have no idea what kind of work you do (do you need tools, wear a suit, etc), but if you enjoy biking there are several ways to get to the areas you need to get to via rail. The green line can get you to Downey and then you're in bike distance of Lakewood and Cerritos. The Gold Line can get you into East LA which is in bike distance to Montabello. The Metrolink can get you to Anaheim. And Brea...well maybe you drive that day.

[ablickle]

+1 for Long Beach

Not really New York-ish, but really nice and gay friendly. Stick to downtown, east arts district, Ocean Blvd or Belmont Shores. Commute to Cerritos is easy ( I do it every day). You should really check it out over a weekend when you are here...

[calipoppy]

OP, forget finding a NYC-ish area in LA....you are in LA now!!

I agree with all of the Long Beach suggestions. The Belmont Shore, Belmont Heights and maybe the downtown Long Beach (Ocean Blvd) areas are probably your best bets for a balanced, commute-able life.

And also, I think that Silver Lake (and any other area) will be a big let down when you compare it to NYC walkability and vibe. We only have that in vibe in very, very small pockets in SoCal.