Best area in LA for house budget of $300K to $375K???

[readymade]

Originally Posted by The_gateway

Oxnard is quite a ways away...
Is the area around griffith park/silver lake/dodger stadium/ west hollywood okay? Glendale?

We bought a house in Ventura several years ago, lured there by the housing prices since we couldn't find anything for under $600k (at the time) in LA. It was a mistake... for us. We found ourselves driving to LA more and more as time went on. And it is NOT a fun (or fast) drive. At about 2am, it could be as fast as 45 minutes. At rush hour... 2 1/2 hours. We missed our flight to our honeymoon because it took 3 1/2 hours to get to LAX. It's not a good place to live if you take flights regularly - which we were at the time.

It's a beautiful place, and I'm sure it works well for some people. It just didn't for us. When we first moved there, various (younger... 20s, early 30s) people would ask "WHY would you move HERE?! It's so BORING!" We thought they were crazy. A couple of years later, we agreed with them.

As for Griffith Park/Silverlake/West Hollywood/Glendale... they're all nice. But I don't think you can buy a house there for under $400k (for a crappy house) or $500k+.

I'm pretty sure the area around Dodger stadium is kind of sketchy, but I could be wrong about that.

[FarewellLA]

Wow thanks everyone for keeping this thread alive. I think everyone's input here is great. Let me answer a few questions. My desire to stay in LA proper is basically bcuz what makes me happy about living in LA is located right here in the city of LA...my friends, my job, my interests, everything. And I thrive on living in close proximity to the things I love to do. If I lived an hour's drive away it would change my lifestyle and I'm not willing to become a prisoner of my choice to become a homeowner. I should also mention that I am single, no children and I'm very much a city girl. I hope I can find a home and I will be on the hunt for that gem until I do. As far as buying a condo, I would rather continue to rent until I find a single family home that is the right fit for me. No offense to condo owners but it's just not what I want to do at this point in my life. Again, thanks everyone for your input.

[lapommedeterre]

just searched zillow and found some houses in your range in north hills, encino, tarzana, here is one in atwater village
3201 Garden Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90039 MLS# 12145963it - Zillow
los feliz
1514 Myra Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027 MLS# r1003566 - Zillow
echo park
1610 N Alvarado St, Los Angeles, CA 90026 MLS# f1849513 - Zillow

[Troof]

Originally Posted by lapommedeterre

just searched zillow and found some houses in your range in north hills, encino, tarzana, here is one in atwater village
3201 Garden Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90039 MLS# 12145963it - Zillow
los feliz
1514 Myra Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027 MLS# r1003566 - Zillow
echo park
1610 N Alvarado St, Los Angeles, CA 90026 MLS# f1849513 - Zillow

Yeah, I was gonna suggest Atwater Village as an area to check... good call.

The recent selling history on that Myra house is kinda hilarious... Looks to be pretty much the epitome of the housing ATM phenomena -- Flipped in 2003, 2004, 2005 (twice). Then someone thought they got a "bargain" in 2007...

Crazy stuff.

[readymade]

I thought there was nothing out there because I stopped receiving emails from my realtor. Turns out, my "Client Portal" thing on my realtor's site has been disabled.

Oops! (still might be nothing out there... but probably not as dire as I'd thought)

[The_gateway]

Originally Posted by readymade

We bought a house in Ventura several years ago, lured there by the housing prices since we couldn't find anything for under $600k (at the time) in LA. It was a mistake... for us. We found ourselves driving to LA more and more as time went on. And it is NOT a fun (or fast) drive. At about 2am, it could be as fast as 45 minutes. At rush hour... 2 1/2 hours. We missed our flight to our honeymoon because it took 3 1/2 hours to get to LAX. It's not a good place to live if you take flights regularly - which we were at the time.

It's a beautiful place, and I'm sure it works well for some people. It just didn't for us. When we first moved there, various (younger... 20s, early 30s) people would ask "WHY would you move HERE?! It's so BORING!" We thought they were crazy. A couple of years later, we agreed with them.

As for Griffith Park/Silverlake/West Hollywood/Glendale... they're all nice. But I don't think you can buy a house there for under $400k (for a crappy house) or $500k+.

I'm pretty sure the area around Dodger stadium is kind of sketchy, but I could be wrong about that.

This is why I would rather live in a city. My brain is the kind that I constantly need stimulation (the non narcotic kind - although i am known to partake occasionally).
That's why I need to be around people, coffee shops, bars, bookstores, beaches, cool shops, art galleries, museums, malls, parks, restaurants, clubs etc. I would rather live in a tastefully done 500 sq ft apartment in the centre of activity vs. a nice 3 bed house in the middle of nowhere. I'd literally go insane. I've tried it before, and I lasted two weeks.
As for crime, well i've lived in bad neighborhoods before, and while I would ideally not want to return to that life, I could handle a little bit of sketchiness. I'm single so I don't have to worry about kids being safe etc.

[The_gateway]

Originally Posted by lapommedeterre

just searched zillow and found some houses in your range in north hills, encino, tarzana, here is one in atwater village
3201 Garden Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90039 MLS# 12145963it - Zillow
los feliz
1514 Myra Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027 MLS# r1003566 - Zillow
echo park
1610 N Alvarado St, Los Angeles, CA 90026 MLS# f1849513 - Zillow

Those houses are pretty cool...
another question I have: Is not knowing spanish an issue? I don't speak it, but I am learning. Is there areas that white non-hispanics could live that would be alright? I love the culture, and the food especially, but just don't know the language. I have read other threads that there are lots of good mixed race neighborhoods. Is there good housing in areas that are majority hispanic? Or majority black even? If I could get a cheaper house that is decent (I.E. not falling down) would be cool.
Just wonderin' folks... thanks so much!

[1200RT]

Originally Posted by The_gateway

Is not knowing spanish an issue?

Unless you're soliciting day laborers from out side of a home depot, you don't need to speak Spanish.