How to find a nice safe area to live in Los Angeles (Glendale: hotels)

[DaBeez]

I'll post this for all who are seeking to move into our great city. A good rule of thumb to use when trying to find a nice safe place to live in LA is to try to find a place that is within walking distance from any Whole Foods or Trader Joes market.

There is a 95% chance that you will be in a good area if you follow my Whole Foods/Trader Joes rule. Add an additional 3% (to 98%) if there is also a Starbucks close by as well.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by DaBeez

I'll post this for all who are seeking to move into our great city. A good rule of thumb to use when trying to find a nice safe place to live in LA is to try to find a place that is within walking distance from any Whole Foods or Trader Joes market.

There is a 95% chance that you will be in a good area if you follow my Whole Foods/Trader Joes rule. Add an additional 3% (to 98%) if there is also a Starbucks close by as well.

Makes sense. Good process for finding hotels when traveling out of town too.

[EscapeCalifornia]

Yep, I've noticed the same thing. They don't put high priced stores like Whole Foods in the ghetto. You could also use a high concentration of check cashing stores, pawn shops, and Spanish signs as a sign of a place you might want to avoid.

[DontH8Me]

Conversely, if you live near an Applebee's....

[DaBeez]

Originally Posted by DontH8Me

Conversely, if you live near an Applebee's....

Hilarious!! I've never been to an Applebees but I looked it up and sure enough, they are all located in areas I would never want to live in: Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley, Santa Clarita, Camarillo, Chatsworth, Temple City, Ventura, Alhambra, Bell Gardens.

Whole Foods locations: 2 in Sherman Oaks, 3 in Santa Monica, 2 in Pasadena, Woodland Hills, Beverly Hills, Brentwood, West LA, Fairfax, West Hollywood, Glendale, La Jolla, Porter Ranch.

[Rats]

you can also go by the number of 7-11s. I was driving through Pacoima the other day with a friend and saw four 7-11s in a few minutes of driving. We laughed because a few months back we were looking for a 7-11 late at night in Sherman Oaks for slurpees and couldn't find a single one!

[OutOfSoCal]

So San Dimas has a Starbucks, Trader Joes and Applebees all within 1/2 a block on the same street, now what ?

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by OutOfSoCal

So San Dimas has a Starbucks, Trader Joes and Applebees all within 1/2 a block on the same street, now what ?

San Dimas is a good area as far as I know. I don't buy the Applebees thing. There's one just up the street from me and I live in a very good area. We also have a TJ's, a Henry's, and a billion Starbucks very close by.

[jessemh431]

Originally Posted by DaBeez

Hilarious!! I've never been to an Applebees but I looked it up and sure enough, they are all located in areas I would never want to live in: Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley, Santa Clarita, Camarillo, Chatsworth, Temple City, Ventura, Alhambra, Bell Gardens.

Whole Foods locations: 2 in Sherman Oaks, 3 in Santa Monica, 2 in Pasadena, Woodland Hills, Beverly Hills, Brentwood, West LA, Fairfax, West Hollywood, Glendale, La Jolla, Porter Ranch.

dont forget the new one that just opened up in El Segundo on Sepulveda and Rosecrans.

El Segundo must be very mixed according to that though b/c there are a few 7-11's, McDonalds, Carls Jr., Jamba Juice, Ralphs, two El Tarascos, Quiznoes, Subway, Cooke's, Starbucks, Taco Time (every person at my school that has eaten there gets some type of food poisoning cus it's so bad), etc. I know that it is a very pricey, upscale, rich neighborhood, but by looking at what they have, it seems mixed. i know im missing some of the bad restaurants tho.

i understand that is a rule of thumb tho, so it works fine.

another would also be to avoid places right in the middle of a flat area. usually areas around the outside of the city are better. for example, the beaches and the santa monica mountains outline the basin and contain very upscale neighborhoods. woodland hills, studio city, calabasas, and sherman oaks are on the outside of the SFV. Pasadena is on the edge of the SGV.

[Vicman]

Originally Posted by Rats

you can also go by the number of 7-11s. I was driving through Pacoima the other day with a friend and saw four 7-11s in a few minutes of driving. We laughed because a few months back we were looking for a 7-11 late at night in Sherman Oaks for slurpees and couldn't find a single one!

In Taiwan the number of 7-11s is NOT the indication of "ghetto" areas. 7-11s are more or less common all over Taiwan, and it is common to find two 7-11s across the street from one another.