From Dallas to Los Angeles. What's the best area to live in LA? (Torrance: place to live, safe)

[skyway31]

Sunny upper 2BR/1BA in Manhattan beach. Close to downtown. (864)

[skyway31]

Originally Posted by munchitup

It doesn't matter how much you spend - you are going to be in proximity (within 5 miles) to crime no matter how much you pay or where you choose.

One thing maybe you don't realize is that Los Angeles is waaaay more dense than Dallas, so in those 5 miles things can change drastically. If you live in the Beach Cities the only time you would go through Inglewood would be on the freeway or at least in your car (those crazy highway shootings are a thing of the past) - you would never, ever need to go to Compton really, at least I cannot imagine why you would (though apparently the best Texas BBQ in the city is in Compton - I need to check that out ASAP). If you lived in Santa Monica, yes Venice is close by but if you didn't want to go there you would never have to.

I guess what I am trying to say is there are going to be close-by ghetto areas no matter what you do. It's a fact of life in a mega-city (as it is in NYC too) but the good thing about mega-cities is they provide all the amenities you would ever need (for the most part) in your own neighborhood or other adjacent nice neighborhoods. You could move to the way-out exurbs like Thousand Oaks or Calabasas to avoid the crime, but in turn you get some of the most banal areas in the entire region.

All correct!

[skyway31]

To put a bow on this, for the OP's taste, consider only:
-Santa Monica near Montana Ave and near Brentwood
- Beverly Hills northwest of the intersection of Wilshire and La Cienega
- WeHo on or west of Fairfax and Sunset
- Manhattan Beach preferably near downtown. Ditto downtown Hermosa.
See all of these places in enough depth to make an accurate judgment on all

[BarcelonaFan]

There are also some good deals in the Valley Village area but I just can't do North Hollywood with the crime. Can't take a chance. Older, cute properties are fine as well. When looking online in Santa Monica it seems like most of the places are newer with not much space.

This is getting to be too much, LOL.

What part of LA being a super gritty old city are you not getting? No matter where you live, what sunshine in a box neighborhood you choose to plant your uppity butt in, five miles down the road there will be a sketchy hood. You will be driving by some areas where you think you will get robbed but really you will realize it's just an older working class neighborhood.

You remind me of the girls that re-located with me from Texas. We're all from Sugarland, TX (lived half of my life in Memorial), a really nice burb of Houston. They all wanted to live in super safe new burbs for low cost. Not gonna happen. The think everything is ghetto, even Toluca Lake!

Homelessness is a big issue in LA. You see them everywhere, even in Beverly Hills. A lot in Santa Monica near the pier. Even in Brentwood. And I am not talking about one or two, or a drifter in some worn out clothes, but plenty of really unstable, soot covered, wild haired, homeless people with half their bodies in trash bins looking for food.

I remember stepping over a sleeping homeless man with half his body on the sidewalk and the other half in the streets. This was at the Beverly Center.

This is stuff you have to get used to if you want to live and work and play and shop in LA. It's a borderline third world city compared to Dallas.

But despite all of this it's still one the safest cities in America. I know how you feel because I went through this too before I moved. I had this picture of LA being this urban jungle war zone where I would get mugged at the grocery store, have my suitcase stolen at the airport and see a speeding Ferrari splash puddle water on my face. But it's not like that. Far from it. It's a unique and exciting experience but you have to let go that mindset that people from middle America bring with them here.

[skyway31]

You certainly don't have to live somewhere where there are a lot of homeless people around. But, you are more likely to see them than in the snootiest parts of Dallas. Among places in L.A. that also have a decent-excellent social/restaurant/bar scene, the places I listed above are the nicest. In those places (Save for maybe WeHo near Sunset/Fairfax) you will rarely see homeless people. There are places that can impress you with their fancy, flashes of wealth. But they are the best, most expensive parts of L.A.

If you visit the places I listed above, I'm confident you'll find something you like. That said, if you don't commute every day into West L.A. etc, you may also want to look into places like Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach and other parts of south Orange county like Mission Viejo and Laguna Niguel. If you want suburban wealthy Dallas with hills, mountains and nicer weather those are probably the closest you can get. But if you're driving into L.A. more than 2-3 times a week, it will be too long of a commute.

[disgruntled la native]

Sunset/Fairfax isn't in WeHo.

True there is crime 5 miles from anywhere in LA. But thats not bad. If you're nestled in north santa monica or pacific palisades, or up the hills of bel air, you are not anywhere near crime. Meanwhile, if you live in hancock park, a dangerous neighborhood is only 2-3 blocks away!

[munchitup]

Originally Posted by disgruntled la native

Sunset/Fairfax isn't in WeHo.

True there is crime 5 miles from anywhere in LA. But thats not bad. If you're nestled in north santa monica or pacific palisades, or up the hills of bel air, you are not anywhere near crime. Meanwhile, if you live in hancock park, a dangerous neighborhood is only 2-3 blocks away!

Close enough though - the border is so jagged and disjointed it is hard to tell which part of the city you are in, especially if you are not familiar with the differences in road signs and crosswalks, etc. My friend just moved out here from Boston and he definitely lives in Los Angeles but he tells everyone his apartment is in West Hollywood (purely just by not knowing) but I don't have the heart to tell him otherwise. He lives probably 500 feet from the border so it is not that big of a mistake.

[munchitup]

Originally Posted by skyway31

You certainly don't have to live somewhere where there are a lot of homeless people around. But, you are more likely to see them than in the snootiest parts of Dallas. Among places in L.A. that also have a decent-excellent social/restaurant/bar scene, the places I listed above are the nicest. In those places (Save for maybe WeHo near Sunset/Fairfax) you will rarely see homeless people. There are places that can impress you with their fancy, flashes of wealth. But they are the best, most expensive parts of L.A.

If you visit the places I listed above, I'm confident you'll find something you like. That said, if you don't commute every day into West L.A. etc, you may also want to look into places like Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach and other parts of south Orange county like Mission Viejo and Laguna Niguel. If you want suburban wealthy Dallas with hills, mountains and nicer weather those are probably the closest you can get. But if you're driving into L.A. more than 2-3 times a week, it will be too long of a commute.

I think I saw a few homeless people near the Hermosa Beach pier area, but other than that there is very little visible homelessness in the beach areas, particularly on their west sides.

But other than that Barcelona is pretty spot-on that there is homelessness everywhere. I honestly think Hollywood would terrify the OP West Hollywood even might be too much. Orange County does sounds like a better fit but it sounds like the commute will make that nearly impossible (or very painful). But with 2000 limit on rent for a one bedroom, she might be able to afford an apartment in Pacific Palisades, though that is a pretty isolated part of the city.

[disgruntled la native]

Originally Posted by munchitup

Close enough though - the border is so jagged and disjointed it is hard to tell which part of the city you are in, especially if you are not familiar with the differences in road signs and crosswalks, etc. My friend just moved out here from Boston and he definitely lives in Los Angeles but he tells everyone his apartment is in West Hollywood (purely just by not knowing) but I don't have the heart to tell him otherwise. He lives probably 500 feet from the border so it is not that big of a mistake.

Your friend's a fool! It's a huge difference. The city services, police, parking, fines, voting, benefits, etc etc vary greatly between City of WeHo and city of LA.

On Sunset Blvd WeHo begins at Doheny Rd and ends at Crescent Heights.

On Santa Monica its from Doheny to La Brea, the longest stretch

On Melrose it ends by La Cienega. Beverly is confusing but also short.

[skyway31]

Originally Posted by disgruntled la native

Your friend's a fool! It's a huge difference. The city services, police, parking, fines, voting, benefits, etc etc vary greatly between City of WeHo and city of LA.

On Sunset Blvd WeHo begins at Doheny Rd and ends at Crescent Heights.

On Santa Monica its from Doheny to La Brea, the longest stretch

On Melrose it ends by La Cienega. Beverly is confusing but also short.

I used to live at the intersection of Orlando and Clinton. Just barely east of La Cienega and half a block south of Melrose. I was never quite sure which one I officially lived in. I had mail addressed to both Los Angeles and West Hollywood and never had any problems getting it delivered either way. I thought it was technically WeHo, but the WeHo parking restrictions subsided right there, so it was easier to park sans a WeHo permit. But I just visited that block last week and saw that WeHo's strict parking restrictions are now in effect.

Point is, it's very tricky and hard to figure out and the OP need not worry about where the exact borders are at this point. If she decides that's where she wants to be, sure, WeHo offers better services than the city of Los Angeles.