Is 90029 area safe? (Santa Monica: low income, homes, income)

[JohnKneedep]

I'm moving from Sherman Oaks, and found a few places in 90029 area, on N Oxford Ave. I went there this afternoon, and it looks a bit run down but doesn't seem shady or unsafe. How is this area? Location-wise it's very good - Santa Monica Blvd, FWY access and many places I frequent are just 10-20 min away. Is it worth a try for a guy in his mid 20s, or should I stay away?

[ryanms3030]

It's pretty safe

[socal88]

Some parts are better than others. Not the greatest area, but not bad. Better now than it used to be. I wouldn't recommend going south of Santa Monica Blvd.

I had a buddy who lived in that area closer to Silver Lake and while the area is a bit run down, no major issues.

If you can afford it, I'd try to find further something north in Los Feliz.

[ryanms3030]

Originally Posted by socal88

Some parts are better than others. Not the greatest area, but not bad. Better now than it used to be. I wouldn't recommend going south of Santa Monica Blvd.

I had a buddy who lived in that area closer to Silver Lake and while the area is a bit run down, no major issues.

If you can afford it, I'd try to find further something north in Los Feliz.

South of Santa Monica and your basically in Koreatown which isn't too bad either

[JustMike77]

Originally Posted by socal88

I wouldn't recommend going south of Santa Monica Blvd.

I disagree. The Southwest corner of 90029 is very close to Hancock Park. I have appraised million dollar homes on Melrose Hill which is south of Santa Monica.

[socal88]

Originally Posted by JustMike77

I disagree. The Southwest corner of 90029 is very close to Hancock Park. I have appraised million dollar homes on Melrose Hill which is south of Santa Monica.

I agree that small pocket close to Hancock Park is fine although the area still looks a bit tired looking and I'm not sure why someone would want to live right next to the 101 freeway if they don't have to unless they enjoy poor air quality.

The main area I'd avoid in the 90029 is the Virgil Village area. Generally, the area bounded east/west by Normandie and Hoover and north/south by Santa Monica Blvd. and Melrose isn't that great.

[jm1982]

I've been spending some time recently in 90029 , doing some work in the area. It's an interesting area and I see it changing a lot soon. Right now at least around Santa Monica Blvd/Western it's pretty gritty and most businesses catering to lower income immigrants it seems. It's so close to more redeveloped and hipster areas though like Hollywood , Los Feliz , and Silverlake.. that it seems inevitable the area will be changing relatively soon. I used to live in Hollywood and already noticed several new developments in the East Hollywood area.

There is already quite a bit of development happening. I'm kind of surprised that there are so many run down buildings in the area..but I guess a lot of it just is that it's a dense area with a lot of low income residents. Quite a bit of graffiti issue in the area, which doesn't really help things.

It's not in 90029 , but nearby I noticed that little pocket park near Los Feliz Village has been entirely taken over by homeless encampments. I never remember Los Feliz being like that until recently. Also on Sunset Blvd in East Hollywood there are just tons of tents and homeless tarps all over...It's a real mess and really gotten out of hand.
I saw this young hipster girl sitting on a bus bench right next to these tents.
I was just thinking...are we in the U.S or a third world slum?..
I can't imagine there are many other cities in the U.S where the situation has gotten so out of hand.

[echoParkDate]

Its definitely safe. Expect to see plenty of homeless, litter, graffiti, etc., but the risk of actually being a victim of violence is very low.