Is L.A. really that bad? (Los Angeles, Ontario: safe area, living in, prices)

[junkman18]

Originally Posted by CiXeL

i used to dislike LA because i was born and raised there so all i saw were the problems...

so i moved to miami

WHAT A MISTAKE!!!!!

you guys dont know how good you have it.

I don't think moving out of california is a mistake, But moving from one place with BIG illegal alien problem to another is.

[mz_flaca]

There are only two hispanic gangs, Tortilla Flats and East Side Torrance.



WOW!!!! I grew up in Redondo, and there are only 2 gangs in Torrace??? Anyone who has ever driven down Western can tell you there are more than just 2, 204st for example....How about La Rana, they are down Del Amo Blvd. 208th st, Keystone, Sartori, just to name a few. "Harbor Gateway" is still concidered Torrance. There are several other gangs, with names that don't come to mind right now. A little research should be done before you state some facts that are not true.

[Beliy Plashik]

I know that rent is not as bad in Los Angeles as it is in New York City!!!.

Can a person rent an apartment (Studio/1 bedroom) in the area of Los Angeles, West Hollywood, Culver City.

For under $800? Culver City is probably the cheapest out of the other two right???

[majoun]

Originally Posted by Beliy Plashik

I know that rent is not as bad in Los Angeles as it is in New York City!!!.

Can a person rent an apartment (Studio/1 bedroom) in the area of Los Angeles, West Hollywood, Culver City.

For under $800? Culver City is probably the cheapest out of the other two right???

There won't be that many studios for under $800 in Culver City, even in West Culver City. (In the rest of Culver, forget it.)

OTOH there might be some left in Palms (the number of older rundown buildings in Palms is diminishing, however - although not to the extent of West LA and Mar Vista)

[Beliy Plashik]

Originally Posted by majoun

There won't be that many studios for under $800 in Culver City, even in West Culver City. (In the rest of Culver, forget it.)

OTOH there might be some left in Palms (the number of older rundown buildings in Palms is diminishing, however - although not to the extent of West LA and Mar Vista)

Interesting What about Glendale? when it comes to rent. I heard that Glendale tends to be kind of hard to find a job, and that people can be prejudiced towards other races.

(Glendale would suit me because I speak russian, and so does most of the armenian population) Isn't the Armenian population like the second biggest ethnicity after Mexicans?

I heard that Glendale is also very expensive though when buying a house or apartment

But what about the rent there??

[majoun]

Originally Posted by Beliy Plashik

Interesting What about Glendale? when it comes to rent. I heard that Glendale tends to be kind of hard to find a job, and that people can be prejudiced towards other races.

That was the old lily white Glendale, the Glendale in which John Wayne grew up in and was a haven for the KKK and neo-Nazis. Glendale is now one of the most diverse places in one of the US' most diverse counties.

(Glendale would suit me because I speak russian, and so does most of the armenian population) Isn't the Armenian population like the second biggest ethnicity after Mexicans?

If anything, the Armenians outnumber the Mexicans. The percentage of Armenians and people of Armenian origin in Glendale's population is larger than anywhere outside Armenia.

I heard that Glendale is also very expensive though when buying a house or apartment

But what about the rent there??

It varies greatly depending on the area. You could probably find something cheaper there easier than you could in Culver City.

[tuscanigirl]

Originally Posted by fastfilm

Actually, Los Angeles is NOT affordable in world class city terms.

That is the frustrating thing about LA. There are many new apartment complexes (like the Piero) going up where a studio might cost $1600 a month (500 sq ft), a one bdr is $2000, but if the builder wants to have over a certain number of units, they have to set aside a percentage of the apartments for low income people (city of LA law). So, an upper middle class person cannot isolate themselves from certain elements. You have to be upper class, basically a millionaire to isolate your where you live from rougher elements.

There is just no real middle class area anymore that hasn't been spoiled. The Valley was supposedly nice at one time.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by tuscanigirl

The Valley was supposedly nice at one time.

Prior to Prop 13?

[Nutella]

LA/OC is one of the most desirable place in the world.
That's why prices are high- LA has it all- plenty of well paying jobs and career opportunities, low pollution by the beaches, nice weather, open minded frirendly people and lots of creativity.
I much rather be (back) to LA than be in Vancouver that truly sucks.
(beautiful scenery but no decent jobs, unfriendly people, sky high cost of living, lack of intellectual stimulation and depressing weather.

[Coldjensens]

We lived in OC, worked on and off in LA for 18 years. LA and OC are similar. Many people consider them one big metropolitan area.

Housing is insane. An average house in OC runs about 650,000. Average means small (1800 sf) with a tiny lot and nowhere near the ocean. Our house was about 2500 s.f., on a tiny lot with a court building in the back of us and in one of the least desirable areas in OC. We sold it for over $750,000. This would be a $150,000 house in most states. Someone asked about a house for $200,000. There is no such thing. I doubt that you will even find a small condo for that price. LA is generally about the same or more expensive unless you are a really terrible area.

LA proper has some life to it in some areas. Most of downtown is a ghost town at night. I walked though downtown at around 1 a.m. on a couple of occasions and saw no more than three people. By 8 p.m. it gets pretty empty. Friends who live downtown like it, especially if they can walk to work, but they complain about having to go out of the city to find shopping, entertainment, or staple supplies. At night, it is difficult to find a restaurant open and nearly impossible to find a movie theater, grocery store, or even a gas station.
There are some livelier areas nearby, but downtown is not much of a livable city. Some of the adjoining areas are awesome.

In California, San Diego and San Francisco are a lot more livable cities. San Jose is supposedly up and coming. Orange County is very nice, but extremely crowded and basically flat with few to no trees and not much grass either. The only real city in OC is Santa Ana and it has problems (although we liked it a great deal, many people hate it). Otherwise OC is mostly bedroom communities.

If you have the money and want really nice, go to the central coast (Santa Barbra, San Luis Obispo, Solvang, etc).
If you are looking for budget property without crime issues, you will have to go out into the desert. You could always join the hordes of other people who share a house or apartment between several couples of families.


Anywhere in So. Cal. is a neat place to live geographically. Nice weather, near beaches, mountains, and desert. You just have to learn to live like an ant in a busy, crowded ant colony.