Area for USC student to live (Los Angeles, Culver City: to rent, HOA, lofts)

[fams20]

Hi,
I am thinking of buying a condo for my son who is a sophopmore at USC.ANy suggestions for safe areas, neighborhoods to buy ? I shouldalso be able to rent it out once he graduates .
THanks

[Sorcerer68]

South Park area of L.A. has some GREAT new units (they call them lofts) right across from Staples Center and the developing L.A. Live. Elleven is my favorite of them, it's floor to ceiling glass. Smaller units are in the 400's with the train close by as well as buses and the developing L.A. Live, Staples, etc. School is really close to this location. This part of downtown is very clean.

[CESpeed]

Why people insist on touting DLA as the place to be is beyond my comprehension. Why would anyone recommend someone live in an area that is clean for two whole blocks? If you don't have an averison to living in a predominately Black neighborhood, Baldwin Hills is a good choice. Otherwise, Culver City is a beautiful area (more than two blocks and is actually residential) and is within 30 minutes of USC.

[Lake Conroe resident]

Originally Posted by CESpeed

Why people insist on touting DLA as the place to be is beyond my comprehension. Why would anyone recommend someone live in an area that is clean for two whole blocks? If you don't have an averison to living in a predominately Black neighborhood, Baldwin Hills is a good choice. Otherwise, Culver City is a beautiful area (more than two blocks and is actually residential) and is within 30 minutes of USC.

So true; USC is equivalent to an island in a very bad part of town, as soon as you go off campus you are in the ghetto. I remember going to events at the sports arena (next to USC) and some of the museums down there, not very nice.

[King0fthehill]

Avoid all of the ghetto cesspools surrounding it, as they are not for the faint hearted, or just about anybody not from there. Heck, a USC student was murdered this past fall, and things like muggings/robberies and beatdowns are not uncommon.

USC student killed near campus | All Things Trojan | Los Angeles Times

Downtown is pathetic as well. There's what....1 mile that's decent? You leave that enclave, and you're entering a world infested with a jumble of vagrants, mentally insane Vietnam vets, and other people that comprise the scum of the city, a world reeking with urine and other garbage, replete with shuttered storefronts, little or no English spoken. Oh, but wait..it has old brick buildings and mass transit access, so that means all of the aforementioned don't exist and are excused, right?

[KnoxTown]

Originally Posted by King0fthehill

Avoid all of the ghetto cesspools surrounding it, as they are not for the faint hearted, or just about anybody not from there. Heck, a USC student was murdered this past fall, and things like muggings/robberies and beatdowns are not uncommon.

USC student killed near campus | All Things Trojan | Los Angeles Times

Downtown is pathetic as well. There's what....1 mile that's decent? You leave that enclave, and you're entering a world infested with a jumble of vagrants, mentally insane Vietnam vets, and other people that comprise the scum of the city, a world reeking with urine and other garbage, replete with shuttered storefronts, little or no English spoken. Oh, but wait..it has old brick buildings and mass transit access, so that means all of the aforementioned don't exist and are excused, right?

I think you are being way too harsh on downtown LA. I've spent alot of time there, at all hours of the day/night, for the past 3 months. It's a little gritty, but I've seen much worse in LA.

[happ]

There are a few USC grad students who generally post [ie. vegaspilgrim] who can help you w/ housing info near the university. As others have stated the recent drunk driver hit & run incident & a student killed in a fight have occurred on Jefferson & Vermont Sts.

[JohnG72]

Near USC?

Better just to rent.

Condo's downtown can be as low as $300ish for a small studio, but then factor in HOA and assorted taxes.

The problem is, no one really knows where this economic downturn is heading. Downtown is only being gentrified over the past 10 years or so...it was a dump before that...

So as to if you can rent the place out afterwards...yeah, maybe. Just hope and pray that occupancy rates downtown don't decline.