LA Advice Required (Burbank, Santa Monica, Hermosa Beach: appointed, 2009, rent)

[Ukescapee]

Hi all,

I am a 25 year old guy from the UK who is doing a 1 year screenwriting course at the New York Film Academy starting Jan 2009. I currently am choosing between the 2 possible locations of LA or NYC.

Having looked at a few areas in LA I like the look of Santa Monica and Hermosa Beach. The location of the course in LA is Hollywood, so would anybody be able to tell me the possible commute times from these places?

I know the distance between SM and H'wood is 11 miles but have no real grasp of traffic between the two.

Also, does SM have many mid twenties or is it more 30+? Is it a fun place to live? Are there many hot young ladies floating about? Sorry I couldnt resist that question.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated by a guy struggling with quite a fun decision!

Thanks in advance.

[KnoxTown]

Both of those places to Hollywood will be a hike.

[BRinSM]

SM is a great place and much closer to Hollywood than Hermosa, but it is not close either. you would probably be better off living closer to the school.

[motoman]

I live in West LA, which is a stone's throw from Santa Monica. Getting to Hollywood is generally a royal pain in the ass. As a result, I rarely go there. I would say a fantastic commute day would be 30 minutes one way. A normal day would be closer to an hour. Remember it's just 11 miles. But I think that commute time is comparable to London for a similar distance, based on what I've read lately. It would take even longer from Hermosa Beach.

The problem with Hollywood is that there is no easy way in or out. It can take 30 minutes just to get to the nearest freeway, for example. So generally a commute into Hollywood is all surface streets. And during most hours of the day surface streets average 10-15 mph.

As far as fun, I think you can find equal amounts of early 20s fun in Hollywood, Santa Monica, or Hermosa Beach. But they each have their own characters. You'd have to see for yourself what you like.

Regarding the ladies, there is no shortage of very attractive women in LA, particularly in the places you've listed. It's amazing really. You won't be disappointed.

[fatmancomics]

I looked up the school and it said that the two locations here in L.A. are in Universal Studios and the Disney Studios, neither of which are in Hollywood. In fact, they would be on the other side of Hollywood from Santa Monica or Hermosa beach and it would make you take the 405 freeway (aka the world's largest parking lot) to school. Your best bets will be North Hollywood or Burbank.
North Hollywood has areas that are booming, trendy and even go so far as calling themselves "NoHo"; a rip-off of NY's SoHo community in order to attract young college students like yourselves (we locals call you suckers) who either have a mommy and daddy to pay for the ridiculous rents or break your backs yourselves in order to make rent every month. It's got local hole-in-the-wall theaters, trendy shops and hang-out spots but it also has some seedy and even dangerous areas around it.
Burbank is not so trendy but still has a downtown area where lots of people go to hang out every weekend (the mall and giant theater attract them) as well as some decent bars. The problem with Burbank is that you will be cut off from the rest of the city since Burbank is a city in itself and you will DEFINITELY need a car. The good thing about it is that, since it is a self contained city, they have their own police department so the crime levels are WAY lower than North Hollywood. The rents are comparable in both cities but Burbank will have more places available that have less crime where North Hollywood will have more crime the lower the rent gets.
Either way you will need a car if you're interested in going clubbing, to the beach or anywhere else in L.A. that is of interest so, if you can afford it, I would recommend Burbank and, if you were already willing to pay Santa Monica or Hermosa Beach rates, chances are that you can afford it.
Oh yeah, as far as the people go, North Hollwyood has a good mix of everybody in the NoHo area but the lower income areas are largely hispanic while Burbank is predominantly white and persian throughout.

[KnoxTown]

Originally Posted by fatmancomics

I looked up the school and it said that the two locations here in L.A. are in Universal Studios and the Disney Studios, neither of which are in Hollywood. In fact, they would be on the other side of Hollywood from Santa Monica or Hermosa beach and it would make you take the 405 freeway (aka the world's largest parking lot) to school. Your best bets will be North Hollywood or Burbank.
North Hollywood has areas that are booming, trendy and even go so far as calling themselves "NoHo"; a rip-off of NY's SoHo community in order to attract young college students like yourselves (we locals call you suckers) who either have a mommy and daddy to pay for the ridiculous rents or break your backs yourselves in order to make rent every month. It's got local hole-in-the-wall theaters, trendy shops and hang-out spots but it also has some seedy and even dangerous areas around it.
Burbank is not so trendy but still has a downtown area where lots of people go to hang out every weekend (the mall and giant theater attract them) as well as some decent bars. The problem with Burbank is that you will be cut off from the rest of the city since Burbank is a city in itself and you will DEFINITELY need a car. The good thing about it is that, since it is a self contained city, they have their own police department so the crime levels are WAY lower than North Hollywood. The rents are comparable in both cities but Burbank will have more places available that have less crime where North Hollywood will have more crime the lower the rent gets.
Either way you will need a car if you're interested in going clubbing, to the beach or anywhere else in L.A. that is of interest so, if you can afford it, I would recommend Burbank and, if you were already willing to pay Santa Monica or Hermosa Beach rates, chances are that you can afford it.
Oh yeah, as far as the people go, North Hollwyood has a good mix of everybody in the NoHo area but the lower income areas are largely hispanic while Burbank is predominantly white and persian throughout.

Are you kidding me? I live smack in the middle of the arts district, and rent is cheaper here then almost everywhere else in LA I checked.